COLUMBIA - Doctors in white coats jammed the lobby of the Statehouse at a rally Wednesday to push legislation to reform malpractice litigation.

The South Carolina Medical Association sponsored the White Coat Rally, which was expected to draw as many as 300 physicians and other supporters of litigation reform.

Speakers at the event were Gov. Mark Sanford, Sen. Glenn McConnell, SCMA president John P. Evans and Dr. Donald J. Palmisano, immediate past president of the American Medical Association.

Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, also was introduced at the rally.

Sanford said legislation that will reduce high malpractice settlements would be good for the state.

“It’s an economic issue,” Sanford said, adding that continuing high malpractice premiums for state doctors will drive them away and make it difficult to compete to bring in jobs.

Leatherman agreed.

“We have got to have reform this year. And we’ll get it,” he said. “It’s just a matter of what degree of reform we will get.”

Leatherman said the high cost associated with liability litigation has a negative impact on the economy.

“The system we have prevents companies from coming here, because of the rising costs,” he said.

With doctors from across the state attending the rally, Flor-ence was well represented.

“I train physicians in family medicine,” Dr. William H. Hester said, “and they have to pay $48,000 to deliver babies.”

Hester is director of the family medicine center at McLeod Regional Medical Center. He said $48,000 per year is the average amount family physicians pay for malpractice insurance.

Hester said insurance costs and the threat of lawsuits are causing family physicians to stop delivering babies. Hester said when family physicians stop delivering babies, small communities that do not have specialists suffer.

“It cuts off small towns. It takes away access to health care in rural places,” he said.

Dr. Stephan Imbeau of Flor-ence, an allergy and immunology specialist, said he is not in a high-risk area of medicine, but he thought he needed to be at the rally.

Malpractice litigation reform “is important for all physicians. The whole house of medicine needs to be here to show support,” he said.

Imbeau said victims should be awarded for losses at the hands of malpractice, but he said he was at the rally to support ending noneconomic damages for plaintiffs who sue doctors. He said 70 percent of noneconomic damage awards go to attorneys, not to victims of medical damage.

“It’s a people issue,” he said.

Hester said that in addition to limiting the access of health care, malpractice lawsuit fears are causing medical students to stay away from high-risk areas of medicine, including obstetrics and gynecology and neurosurgery.

Also present at the event was Dr. Conyers O’Bryan of Flor-ence, a member of the SCMA board.

Leatherman said he expected to see tort reform as it relates to liability for businesses, too, but he was not sure to what extent.

“You never know how it will come out, but we will get reform,” he said.

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