House Bill (HB) 7, a tort reform bill to strengthen medical liability protections for Ohio physicians, passed the Ohio Senate on December 5 by a vote of 31-0. The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians strongly supported this legislation. The Senate’s action is the last major hurdle before HB 7 can be signed into law by the governor.
Some of the key items in the bill sponsored by Rep. Bob Cupp (R-Lima), include:
- Shotgun Lawsuits – HB 7 will help to eliminate the undesirable practice of “shot gunning” defendants in medical claims. This can result in unnecessary expenses to plaintiffs and pointless costs to physicians and their insurers, not to mention other adverse consequences for physicians associated with reporting of lawsuits filed against them. Under the new statute, plaintiffs would have a finite period to name additional defendants after the initial filing of a medical claim. Additionally, the legislation also imposes upon plaintiffs the obligation to exercise due diligence to discover the basis for asserting claims against any such additional defendants within that period.
- “I’m Sorry” law – HB 7 will amend the apology statute enacted in Ohio in 2004. Unfortunately, the courts have struggled with the apology statute, resulting in inconsistent application of the statute as they try to distinguish between fault statements and sympathy statements. HB 7 includes a clarification of the apology statute to further open the lines of communication between patient and physician and reduce overall lawsuits.
- Insurer Reimbursements Can’t Define Standard of Care – The bill will also prohibit the use of insurer payment policies and guidelines from being used to establish the standard of care. Recently-adopted payment guidelines and performance incentives were never intended to be used in legal proceedings to establish the standard of care. Rather, they were simply created as cost-management tools for the federal government and other third-party payers.
- Disaster Care – HB 7 will provide limited qualified protection for physicians and other health care professionals who deliver health care services during a disaster, where an event has occurred that has caused widespread injury, illness, or loss of life. In those limited situations, care is often delivered in a chaotic environment, where staff and resources are stretched. In such situations, the health care providers would receive some limited immunity, as long as the provider’s act or omission does not constitute “reckless disregard” for the consequences on the health or life of the patient.
The legislation’s passage is a big win for Ohio physicians!