Bill seeking to clean up Kentucky’s legal liability climate moves forward

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed legislation dealing with medical malpractice, which seeks to ensure the facts of a case are vetted and available in a court case.

House Bill 429, sponsored by Rep. Chad McCoy, would require plaintiffs in medical malpractice actions to file a certificate of merit, showing the facts of the case have been reviewed and a medical expert has been consulted and arrived at the conclusion the plaintiff’s actions have merit.

The bill comes after the Kentucky Supreme Court overturned the state’s medical review panel law, which passed the General Assembly in 2017. Medical review panels added another layer of accountability by allowing for a panel consisting of three physicians and an independent moderator to determine whether or not the standard of care has been violated, with the findings being admissible in court.

Rep. McCoy told the Senate committee that hospitals, nursing homes, practitioners, the business community and everyone impacted were at the table in discussions crafting this bill, which he said contains safeguards and protects the rights of patients.

House Bill 429 passed through the committee unanimously and was placed in the consent orders for consideration by the full Senate.