Rep. Mary E. Flowers

Filed: 3/27/2012

 

 


 

 


 
09700HB1474ham002LRB097 06730 AJO 68126 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1474

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1474, AS AMENDED, by
3replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4following:
 
5    "Section 1. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
6        (1) health care professionals serve a vital public
7    interest;
8        (2) compassion and empathy are vital to the process of
9    health;
10        (3) the State of Illinois wants to encourage health
11    care professionals to provide compassionate care and
12    protect the public health, safety, and welfare; and
13        (4) health care professionals should be able to
14    apologize freely without legal penalties.
 
15    Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
16reenacting and changing Section 8-1901 as follows:
 

 

 

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1    (735 ILCS 5/8-1901)  (from Ch. 110, par. 8-1901)
2    Sec. 8-1901. Admission of liability - Effect.
3    (a) The providing of, or payment for, medical, surgical,
4hospital, or rehabilitation services, facilities, or equipment
5by or on behalf of any person, or the offer to provide, or pay
6for, any one or more of the foregoing, shall not be construed
7as an admission of any liability by such person or persons.
8Testimony, writings, records, reports or information with
9respect to the foregoing shall not be admissible in evidence as
10an admission of any liability in any action of any kind in any
11court or before any commission, administrative agency, or other
12tribunal in this State, except at the instance of the person or
13persons so making any such provision, payment or offer.
14    (b) Any expression of grief, apology, or explanation
15provided by a health care provider, including, but not limited
16to, a statement that the health care provider is "sorry" for
17the outcome to a patient, the patient's family, or the
18patient's legal representative about an inadequate or
19unanticipated treatment or care outcome that is provided within
2072 hours of when the provider knew or should have known of the
21potential cause of such outcome shall not be admissible as
22evidence in any action of any kind in any court or before any
23tribunal, board, agency, or person. The disclosure of any such
24information, whether proper, or improper, shall not waive or
25have any effect upon its confidentiality or inadmissibility. As

 

 

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1used in this Section, a "health care provider" is any hospital,
2nursing home or other facility, or employee or agent thereof, a
3physician, or other licensed health care professional. Nothing
4in this Section precludes the discovery or admissibility of any
5other facts regarding the patient's treatment or outcome as
6otherwise permitted by law.
7    (c) The changes to this Section made by Public Act 94-677
8and reenacted by this amendatory Act of the 97th 94th General
9Assembly apply to causes of action accruing on or after the its
10effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General
11Assembly.
12(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05.)
 
13    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
14severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16becoming law.".