House File 102 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 102
BY A. MEYER and FRY
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to noneconomic damage awards against
2 health care providers, and including effective date and
3 applicability provisions.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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 H.F. 102
1 Section 1. Section 147.136A, subsection 1, paragraph b,
2 Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
3 b. (1) “Noneconomic damages” means damages arising from
4 pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental
5 anguish, emotional pain and suffering, loss of chance, loss of
6 consortium, or any other nonpecuniary damages.
7 (2) “Noneconomic damages” does not include the loss of
8 dependent care, including the loss of child care, due to the
9 death of or severe injury to a spouse or parent who is the
10 primary caregiver of a child under the age of eighteen or a
11 disabled adult. Such damages shall be considered economic
12 damages.
13 Sec. 2. Section 147.136A, subsection 2, Code 2023, is
14 amended to read as follows:
15 2. The total amount recoverable in any civil action for
16 noneconomic damages for personal injury or death, whether in
17 tort, contract, or otherwise, against a health care provider
18 shall be limited to two hundred fifty thousand dollars for any
19 occurrence resulting in injury or death of a patient regardless
20 of the number of plaintiffs, derivative claims, theories of
21 liability, or defendants in the civil action, shall not exceed
22 two hundred fifty thousand dollars unless the jury determines
23 that there is a substantial or permanent loss or impairment of
24 a bodily function, substantial disfigurement, or death, which
25 warrants a finding that imposition of such a limitation would
26 deprive the plaintiff of just compensation for the injuries
27 sustained, in which case the amount recoverable shall not
28 exceed one million dollars.
29 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate
30 importance, takes effect upon enactment.
31 Sec. 4. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to causes of action
32 accrued on or after the effective date of this Act.
33 EXPLANATION
34 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
35 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
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 H.F. 102
1 This bill relates to noneconomic damage awards against
2 health care providers.
3 Current law provides that in a civil action brought against
4 a health care provider, the maximum amount of noneconomic
5 damages that a patient may recover for personal injury or
6 death is $250,000, unless the jury determines that there is
7 a substantial or permanent loss or impairment of a bodily
8 function, substantial disfigurement, or death, which warrants
9 a finding that imposition of such a limitation would deprive
10 the plaintiff of just compensation for the injuries sustained.
11 In such a case, there is no cap on the amount of noneconomic
12 damages that a patient may recover. The bill makes two
13 changes to current law. First, the bill establishes that the
14 definition of nonecomonic damages does not include the loss of
15 dependent care due to the death of or severe injury to a spouse
16 or parent who is the primary caregiver of a child or disabled
17 adult. Instead, such damages are economic damages. Second,
18 the bill provides a $1 million cap on noneconomic damages when
19 the jury finds that there is substantial or permanent loss or
20 impairment of a bodily function, substantial disfigurement, or
21 death which warrants exceeding the $250,000 cap. The bill does
22 not amend the current exception to the cap for cases in which
23 the defendant’s actions constitute actual malice.
24 The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies to causes of
25 action accrued on or after that date.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 147.136A