2002 SPECIAL SESSION (18th)                                                                                 A AB1 R1 4

Amendment No. 4

 

 

 

     Amend section 1, page 2, line 20, by deleting “2” and inserting “3”.

     Amend section 1, page 2, line 29, after “whether” by inserting “or not”.

     Amend section 1, page 2, line 44, by deleting:

“as a result” and inserting:

“, exclusive of interest computed from the date of judgment, to or for the benefit of any claimant arising out”.

     Amend section 1, page 2, line 48, after “2.” by inserting:

“Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 and NRS 41.505:

     (a) A hospital other than a hospital described in paragraph (a) of subsection 1;

     (b) An employee of a hospital described in paragraph (a); and

     (c) A physician or dentist licensed under the provisions of chapter 630, 631 or 633 of NRS who renders care or assistance in a hospital described in paragraph (a), whether or not the care or assistance was rendered gratuitously or for a fee,

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that in good faith renders care or assistance necessitated by a sudden, unexpected situation or occurrence resulting in an acute life-threatening medical condition demanding immediate medical attention, for which the patient enters the hospital through its emergency room, may not be held liable for more than $50,000 in civil damages, exclusive of interest computed from the date of judgment, to or for the benefit of any claimant arising out of any act or omission in rendering that care or assistance if the care or assistance is rendered in good faith and in a manner not amounting to gross negligence or reckless, willful or wanton conduct.

     3.”.

     Amend section 1, page 3, line 5, by deleting “subsection 1” and inserting:

“subsections 1 and 2”.

     Amend section 1, page 3, line 9, by deleting “3.” and inserting:

     “4.  If:

     (a) A physician or dentist  provides follow-up care to a patient to whom he rendered care or assistance pursuant to subsection 1 or 2;

     (b) A medical condition arises during the course of the follow-up care that is directly related to the original medical condition for which care or assistance was rendered pursuant to subsection 1 or 2; and

     (c) The patient files an action for malpractice based on the medical condition that arises during the course of the follow-up care,

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there is a rebuttable presumption that the medical condition was caused by the care or assistance rendered pursuant to subsection 1 or 2 and that the limitation on liability provided by subsection 1 or 2 applies with respect to the medical condition that arises during the course of the follow-up care.

     5.”.

     Amend section 1, page 3, line 10, after “1” by inserting “or 2”.

     Amend the bill as a whole by adding a new section designated sec. 1.5, following section 1, to read as follows:

     “Sec. 1.5.  NRS 41.505 is hereby amended to read as follows:

     41.505  1.  Any physician or registered nurse who in good faith gives instruction or provides supervision to an emergency medical attendant or registered nurse, at the scene of an emergency or while transporting an ill or injured person from the scene of an emergency, is not liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission, not amounting to gross negligence, in giving that instruction or providing that supervision. An emergency medical attendant, registered nurse or licensed practical nurse who obeys an instruction given by a physician, registered nurse or licensed practical nurse and thereby renders emergency care, at the scene of an emergency or while transporting an ill or injured person from the scene of an emergency, is not liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission, not amounting to gross negligence, in rendering that emergency care.

     2.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, any person licensed under the provisions of chapter 630, 632 or 633 of NRS and any person who holds an equivalent license issued by another state, who renders emergency care or assistance in an emergency, gratuitously and in good faith, is not liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission, not amounting to gross negligence, by him in rendering the emergency care or assistance or as a result of any failure to act, not amounting to gross negligence, to provide or arrange for further medical treatment for the injured or ill person. This section does not excuse a physician or nurse from liability for damages resulting from his acts or omissions which occur in a licensed medical facility relative to any person with whom there is a preexisting relationship as a patient.

     3.  Any person licensed under the provisions of chapter 630, 632 or 633 of NRS and any person who holds an equivalent license issued by another state who renders emergency obstetrical care or assistance to a pregnant woman during labor or the delivery of the child is not liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission by him in rendering that care or assistance if:

     (a) The care or assistance is rendered in good faith and in a manner not amounting to gross negligence or reckless, willful or wanton conduct;

     (b) The person has not previously provided prenatal or obstetrical care to the woman; and

     (c) The damages are reasonably related to or primarily caused by a lack of prenatal care received by the woman.

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A licensed medical facility in which such care or assistance is rendered is not liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission by the person in rendering that care or assistance if that person is not liable for any civil damages pursuant to this subsection and the actions of the medical facility relating to the rendering of that care or assistance do not amount to gross negligence or reckless, willful or wanton conduct.

     4.  Any person licensed under the provisions of chapter 630, 632 or 633 of NRS and any person who holds an equivalent license issued by another state who:

     (a) Is retired or otherwise does not practice on a full-time basis; and

     (b) Gratuitously and in good faith, renders medical care within the scope of his license to an indigent person,

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is not liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission by him, not amounting to gross negligence or reckless, willful or wanton conduct, in rendering that care.

     5.  Any person licensed to practice medicine under the provisions of chapter 630 or 633 of NRS or licensed to practice dentistry under the provisions of chapter 631 of NRS who renders care or assistance to a patient at a health care facility of a governmental entity or a nonprofit organization is not liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission by him in rendering that care or assistance if the care or assistance is rendered gratuitously, in good faith and in a manner not amounting to gross negligence or reckless, willful or wanton conduct.

     6. As used in this section:

     (a) “Emergency medical attendant” means a person licensed as an attendant or certified as an emergency medical technician, intermediate emergency medical technician or advanced emergency medical technician pursuant to chapter 450B of NRS.

     (b) “Gratuitously” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 41.500.

     (c) “Health care facility” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 449.800.”.

     Amend sec. 5, page 3, line 28, after “2” by inserting “or 4”.

     Amend sec. 5, page 3, by deleting lines 36 through 42.

     Amend sec. 5, page 3, line 43, by deleting “(g)” and inserting “(a)”.

     Amend sec. 5, page 3, line 45, by deleting “(h)” and inserting “(b)”.

     Amend sec. 5, page 4, line 1, by deleting “In” and inserting:

“Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, in”.

     Amend sec. 5, page 4, line 11, after “4.” by inserting:

“The limitations set forth in subsections 1 and 3 do not apply in an action for damages for medical malpractice or dental malpractice unless the defendant was covered by professional liability insurance at the time the injury occurred in an amount of:

     (a) Not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence; and

     (b) Not less than $3,000,000 in the aggregate.

     5.”.

     Amend sec. 5, page 4, by deleting lines 13 through 28 and inserting:

     “6 .  For the purposes of this section, “gross malpractice” means failure to exercise the required degree of care, skill or knowledge that amounts to:

     (a) A conscious indifference to the consequences which may result from the gross malpractice; and

     (b) A disregard for and indifference to the safety and welfare of the patient.”.

     Amend sec. 6, page 4, line 29, before “In” by inserting “1.”.

     Amend sec. 6, page 4, between lines 32 and 33, by inserting:

     “2.  As used in this section, “medical malpractice” means the failure of a physician, hospital, employee of a hospital, certified nurse midwife or certified registered nurse anesthetist in rendering services to use the reasonable care, skill or knowledge ordinarily used under similar circumstances.”.

     Amend sec. 8, page 5, line 2, after “practices” by inserting:

“or has practiced”.

     Amend sec. 9, page 5, by deleting lines 5 and 6 and inserting:

“malpractice, each plaintiff, each defendant, the representative of each defendant’s insurer and their respective attorneys shall attend and”.

     Amend sec. 9, page 5, line 16, after “party” by inserting:

“, his insurer”.

     Amend sec. 10, page 5, lines 21 and 22, by deleting “and 41A.009” and inserting:

“, 41A.009 and 41A.013”.

     Amend sec. 12, page 7, line 14, after “practices” by inserting:

“or has practiced”.

     Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sections 18 through 50 and inserting:

     “Secs. 18-50.  (Deleted by amendment.)”.

     Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sec. 57 and inserting:

     “Sec. 57.  (Deleted by amendment.)”.

     Amend sec. 58, page 23, line 14, by deleting:

“59 to 64, inclusive,” and inserting:

“62, 63 and 64”.

     Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sections 59 through 61 and inserting:

     “Secs. 59-61.  (Deleted by amendment.)”.

     Amend sec. 69, page 27, line 40, by deleting “41A.013,”.

     Amend sec. 72, page 28, line 2, by deleting “41A.013” and inserting “41A.016”.

     Amend sec. 72, page 28, line 24, by deleting “41A.013” and inserting “41A.016”.

     Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sec. 74 and inserting:

     “Sec. 74.  (Deleted by amendment.)”.

     Amend sec. 75, page 29, by deleting line 9 and inserting:

     “Sec. 75.  This section and sections 1 to 17, inclusive, 51 to 58,”.

     Amend sec. 75, page 29, line 10, by deleting “61” and inserting “62”.

     Amend sec. 75, page 29, by deleting lines 12 and 13.

     Amend the leadlines of repealed sections by deleting the leadline of NRS 41A.013.

     Amend the preamble of the bill, page 2, by deleting lines 1 through 13 and inserting:

     “Whereas, It is recognized that patients who have been injured by medical malpractice must be afforded appropriate access to legal remedies for their injuries and that judicial discretion to render decisions in malpractice actions involving exceptional circumstances must be preserved; now, therefore,”.

     Amend the preamble of the bill, page 2, by deleting lines 1 through 13.