Medical Malpractice Rx Act
Latest action · Jun 25, 2001 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJun 7, 2001
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Establishes a five-year maximum statute of limitations for health care liability actions.
Makes a defendant in any health care liability action liable (severally but not jointly) only for the amount of noneconomic damages ($500,000 maximum) in direct proportion to the defendant's share of fault or responsibility for the claimant's actual damages.
Requires for the award of punitive damages that the claimant establish that the harm was the result of conduct: (1) specifically intended to cause harm; or (2) manifesting a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of others.
Prohibits the award of punitive damages against a manufacturer or product seller of a drug or medical device where: (1) the drug or device was subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) premarket safety and labeling approval; or (2) the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective pursuant to FDA conditions.
Allows punitive damages if the defendant: (1) intentionally and wrongfully withheld from or misrepresented material information; or (2) made an illegal payment to an FDA official or employee.
Prohibits punitive damages against a drug manufacturer or product seller relating to the adequacy of the packaging or labeling of a drug required by regulation to have tamper-resistant packaging unless the court finds that such packaging or labeling is substantially out of regulatory compliance.
Permits defendants to introduce evidence of collateral source payments.
Entitles the prevailing party in an action to attorney's fees from the non-prevailing party under specified conditions.
Specifies contingent fee limits.
Declares that any ADR used to resolve a health care liability action or claim shall contain provisions for statute of limitations, noneconomic damages, joint and several liability, punitive damages, collateral source rule, periodic payments, and award of attorney's fees which are identical to the provisions of this Act.
Cosponsors 6
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 7, 2001 to Jun 19, 2001; 5 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-CT | Christopher Shays | Original | Jun 7, 2001 |
| R-CT | Nancy L. Johnson | Original | Jun 7, 2001 |
| R-PA | Patrick J. Toomey | Original | Jun 7, 2001 |
| R-OH | Robert W. Ney | Original | Jun 7, 2001 |
| R-CA | William M. Thomas | Original | Jun 7, 2001 |
| R-OH | David L. Hobson | Jun 19, 2001 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jun 7, 2001 |
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Jun 7, 2001 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Jun 25, 2001 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 25, 2001Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.
- Jun 7, 2001Introduced in House
- Jun 7, 2001Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To establish limits on medical malpractice claims, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Medical Malpractice Rx Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Accident insurance
- Alternative dispute resolution
- Bribery
- Business records
- Commerce
- Contingency fees
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Damages
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Disability insurance
- Disabled
- Drug approvals
- Drug industry
- Drugs
- Evidence (Law)
- Federal employees
- Federal officials
- Federal preemption
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Fraud
- Government liability
- Government liability (International law)
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Health
- Health insurance
- International Affairs
- Labeling
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Legal fees
- Liability (Law)
- Limitation of actions
- Medical malpractice
- Medical supplies
- Misconduct in office
- Packaging
- Products liability
- Punitive damages
- Social Welfare
- State laws
- Workers' compensation
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jun 7, 2001Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
