On February 12, 2021, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed into law Alabama Senate Bill 30, adding Alabama to the growing number of states that have enacted civil immunity laws benefiting health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. In signing into… Read More
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Federal Lawsuit Challenges Change In CMS Policy Regarding Nursing Home Civil Money Penalties
A Complaint filed on January 18, 2021 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia alleges that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) weakened enforcement of… Read More
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Virginia Senate Bill Would Eliminate Current Limitations On Medical Malpractice Damages
On January 13, 2021, Senate Bill 1107 was offered that is entitled “Limitation on recovery in certain medical malpractice actions,” which would eliminate the cap on the recovery in actions against health care providers for medical malpractice where the act… Read More
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Maryland Hospital Association Supports Proposed “Maryland Health Care Heroes Protection Act” That Would Vastly Expand Health Care Immunity
A proposed change to Maryland medical malpractice law, which is supported by the Maryland Hospital Association, would have the effect of “altering the definition of “health care provider” for purposes of certain provisions of law governing catastrophic health emergencies to… Read More
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250 Nursing Home Resident Advocacy Organizations Implore U.S. Senate To Avoid Granting Immunity To Nursing Homes
In a letter dated May 28, 2020 addressed to the leaders of the U.S. Senate, 250 organizations throughout the United States that advocate on behalf of the 1.3 million nursing home residents in the United States implored the U.S. Senate… Read More
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U.S. Nursing Homes Spending Millions On Lobbyists To Obtain Immunity From Coronavirus Lawsuits
An article entitled “As residents perish, nursing homes fight for protection from lawsuits” published on May 26, 2020 in POLITICO stated, “As an unprecedented catastrophe unfolds in which more than 28,000 people have died of Covid-19 in care facilities, the… Read More
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North Carolina Joins Other States In Providing Medical Malpractice Immunity During Coronavirus Pandemic
North Carolina joins an increasing number of U.S. states providing health care providers with immunity from medical malpractice claims during the coronavirus pandemic, except for “gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or intentional infliction of harm by the health care facility or… Read More
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Iowa Bill Would Impose Hard Cap Of $250,000 For Noneconomic Damages In All Medical Malpractice Cases
The Iowa Legislature passed a medical liability reform law in 2016 that imposed a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases but excluded Iowa medical malpractice claims involving permanent disfigurement or death. The present Iowa medical malpractice law… Read More
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Record $229M Baltimore Birth Injury Jury Verdict Leads To Legislative Effort (Again) To Establish Fund To Pay Future Medical Expenses
A record $229 million jury verdict in a Baltimore birth injury medical malpractice case in 2019 has led to the introduction of bills in the Maryland Legislature to establish a fund from which future medical expenses in such cases would… Read More
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Proposed Florida Law Would Create Elder Abuse Fatality Review Teams
Florida Senate Bill 452, if signed into law, authorizes the establishment of elder abuse fatality review teams, composed of volunteer members, in each of the 20 judicial circuits in Florida. The teams would review closed cases of fatal incidents of… Read More
