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Pennsylvania State Senate
04/19/2024 05:05 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20190&cosponId=29862
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2019 - 2020 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: June 19, 2019 04:25 PM
From: Senator Jay Costa
To: All Senate members
Subject: LBFC Venue Study
 
Earlier this year, the Senate adopted SR 20 that directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study the impact of changes made to venue rules in medical malpractice actions. At that time, I noted that the reforms contained in Act 13 of 2001 as well as changes to various procedural and evidentiary rules by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court were equally effective in reducing the frequency and severity of medical malpractice claims.

Therefore, I am offering the following resolution to add these topics to the list to be evaluated by the LBFC.
  1. The impact of the Patient Safety Authority and patient safety protocols established by Act 13;
  2. The impact of insurance reforms included in Act 13;
  3. The impact of Changes to the Collateral Source Rule; Requiring specific finding by juries regarding economic and non-economic damages; Reducing verdicts to present value and requiring certain periodic payments; and Requiring expert witnesses to be licensed in the same medical field or specialty;
  4. Venue rule changes requiring that actions be filed in the county where cause of action arose and Certificates of merit requiring a statement by a licensed professional that the action was a breach of a professional standard of care;
  5. That the study includes a history of claims made to, and payouts made by, the Pennsylvania Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association from 2003 through the present;
  6. That the study includes a history of claims made to, and payouts made by, the MCARE Fund from 2003 through the present.

Please join me in sponsoring this important resolution.

Introduced as SR188