Medical malpractice reform is dead this legislative session after members of the state House Judiciary committee last night decided they couldn't come up with a figure that would constitute "fair" monetary damages.

Committee members heard hours of emotional testimony on a bill that would have put a $250,000 cap on noneconomic grounds for damages such as pain, suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement and loss of enjoyment of life.

While dozens of members of the medical community rallied and testified that doctors were leaving the state or refusing to go into high-risk fields because of high insurance premiums, more compelling testimony came from family members of victims of medical negligence.

Shalay Peterson, mother of Izzy Peterson, who was permanently brain-damaged when Tripler Army Medical Center doctors accidentally gave him carbon dioxide instead of oxygen, showed a video of her newborn son receiving the gas.

Peterson left the room while the video played, but told lawmakers, "I want you to see this so you can understand that this is not about insurance premiums. This is about human life, about preserving the right to justice for people injured by malpractice."

Other parents passed around photos of their children, whom they said were victims of malpractice. A father wheeled his brain-damaged 5-year-old in to sit beside him as he testified in opposition of the cap.

Medical malpractice reform has been supported by Gov. Linda Lingle, who proposed the $250,000 cap as a way to improve access to care on the Neighbor Islands and in rural areas, where the specialist shortage is so dire that many patients have long waits for treatment or need to be taken to O'ahu.

The Republicans on the committee, Rep. Kymberly Pine and Rep. Barbara Marumoto, voted against the motion to hold the bill. The three committee members from Neighbor Islands also wanted to keep the bill alive, especially since they represent some of the communities that have the hardest time recruiting and retaining medical specialists.

Rep. Josh Green, an emergency-room doctor on the Big Island, wanted to keep a discussion on the bill going after hearing from doctor after doctor that tort reform is necessary to ensure access to care.

"We have a community of doctors telling us point blank, 'We won't do the care anymore if we don't get some solution on tort reform,' " Green said.

However, Judiciary Chairman Tommy Waters said the role of the committee was to decide the issue of damages. "What we need to decide today is what is fair damages, what is just, what is right," he said. "I don't think $250,000 is fair."

Waters and other members who voted to hold the measure said they wanted to find a way to keep doctors from leaving the state, but they felt tort reform wasn't the answer.

Doctors said the numbers of specialists in the state are dwindling, but some lawmakers said they questioned whether medical malpractice is the primary issue.

The high cost of living and lower Medicare reimbursements also motivate doctors to leave or avoid high-risk specialties, doctors say.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.