SACRAMENTO - "Once again, it's personal injury lawyers putting cashola over consumers," said John H. Sullivan, Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC) president, commenting on the defeat yesterday of a bill (SB 1934 - Polanco) which would have ensured the same treatment for health consumers in arbitration as in a courtroom.

"It's becoming clear the trial lawyers and their support groups would rather kill arbitration than make it work," Sullivan said. "Well-run arbitration provides both sides with swift, fair resolution of their disputes. But it cuts the chances for jackpot settlements and verdicts, and that's why the litigation lottery-loving lawyers don't like it."

The Polanco bill passed the state Senate earlier this year, but failed on a 4-9 vote at hearing in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

The measure would have made sure patients in an arbitration proceeding had the same opportunities for legal representation and legal remedies that they would have in a courtroom, including the right to counsel, the right to file a brief, and the right to the same statute of limitations.