Burn center will have to wait on payment after failed vote

BRANDON — A bill designed to help Mississippi’s only burn center get paid ahead of others when patients win lawsuits has failed to pass in the Senate.

Senate Bill 2780 would create a hierarchy for payment when a burn victim wins a lawsuit. First the burn center would get paid, then the attorney and finally other hospitals where the patient was treated.

Sen. Derrick Simmons, a Democrat from Greenville, told senators many settlements are not large enough to compensate all parties. He says by the time the burn center and attorney gets paid, the other medical providers would be left fighting over an insufficient pot of money.

The bill could be called up for more debate.

In 2011, a burn center was opened at River Oaks Hospital in Brandon.