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Senate stalls medical-malpractice ‘pre-litigation’ bill after extended debate over fees, records and access to court
Summary
Senator Lane Beatty’s bill to tighten pre-litigation panels in medical-malpractice claims drew hours of debate Feb. 11, 1993. Supporters say it will reduce frivolous suits; opponents warn it may limit access to courts, lacks recordkeeping, and imposes a $5,000 cost penalty on unsuccessful plaintiffs.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate spent a lengthy floor session Feb. 11 wrestling with a bill that would tighten rules for pre-litigation screening panels in medical-malpractice claims and impose financial penalties when panels find complaints not meritorious.
Senator Lane Beatty, sponsor of Senate Bill 74, told senators the pre-litigation panels — composed of an attorney, a physician or health-care administrator and a layperson — have reduced litigation and helped screen weak claims. “The bottom line of this is that in all unmeritorious claims that are filed, something like 80% . . . two thirds are found to never have merit,” Beatty said, summarizing committee testimony that most nonmeritorious cases never recover damages.
SB74 would require both sides to submit defined documentation to panels, set explicit time frames for proceedings, and tighten…
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