Medical malpractice claims would face payment and fee limits

A health care provider's personal liability would be limited to $200,000, with amounts above that limit paid from the patient's compensation fund. The provision covers health care providers and malpractice claims involving injury or death to a patient. The fund would pay amounts due from a judgment or settlement above the provider's personal liability limit. Past and future medical care and related benefits would not count toward the general recovery limit. The bill also states that a $600,000 per-occurrence limit would apply to recoverable amounts other than punitive damages and medical care and related benefits. These provisions would apply to malpractice claims arising on or after the act's effective date.

A patient could receive punitive damages only after proving malice, an intent to harm, or reckless disregard beyond a reasonable doubt. The provision covers punitive-damage awards against health care providers, including hospitals and hospital-controlled outpatient facilities. The provider would be personally responsible for punitive damages. The patient's compensation fund and malpractice insurance would not pay punitive damages unless an insurance contract expressly covers them. Punitive damages would be capped at three times the applicable compensatory-damage limit for hospitals and hospital-controlled outpatient facilities, and at that limit for other providers. These rules would apply to malpractice claims arising on or after the act's effective date.

An attorney would be barred from charging more than a set percentage of a malpractice recovery as a contingency fee. The fee limits would cover attorneys representing people seeking damages through a settlement, arbitration award, or judgment. The maximum percentages would be 30% of the first $250,000, 25% of the next portion up to $500,000, 20% of the next portion up to $1 million, and 15% of any amount above $1 million. Amounts recovered from a claim covered by the patient's compensation fund would not count toward the attorney's contingency fee. These rules would apply to malpractice claims arising on or after the act's effective date.