New Amendment Placed On Medical Malpractice Bill

A medical malpractice reform bill moved out of a House subcommittee (today/yesterday), but with a new amendment added to it.

The bill now seems likely to pass the Tennessee House in a different form than the state Senate passed it earlier.

Democratic Leader Rob Briley of Nashville added a provision he says will cut down on theatrics by opposing attorneys over who can be a expert witness about the “local quality of care.”

“It is an arcane rule. It really does not make sense in today’s sophisticated medical climate. It is often used by both sides in a lawsuit to avoid having the real issues heard. So we amended that particular rule today to essentially provide for a statewide standard of care.”

Briley says the new rule will eliminate the hype and gamesmanship that accompanies expert witnesses.

The next step for the bill is the House Judiciary Committee, where Representative Briley is the chair.

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Tennessee Medical Association lobbyist Gary Zelizer says that the “locality rule” had been discussed before, but not added to the Senate version.

“In context with other things, it wouldn’t have been bad…on this, we’re still looking at it, though.”

The bill is HB 1993 Overbey (and 30 other House members, mostly conservatives)/SB 2001 Norris (and 15 other senators). It passed the Senate April 2 with 30 Aye votes.

As presented there, the bill requires previewing of malpractice suits before setting a court date.

Senate Sponsor Mark Norris avoided the “locality” rule. Observers say that final touch on the House bill will probably go to a conference committee between the two Houses.

View our earlier story on the medical malpractice bill.