HB1474ham002 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Mary E. Flowers

Filed: 3/27/2012

09700HB1474ham002 LRB097 06730 AJO 68126 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1474

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1474, AS AMENDED, by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:

(1) health care professionals serve a vital public interest;

(2) compassion and empathy are vital to the process of health;

(3) the State of Illinois wants to encourage health care professionals to provide compassionate care and protect the public health, safety, and welfare; and

(4) health care professionals should be able to apologize freely without legal penalties.

Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by reenacting and changing Section 8-1901 as follows:

(735 ILCS 5/8-1901) (from Ch. 110, par. 8-1901)

Sec. 8-1901. Admission of liability - Effect.

(a) The providing of, or payment for, medical, surgical, hospital, or rehabilitation services, facilities, or equipment by or on behalf of any person, or the offer to provide, or pay for, any one or more of the foregoing, shall not be construed as an admission of any liability by such person or persons. Testimony, writings, records, reports or information with respect to the foregoing shall not be admissible in evidence as an admission of any liability in any action of any kind in any court or before any commission, administrative agency, or other tribunal in this State, except at the instance of the person or persons so making any such provision, payment or offer.

(b) Any expression of grief, apology, or explanation provided by a health care provider, including, but not limited to, a statement that the health care provider is "sorry" for the outcome to a patient, the patient's family, or the patient's legal representative about an inadequate or unanticipated treatment or care outcome that is provided within 72 hours of when the provider knew or should have known of the potential cause of such outcome shall not be admissible as evidence in any action of any kind in any court or before any tribunal, board, agency, or person. The disclosure of any such information, whether proper, or improper, shall not waive or have any effect upon its confidentiality or inadmissibility. As used in this Section, a "health care provider" is any hospital, nursing home or other facility, or employee or agent thereof, a physician, or other licensed health care professional. Nothing in this Section precludes the discovery or admissibility of any other facts regarding the patient's treatment or outcome as otherwise permitted by law.

(c) The changes to this Section made by Public Act 94-677 and reenacted by this amendatory Act of the 97th 94th General Assembly apply to causes of action accruing on or after the its effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05.)

Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".