A bill that would grant immunity from malpractice liability for emergency health care services has cleared committee in the state House of Representatives, opening up discussions over the reach of the proposed amendment, its possible effect on patient care and what it would mean for potential litigants.
Plaintiffs and defense counsel expressed starkly different views of HB 1064, which was reported out of the insurance committee May 17 and now awaits a full House vote. Alternatively viewed as a dangerous and devastating bill or one with a fair and finite purpose, it would amend the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Act to exempt from liability any emergency health care providers who could not reasonably obtain a patient’s medical history at the time of care, unless “clear and convincing evidence” shows them to be grossly negligent. The bill would raise the standard to prove malpractice by ER physicians from the current requirement of a “preponderance of the evidence.”
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