PRINTER'S NO. 3088
No. 385 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY VANCE, PERZEL, S. H. SMITH, ARGALL, CORNELL,
PHILLIPS, E. Z. TAYLOR, ADOLPH, ARMSTRONG, BARD, BARLEY,
BARRAR, BASTIAN, BENNINGHOFF, BIRMELIN, BOYES, BROWNE, BUNT,
CAPPELLI, CLARK, CLYMER, L. I. COHEN, COLEMAN, CREIGHTON,
DAILEY, DALLY, DiGIROLAMO, EGOLF, J. EVANS, FAIRCHILD, FEESE,
FICHTER, FLEAGLE, FLICK, FORCIER, GABIG, GANNON, GEIST,
GODSHALL, GORDNER, HABAY, HARHART, HARPER, HASAY, HERMAN,
HERSHEY, HESS, HUTCHINSON, JADLOWIEC, KENNEY, KREBS, LEH,
LEWIS, LYNCH, MACKERETH, MAHER, MAITLAND, MAJOR, MARSICO,
McGILL, McILHATTAN, McILHINNEY, McNAUGHTON, METCALFE,
MICOZZIE, R. MILLER, S. MILLER, NAILOR, NICKOL, PICKETT,
PIPPY, RAYMOND, REINARD, ROHRER, ROSS, RUBLEY, SATHER,
SAYLOR, SCHRODER, SCHULER, SEMMEL, B. SMITH, STAIRS, STEIL,
STERN, R. STEVENSON, STRITTMATTER, J. TAYLOR, TULLI, TURZAI,
WATSON, WILT, WOGAN, ZIMMERMAN AND ZUG, DECEMBER 12, 2001
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, DECEMBER 12, 2001
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to reinstate certain
2 provisions of Act 135 of 1996 amending the Health Care
3 Services Malpractice Act to provide for medical malpractice
4 tort reform.
5 WHEREAS, The General Assembly in cooperation with various
6 interest groups, including the Pennsylvania Medical Society and
7 the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, enacted Act 135 of
8 1996 to provide for tort reform in the area of medical
9 malpractice; and
10 WHEREAS, Act No. 135 of 1996 amended the Health Care Services
11 Malpractice Act by clarifying the physician's liability when the
12 patient has given informed consent to surgery or another health
1 care procedure; permitting the dismissal of a suit when the
2 physician files an affidavit demonstrating that the physician
3 was not involved in the care or treatment of the claimant;
4 revising pretrial procedures relating to complaints, discovery,
5 trial expert reports, mediation and pretrial conferences;
6 establishing sanctions for dilatory or frivolous motions, claims
7 or defenses; limiting punitive damages; allowing for the
8 periodic or installment payment of damages; and reporting
9 malpractice judgments or settlements to medical licensing
10 boards; and
11 WHEREAS, Section 10(c) of Article V of the Constitution of
12 Pennsylvania provides that "The Supreme Court shall have the
13 power to prescribe general rules governing practice, procedure
14 and the conduct of all courts" and that "All laws shall be
15 suspended to the extent that they are inconsistent with rules
16 prescribed under these provisions"; and
17 WHEREAS, On January 17, 1997, the Supreme Court of
18 Pennsylvania suspended all or parts of the provisions of Act 135
19 of 1996 relating to pretrial procedures, dilatory or frivolous
20 claims and punitive damages and directed the Civil Procedural
21 Rules Committee to recommend changes to the Pennsylvania Rules
22 of Civil Procedure that would replace the suspended provisions;
23 and
24 WHEREAS, Although the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania adopted
25 the recommended rule changes, the changes fell short of
26 providing the significant medical tort reform intended by the
27 General Assembly when it enacted Act 135 of 1996; and
28 WHEREAS, On February 9, 2001, the Senate Judiciary Committee
29 and the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee held a joint
30 public hearing to receive testimony on the affordability and
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1 availability of medical malpractice insurance; and
2 WHEREAS, Health care providers testifying at the joint public
3 hearing termed the current situation "a crisis" and reported
4 that many physicians, most notably in specialties such as
5 neurosurgery, obstetrics, orthopedics and cardiology, find it
6 difficult to afford or even obtain medical malpractice
7 insurance; and
8 WHEREAS, Witnesses reported that some physicians have decided
9 not to perform surgery in order to reduce their malpractice
10 insurance premiums and other physicians are retiring early or
11 moving to other states; and
12 WHEREAS, This situation threatens to leave hospitals short-
13 staffed and patients without adequate health care; and
14 WHEREAS, Witnesses testified about the need for tort reform,
15 commenting that medical tort reform had been enacted but to a
16 large extent had been short-circuited by the Supreme Court of
17 Pennsylvania; therefore be it
18 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives respectfully urge
19 the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to reinstate the provisions of
20 Act 135 of 1996 that reflect the medical malpractice tort reform
21 agreement reached by interest groups and enacted by the General
22 Assembly as soon as the Supreme Court convenes in January 2002;
23 and be it further
24 RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
25 each member of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
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