The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Joyce A. Spiliotis
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To the
Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the passage of the accompanying bill:
An Act RELATIVE TO MEDICAL MALPRACTICE REFORM.
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PETITION OF:
Name: |
District/Address: |
The Commonwealth of
Massachusetts
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In the Year Two Thousand and Nine
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An ACT
RELATIVE TO MEDICAL MALPRACTICE REFORM.
Be
it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
Chapter 211B of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting at the end of Section 19 the following Section 19A:
Section 19A. Pilot Project for Medical Malpractice Court Initiative Committee
(a) Establishment. A pilot project creating medical malpractice court committees is established for the purpose of developing an approach to adjudicating medical disputes arising between patients and health care providers that is evidence-based and provides appropriate and fair compensation to claimants. Committees shall be located in the counties of Berkshire, Worcester, and Suffolk. Pilot courts shall be applicable to claimants residing within the named counties. The three pilot courts, as established herein, shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all actions for malpractice, error or mistake against a provider of health care arising within the county. The committees shall be under the direct supervision of the chief justice of administration and management. The chief justice shall be responsible to fund, coordinate, and evaluate activities of the committees within said counties to screen and refer cases to the medical malpractice pilot courts.
The chief justice for administration and management shall monitor and evaluate the cost, impact and effectiveness of activities undertaken to screen and refer cases to a medical malpractice pilot court and report annually to the general court on his findings. The annual report should identify unmet needs and promising opportunities for additional screening and referral activities and recommend legislative actions required to implement these activities.
(b)(1) Committee Composition. Each committee shall be composed of the following persons:
(c). The county committees shall be responsible for establishing a medical malpractice pilot court within each of the named counties to be operational no later than January 1, 2009. The committees shall meet no later than January 15, 2008. In establishing said courts, the committees shall:
(d). The chief justice for administration and management on July 1, 2009, shall report to the general court on the progress and outcomes of each committee on achieving the goals of the pilot. On January 1, 2010, the chief justice for administration and management shall report to the general court on the operation of the pilot courts and make recommendations for expanding the medical malpractice courts to all districts in the Commonwealth.