Medical Malpractice Modifications

Restricts plaintiffs from pursuing a healthcare provider's personal income or assets unless the court finds the provider acted willfully and maliciously or failed to maintain required insurance coverage.

Eliminates the requirement for affidavits of merit in medical malpractice actions.

Changes the evidentiary standard for awarding future life care plan costs to require clear and convincing evidence rather than a lower standard.

Prohibits courts from prejudicing defendants by considering evidence of past medical expenses before liability is established and damages are fully adjudicated.

Includes technical changes to Utah Code sections 78B-3-405, 78B-3-410, 78B-3-416, 78B-3-418, 78B-3-423, 78B-3-424, and adds new sections 78B-3-418.5 and 78B-3-423.1.

Strengthened restrictions on pursuing judgments against healthcare providers' personal assets, requiring proof of willful/malicious conduct or lack of adequate insurance coverage.

Added new requirement for plaintiffs to file affidavits of merit within specific timeframes after prelitigation panel reviews conclude.

Created new data collection and reporting requirements for the Division of Professional Licensing to track panel review outcomes and malpractice case statistics.

Established attorney fee provisions allowing respondents to recover fees when claims are found baseless or when plaintiffs fail to cooperate with panel reviews.

Adjusted timing requirements for filing affidavits of merit and panel review requests to provide clearer deadlines for both plaintiffs and providers.

Added specific definitions for court-appointed therapists and domestic cases to clarify when prelitigation panel reviews are exempt from filing requirements.

Made technical corrections to section numbering and formatting throughout the bill text.

Eliminated the requirement for plaintiffs to file affidavits of merit to proceed with malpractice claims

Changed responsibility for calculating inflation adjustments on damage caps from the state treasurer to the Administrative Office of the Courts

Established new data collection and reporting requirements for the Division of Professional Licensing regarding panel reviews and case outcomes

Created new provisions allowing courts to award attorney fees to defendants when claims are found baseless

Clarified that prelitigation review panel recommendations are advisory rather than binding

Set effective date of May 7, 2025 for the new provisions

Repealed the affidavit of merit requirement that previously mandated plaintiffs obtain a signed statement from a health care provider confirming the merit of their malpractice claim before proceeding to court.

Established new data collection and reporting requirements for the Division of Professional Licensing to compile statistics on panel reviews, case outcomes, and damages awarded.

Changed prelitigation review panel recommendations from binding to advisory, giving panels less authority to determine case merit and allowing plaintiffs to proceed to court regardless of panel findings.

Created new provisions allowing courts to award attorney fees to defendants when plaintiffs file baseless affidavits or proceed to litigation without obtaining required documentation.

Added new protections preventing plaintiffs from pursuing judgments against individual health care providers' personal income or assets unless the provider's conduct was willful, malicious, intentionally fraudulent, or the provider failed to maintain at least $1,000,000 in malpractice insurance.

Amended Section 78B-3-405 to clarify that courts cannot prejudice defendants by considering evidence of past medical expenses before liability is established and noneconomic damages are adjudicated.

Added Section 78B-3-405.5 establishing new rules for economic damages and judgments against personal assets, effective May 7, 2025.

Removed the requirement that plaintiffs submit an affidavit of merit before filing malpractice claims.

Changed the entity responsible for adjusting inflation limits on noneconomic damages from the state treasurer to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Added new data collection and reporting requirements for the Division of Professional Licensing regarding prelitigation panel reviews.

Modified rules about when healthcare facilities can be held liable for malpractice committed by their employees.

Added provisions allowing plaintiffs to be held liable for defendants' attorney fees if claims are deemed baseless.

Modified how punitive damages are divided between the state and injured parties, maintaining the 50/50 split for amounts over $50,000.

Added new section defining economic damages calculation based on actual payments rather than billed amounts.