House
File
102
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
102
BY
A.
MEYER
and
FRY
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
noneconomic
damage
awards
against
1
health
care
providers,
and
including
effective
date
and
2
applicability
provisions.
3
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
4
TLSB
1101YH
(5)
90
cm/ns
H.F.
102
Section
1.
Section
147.136A,
subsection
1,
paragraph
b,
1
Code
2023,
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
2
b.
(1)
“Noneconomic
damages”
means
damages
arising
from
3
pain,
suffering,
inconvenience,
physical
impairment,
mental
4
anguish,
emotional
pain
and
suffering,
loss
of
chance,
loss
of
5
consortium,
or
any
other
nonpecuniary
damages.
6
(2)
“Noneconomic
damages”
does
not
include
the
loss
of
7
dependent
care,
including
the
loss
of
child
care,
due
to
the
8
death
of
or
severe
injury
to
a
spouse
or
parent
who
is
the
9
primary
caregiver
of
a
child
under
the
age
of
eighteen
or
a
10
disabled
adult.
Such
damages
shall
be
considered
economic
11
damages.
12
Sec.
2.
Section
147.136A,
subsection
2,
Code
2023,
is
13
amended
to
read
as
follows:
14
2.
The
total
amount
recoverable
in
any
civil
action
for
15
noneconomic
damages
for
personal
injury
or
death,
whether
in
16
tort,
contract,
or
otherwise,
against
a
health
care
provider
17
shall
be
limited
to
two
hundred
fifty
thousand
dollars
for
any
18
occurrence
resulting
in
injury
or
death
of
a
patient
regardless
19
of
the
number
of
plaintiffs,
derivative
claims,
theories
of
20
liability,
or
defendants
in
the
civil
action,
shall
not
exceed
21
two
hundred
fifty
thousand
dollars
unless
the
jury
determines
22
that
there
is
a
substantial
or
permanent
loss
or
impairment
of
23
a
bodily
function,
substantial
disfigurement,
or
death,
which
24
warrants
a
finding
that
imposition
of
such
a
limitation
would
25
deprive
the
plaintiff
of
just
compensation
for
the
injuries
26
sustained
,
in
which
case
the
amount
recoverable
shall
not
27
exceed
one
million
dollars
.
28
Sec.
3.
EFFECTIVE
DATE.
This
Act,
being
deemed
of
immediate
29
importance,
takes
effect
upon
enactment.
30
Sec.
4.
APPLICABILITY.
This
Act
applies
to
causes
of
action
31
accrued
on
or
after
the
effective
date
of
this
Act.
32
EXPLANATION
33
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
34
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
35
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H.F.
102
This
bill
relates
to
noneconomic
damage
awards
against
1
health
care
providers.
2
Current
law
provides
that
in
a
civil
action
brought
against
3
a
health
care
provider,
the
maximum
amount
of
noneconomic
4
damages
that
a
patient
may
recover
for
personal
injury
or
5
death
is
$250,000,
unless
the
jury
determines
that
there
is
6
a
substantial
or
permanent
loss
or
impairment
of
a
bodily
7
function,
substantial
disfigurement,
or
death,
which
warrants
8
a
finding
that
imposition
of
such
a
limitation
would
deprive
9
the
plaintiff
of
just
compensation
for
the
injuries
sustained.
10
In
such
a
case,
there
is
no
cap
on
the
amount
of
noneconomic
11
damages
that
a
patient
may
recover.
The
bill
makes
two
12
changes
to
current
law.
First,
the
bill
establishes
that
the
13
definition
of
nonecomonic
damages
does
not
include
the
loss
of
14
dependent
care
due
to
the
death
of
or
severe
injury
to
a
spouse
15
or
parent
who
is
the
primary
caregiver
of
a
child
or
disabled
16
adult.
Instead,
such
damages
are
economic
damages.
Second,
17
the
bill
provides
a
$1
million
cap
on
noneconomic
damages
when
18
the
jury
finds
that
there
is
substantial
or
permanent
loss
or
19
impairment
of
a
bodily
function,
substantial
disfigurement,
or
20
death
which
warrants
exceeding
the
$250,000
cap.
The
bill
does
21
not
amend
the
current
exception
to
the
cap
for
cases
in
which
22
the
defendant’s
actions
constitute
actual
malice.
23
The
bill
takes
effect
upon
enactment
and
applies
to
causes
of
24
action
accrued
on
or
after
that
date.
25
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1101YH
(5)
90
cm/ns
2/
2