Bill Text: DE SB223 | 2009-2010 | 145th General Assembly | Draft
Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 18 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Insurance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2010-06-23 - Reported Out of Committee (ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/BANKING/INSURANCE/COMMERCE) in House with 6 On Its Merits [SB223 Detail]
Download: Delaware-2009-SB223-Draft.html
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SPONSOR: |
Sen. Blevins & Rep. B. Short & Rep. Keeley Jaques |
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Sens. DeLuca, Henry & McDowell |
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DELAWARE STATE SENATE 145th GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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SENATE BILL NO. 223 |
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AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO INSURANCE. |
Section
1.Amend §6853 (a), Title 18, Delaware
Code, by inserting the phrase "against a health care provider, as defined in 18
Section 2.Amend §6853 (a) (1), Title 18, Delaware Code, by inserting the words "health care provider" between the phrases "to each defendant" and "signed by an expert".
Section 3.Amend §6853 (c), Title 18, Delaware Code, by deleting that subsection in its entirety and replacing it with "Qualifications of expert and contents of affidavit. – The affidavit(s) of merit shall set forth the expert's opinion that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the applicable standard of care was breached by the named defendant health care provider and that the breach was a proximate cause of injury claimed in the complaint. An expert signing an affidavit of merit shall be licensed to practice medicine as of the date of the affidavit if the defendant health care provider is licensed to practice medicine. In the 3 years immediately preceding the alleged negligent act, the expert must have been engaged in the treatment of patients and/or in the teaching/academic side of medicine in the same or similar field of medicine as the defendant health care provider. The expert shall be Board certified in the same or similar field of medicine if the defendant is Board certified. The Board Certification requirement shall not apply to an expert that began the practice of medicine prior to the existence of Board certification in the applicable specialty. An affidavit of merit shall not be required when the defendant health care provider is a corporation, facility or institution."
Section 4.Amend §6853 (d), Title 18, Delaware Code, by deleting that subsection in its entirety and replacing it with "Upon good cause shown, the defendant by motion may request the Court to determine in camera if the affidavit of merit complies with paragraph (a)(1) and subsection (c) of this section. Good cause may include failure of the plaintiff to identify the experts in response to defendant's discovery request. The affidavit of merit shall not be discoverable in any medical negligence action. The affidavit of merit itself, and the fact that an expert has signed the affidavit of merit, shall not be admissible nor may the expert be questioned in any respect about the existence of said affidavit in the underlying medical negligence action or any subsequent unrelated medical negligence action in which that expert is a witness."
Section 5.Amend §6854, Title 18, Delaware Code, by replacing the phrase "field of medicine" with the phrase "field of health care".
SYNOPSIS
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Title 18 of the Delaware Code requires that an affidavit of merit be filed under seal when a lawsuit alleging medical malpractice is filed. This affidavit by plaintiff's expert witness is an opinion that the defendant has breached the applicable minimum standard of care and that this breach caused injury to the plaintiff. This amendment removes an existing ambiguity regarding necessary qualifications of an expert who provides this affidavit in cases where the defendant is a health care provider other than a medical doctor, e.g. a hospital or other corporate defendant. The bill also requires that defendants demonstrate good cause whenever requesting judges to review an affidavit of merit. |
Author:Senator Blevins
