General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6492
January Session, 2011 LCO No. 3987
*03987_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
Introduced by:
(JUD)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 6492
January Session, 2011
LCO No. 3987
*03987_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE ADMISSIBILITY OF MEDICAL BILLS IN CIVIL ACTIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsections (a) to (e), inclusive, of section 52-572h of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2011, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date):
(a) For the purposes of this section: (1) "Economic damages" means compensation determined by the trier of fact for pecuniary losses including, but not limited to, the cost of reasonable and necessary medical care, rehabilitative services, custodial care and loss of earnings or earning capacity excluding any noneconomic damages; (2) "noneconomic damages" means compensation determined by the trier of fact for all nonpecuniary losses including, but not limited to, physical pain and suffering and mental and emotional suffering; (3) "recoverable economic damages" means the economic damages reduced by any applicable findings including but not limited to set-offs, credits, comparative negligence, additur and remittitur, and any reduction provided by section 52-225a; (4) "recoverable noneconomic damages" means the noneconomic damages reduced by any applicable findings including, but not limited to, set-offs, credits, comparative negligence, additur and remittitur; and (5) "health care provider" has the meaning set forth in section 52-184b.
(b) In causes of action based on negligence, contributory negligence shall not bar recovery in an action by any person or the person's legal representative to recover damages resulting from personal injury, wrongful death or damage to property if the negligence was not greater than the combined negligence of the person or persons against whom recovery is sought including settled or released persons under subsection (n) of this section. The economic or noneconomic damages allowed shall be diminished in the proportion of the percentage of negligence attributable to the person recovering which percentage shall be determined pursuant to subsection (f) of this section.
(c) In a negligence action to recover damages resulting from personal injury, wrongful death or damage to property occurring on or after October 1, 1987, if the damages are determined to be proximately caused by the negligence of more than one party, each party against whom recovery is allowed shall be liable to the claimant only for such party's proportionate share of the recoverable economic damages and the recoverable noneconomic damages except as provided in subsection (g) of this section.
(d) The proportionate share of damages for which each party is liable is calculated by multiplying the recoverable economic damages and the recoverable noneconomic damages by a fraction in which the numerator is the party's percentage of negligence, which percentage shall be determined pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, and the denominator is the total of the percentages of negligence, which percentages shall be determined pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, to be attributable to all parties whose negligent actions were a proximate cause of the injury, death or damage to property including settled or released persons under subsection (n) of this section. Any percentage of negligence attributable to the claimant shall not be included in the denominator of the fraction.
(e) (1) In any action to which this section is applicable, the instructions to the jury given by the court shall include an explanation of the effect on awards and liabilities of the percentage of negligence found by the jury to be attributable to each party.
(2) In any action to which this section is applicable, evidence that a health care provider accepted an amount less than the total amount of any bill generated by the health care provider, or evidence that an insurer paid less than the total amount of any bill generated by a health care provider, shall not be admissible on the issue of the cost of reasonable and necessary medical care.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2011, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date 52-572h(a) to (e)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2011, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date
52-572h(a) to (e)
Statement of Purpose:
To provide that evidence that a health care provider accepted, or an insurer paid, a reduced amount of reimbursement for medical care shall not be admissible for the purpose of determining economic damages in civil actions.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]