Bill > S516

This bill aims to improve patient care access by making several changes to Massachusetts law. It clarifies that offering expert testimony in malpractice cases against a physician constitutes the practice of medicine. Insurers providing coverage to physicians will be required to report annually to the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety and Medical Error Reduction (a center established to reduce medical errors and improve patient safety) on the top categories of losses, claims, or damage actions, as well as the top defendant specialties by cost and frequency, to help develop evidence-based best practices. The bill also modifies provisions related to when damages are considered replaceable or indemnifiable. Furthermore, it mandates that expert witnesses in malpractice cases must be board-certified in the same specialty as the defendant physician. For future damages exceeding $50,000 in malpractice cases, the court may order periodic payments instead of a lump sum, with provisions for security and modification in case of the judgment creditor's death, and the defendant's failure to pay can result in contempt of court. The bill also establishes a new interest rate for judgments in malpractice cases, tied to a federal Treasury yield, and clarifies that in malpractice actions, each defendant's liability for damages will be several (individual) and not joint, meaning each defendant is only responsible for their allocated percentage of fault.