This bill addresses malpractice actions against health care providers. This bill: - with respect to a medical malpractice action:removes the requirement that a claimant submit an affidavit of merit;establishes data collection and reporting requirements for the Department of Occupational Licensing and the Administrative Office of the Courts;addresses the calculation of noneconomic losses;limits, subject to state constitutional protection, the combined amount to which a claimant is potentially entitled for economic and noneconomic losses;obligates a plaintiff, in certain circumstances, to pay the reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred by a defendant;precludes liability from attaching, in certain circumstances, to a medical facility, clinic, or organization;amends the required mental state a health care provider must have, in order to subject the health care provider to punitive damages; andamends the process for prelitigation review panels and prelitigation panel reviews; and - makes technical changes.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 78B-3-405, 78B-3-410, 78B-3-412, 78B-3-416, 78B-3-418, 78B-3-424, 78B-8-201