2002 SPECIAL SESSION (18th)                                                                                       A SB2 2

Amendment No. 2

 

 

 

     Amend section 1, page 2, line 6, by deleting “2” and inserting “3”.

     Amend section 1, page 2, line 15, after “whether” by inserting “or not”.

     Amend section 1, page 2, line 30, 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 34, 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 2, line 40, by deleting “subsection 1” and inserting:

“subsections 1 and 2”.

   Amend section 1, page 2, line 44, 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 2, line 45, 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. 3, page 3, by deleting line 10 and inserting:

“treatment, care or custody, loss of earnings and loss of earning capacity.”.

     Amend sec. 5, pages 3 and 4, by deleting lines 14 through 47 on page 3 and lines 1 through 11 on page 4, and inserting:

     “Sec. 5.  1.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 and except as further limited in subsection 3, in an action for damages for medical malpractice or dental malpractice, the noneconomic damages awarded to each plaintiff from each defendant must not exceed $350,000.

     2.  In an action for damages for medical malpractice or dental malpractice, the limitation on noneconomic damages set forth in subsection 1 does not apply in the following circumstances and types of cases:

     (a) A case in which the conduct of the defendant is determined to constitute gross malpractice; or

     (b) A case in which, following return of a verdict by the jury or a finding of damages in a bench trial, the court determines, by clear and convincing evidence admitted at trial, that an award in excess of $350,000 for noneconomic damages is justified because of exceptional circumstances.

     3.  In an action for damages for medical malpractice or dental malpractice, in the circumstances and types of cases described in subsections 1 and 2, the noneconomic damages awarded to each plaintiff from each defendant must not exceed the amount of money remaining under the professional liability insurance policy limit covering the defendant after subtracting the economic damages awarded to that plaintiff. Irrespective of the number of plaintiffs in the action, in no event may any single defendant be liable to the plaintiffs in the aggregate in excess of the professional liability insurance policy limit covering that defendant.

     4.  This section is not intended to limit the responsibility of any defendant for the total economic damages awarded.

     5.  For the purposes of this section “gross malpractice” means failure to exercise the required degree of care, skill or knowledge which 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 12, before “In” by inserting “1.”.

     Amend sec. 6, page 4, between lines 15 and 16, 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 4, line 34, after “practices” by inserting:

“or has practiced”.

   Amend sec. 9, page 4, by deleting lines 37 and 38 and inserting:

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

   Amend sec. 9, page 5, line 1, after “party” by inserting:

“, his insurer”.

   Amend sec. 10, page 5, lines 6 and 7, by deleting “and 41A.009” and inserting:

“, 41A.009 and 41A.013,”.

   Amend sec. 12, page 6, line 45, after “practices” by inserting:

“or has practiced”.

   Amend sec. 18, page 10, line 25, by deleting “person;” and inserting “occurrence;”.

   Amend sec. 18, page 10, line 26, by deleting “per occurrence.” and inserting:

“in the aggregate.”.

   Amend sec. 25, page 13, line 40, by deleting “person;” and inserting “occurrence;”.

   Amend sec. 25, page 13, line 41, by deleting “per occurrence.” and inserting:

“in the aggregate.”.

   Amend sec. 27, page 13, line 47, by deleting “person;” and inserting “occurrence;”.

   Amend sec. 27, page 13, line 48, by deleting “per occurrence.” and inserting:
“in the aggregate.”.

   Amend sec. 35, page 17, line 1, by deleting “41A.013,”.

   Amend sec. 38, page 17, line 11, by deleting “41A.013” and inserting “41A.016”.

   Amend sec. 38, page 17, line 33, by deleting “41A.013” and inserting “41A.016”.

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

     Amend the preamble of the bill, page 1, by deleting line 7 and inserting:

“of Nevada; and

     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,”.