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SENATE BILL 176
57
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2025
INTRODUCED BY
Martin Hickey and Pat Woods
AN ACT
RELATING TO MEDICAL MALPRACTICE; REQUIRING PAYMENTS FROM THE
PATIENT'S COMPENSATION FUND TO BE MADE AS EXPENSES ARE
INCURRED; REQUIRING SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE PUNITIVE
DAMAGES AWARDED IN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CLAIMS TO BE AWARDED TO
THE STATE; LIMITING ATTORNEY FEES IN MALPRACTICE CLAIMS;
CREATING THE PATIENT SAFETY IMPROVEMENT FUND; MAKING AN
APPROPRIATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 41-5-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1992,
Chapter 33, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
"41-5-6. LIMITATION OF RECOVERY.--
A. Except for punitive damages and past and future
medical care and related benefits, the aggregate dollar amount
recoverable by all persons for or arising from any injury or
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death to a patient as a result of malpractice shall not exceed
six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) per occurrence for
malpractice claims brought against health care providers if the
injury or death occurred prior to January 1, 2022. In jury
cases, the jury shall not be given any instructions dealing
with this limitation.
B. Except for punitive damages and past and future
medical care and related benefits, the aggregate dollar amount
recoverable by all persons for or arising from any injury or
death to a patient as a result of malpractice shall not exceed
seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000) per occurrence
for malpractice claims against independent providers; provided
that, beginning January 1, 2023, the per occurrence limit on
recovery shall be adjusted annually by the consumer price index
for all urban consumers.
C. The aggregate dollar amount recoverable by all
persons for or arising from any injury or death to a patient as
a result of malpractice, except for punitive damages and past
and future medical care and related benefits, shall not exceed
seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000) for claims
brought against an independent outpatient health care facility
for an injury or death that occurred in calendar years 2022 and
2023.
D. In calendar year 2024 and subsequent years, the
aggregate dollar amount recoverable by all persons for or
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arising from an injury or death to a patient as a result of
malpractice, except for punitive damages and past and future
medical care and related benefits, shall not exceed the
following amounts for claims brought against an independent
outpatient health care facility:
(1) for an injury or death that occurred in
calendar year 2024, one million dollars ($1,000,000) per
occurrence; and
(2) for an injury or death that occurred in
calendar year 2025 and thereafter, the amount provided in
Paragraph (1) of this subsection, adjusted annually by the
prior three-year average consumer price index for all urban
consumers, per occurrence.
E. In calendar year 2022 and subsequent calendar
years, the aggregate dollar amount recoverable by all persons
for or arising from any injury or death to a patient as a
result of malpractice, except for punitive damages and past and
future medical care and related benefits, shall not exceed the
following amounts for claims brought against a hospital or a
hospital-controlled outpatient health care facility:
(1) for an injury or death that occurred in
calendar year 2022, four million dollars ($4,000,000) per
occurrence;
(2) for an injury or death that occurred in
calendar year 2023, four million five hundred thousand dollars
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($4,500,000) per occurrence;
(3) for an injury or death that occurred in
calendar year 2024, five million dollars ($5,000,000) per
occurrence;
(4) for an injury or death that occurred in
calendar year 2025, five million five hundred thousand dollars
($5,500,000) per occurrence;
(5) for an injury or death that occurred in
calendar year 2026, six million dollars ($6,000,000) per
occurrence; and
(6) for an injury or death that occurred in
calendar year 2027 and each calendar year thereafter, the
amount provided in Paragraph (5) of this subsection, adjusted
annually by the consumer price index for all urban consumers,
per occurrence.
F. The aggregate dollar amounts provided in
Subsections B through E of this section include payment to any
person for any number of loss of consortium claims or other
claims per occurrence that arise solely because of the injuries
or death of the patient.
G. In jury cases, the jury shall not be given any
instructions dealing with the limitations provided in this
section.
H. Except as provided in Section 41-5-7 NMSA 1978 ,
the value of accrued medical care and related benefits shall
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not be subject to any limitation.
I. Except for an independent outpatient health care
facility, a health care provider's personal liability is
limited to two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) for
monetary damages and medical care and related benefits as
provided in Section 41-5-7 NMSA 1978. Any amount due from a
judgment or settlement in excess of two hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($250,000) shall be paid from the fund, except as
provided in Subsections J and K of this section.
J. An independent outpatient health care facility's
personal liability is limited to five hundred thousand dollars
($500,000) for monetary damages and medical care and related
benefits as provided in Section 41-5-7 NMSA 1978. Any amount
due from a judgment or settlement in excess of five hundred
thousand dollars ($500,000) shall be paid from the fund.
K. Until January 1, 2027, amounts due from a
judgment or settlement against a hospital or hospital-
controlled outpatient health care facility in excess of seven
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000), excluding past and
future medical expenses, shall be paid by the hospital or
hospital-controlled outpatient health care facility and not by
the fund. Beginning January 1, 2027, amounts due from a
judgment or settlement against a hospital or hospital-
controlled outpatient health care facility shall not be paid
from the fund.
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L. The term "occurrence" shall not be construed in
such a way as to limit recovery to only one maximum statutory
payment if separate acts or omissions cause additional or
enhanced injury or harm as a result of the separate acts or
omissions. A patient who suffers two or more distinct injuries
as a result of two or more different acts or omissions that
occur at different times by one or more health care providers
is entitled to up to the maximum statutory recovery for each
injury."
SECTION 2. Section 41-5-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1992,
Chapter 33, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"41-5-7. MEDICAL EXPENSES AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES.--
A. Awards of past and future medical care and
related benefits shall not be subject to the limitations of
recovery imposed in Section 41-5-6 NMSA 1978.
B. The health care provider shall be liable for all
medical care and related benefit payments until the total
payments made by or on behalf of it for monetary damages and
medical care and related benefits combined equals the health
care provider's personal liability limit as provided in
Subsection I of Section 41-5-6 NMSA 1978, after which the
payments shall be made by the fund.
C. Payments made from the fund for medical care and
related benefits shall be made as expenses are incurred.
[C.] D. Beginning January 1, 2027, any amounts due
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from a judgment or settlement against a hospital or outpatient
health care facility shall not be paid from the fund if the
injury or death occurred after December 31, 2026.
[D.] E. This section shall not be construed to
prevent a patient and a health care provider from entering into
a settlement agreement whereby medical care and related
benefits shall be provided for a limited period of time only or
to a limited degree.
F. In a malpractice claim in which punitive damages
are awarded, the court shall divide the punitive damage award
and enter judgment as follows:
(1) twenty-five percent of the punitive damage
award shall be awarded to the prevailing party; and
(2) seventy-five percent of the punitive
damage award shall be awarded to the state. All amounts
awarded to the state shall be remitted to the state treasurer
to be deposited into the patient safety improvement fund.
[E.] G. A judgment of punitive damages against a
health care provider shall be the personal liability of the
health care provider. Punitive damages shall not be paid from
the fund or from the proceeds of the health care provider's
insurance contract unless the contract expressly provides
coverage. Nothing in Section 41-5-6 NMSA 1978 precludes the
award of punitive damages to a patient. Nothing in this
subsection authorizes the imposition of liability for punitive
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damages where that imposition would not be otherwise authorized
by law."
SECTION 3. A new section of the Medical Malpractice Act
is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] LIMITING ATTORNEY FEES.--An attorney shall
not contract for or collect a contingency fee for representing
a person seeking damages in a malpractice claim in an amount
that exceeds:
A. twenty-five percent of the dollar amount
recovered, if the recovery is pursuant to a settlement
agreement and release of all claims executed by all parties
prior to the start of a trial or an arbitration proceeding; or
B. thirty-three percent of the dollar amount
recovered, if the recovery is pursuant to settlement,
arbitration or judgment that occurs after a trial or
arbitration proceeding begins."
SECTION 4. A new section of the Medical Malpractice Act
is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] PATIENT SAFETY IMPROVEMENT FUND--
CREATED.--
A. The "patient safety improvement fund" is created
in the state treasury and shall be administered by the
department of health. The patient safety improvement fund
consists of distributions, appropriations, gifts, grants,
donations and receipts from punitive damage awards in medical
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malpractice claims. Money in the patient safety improvement
fund shall be invested by the state treasurer, and income from
investment of the patient safety improvement fund shall be
credited to the patient safety improvement fund. Money in the
patient safety improvement fund shall be expended only as
provided in this section.
B. Money in the patient safety improvement fund is
subject to appropriation by the legislature to the department
of health for the purposes of improving patient safety and
health care outcomes. All payments made from the patient
safety improvement fund shall be made by warrant of the
secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers
signed by the secretary of health or the secretary's authorized
representative. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance
remaining in the patient safety improvement fund at the end of
a fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain to the credit
of the patient safety improvement fund."
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