II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1734 

To reduce the cost of health care and ensure patient access to doctors 

by ending excessive malpractice verdicts through common-sense lawsuit 

reform. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 

Mr. KYL (for himself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To reduce the cost of health care and ensure patient access 

to doctors by ending excessive malpractice verdicts 

through common-sense lawsuit reform. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Medical Liability Re5 form Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1734 IS

1 (1) Medical liability laws create a significant 

2 portion of the overall costs of health care, and con3 tribute to Americans’ lack of access to health care. 

4 (2) A 2006 study by PriceWaterhouse Coopers 

5 found that medical liability laws and the practice of 

6 defensive medicine contribute to 10 percent of all 

7 health care costs. 

8 (3) The non-partisan Congressional Budget Of9 fice estimated that the Federal Government could di10 rectly save about $5,600,000,000 by enacting certain 

11 medical liability reforms, and that total health care 

12 spending could be reduced even further if these re13 forms reduced the practice of defensive medicine. 

14 (4) According to economists Daniel P. Kessler 

15 and Mark B. McClellan, defensive medicine alone 

16 costs Americans more than $100,000,000,000 every 

17 year. 

18 (5) Medicaid and Medicare costs must be low19 ered to keep these crucial programs solvent. 

20 (6) In part because of the costs of medical li21 ability, 40 percent of physicians refuse to see new 

22 Medicaid patients. 

23 (7) Reform of the medical liability laws has 

24 been proven to increase access to doctors and spe25 cialists while lowering health care costs. 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1734 IS

1 (8) In 2003, Texas adopted medical liability re2 forms that placed a cap on non-economic damages in 

3 medical liability cases and combated junk science by 

4 raising the standards of qualification for expert wit5 nesses. 

6 (9) After Texas passed this reform, premiums 

7 for medical malpractice liability insurance fell by 27 

8 percent on average, and in some cases, by more than 

9 50 percent. 

10 (10) Because the Texas reforms led to more af11 fordable health insurance premiums, more than 

12 400,000 additional Texans are covered by health in13 surance than if reform had not passed. 

14 (11) Because of the Texas reforms, Texas saw 

15 an overall growth rate of 31 percent in the number 

16 of new physicians. 

17 (12) The growth rate in the number of physi18 cians in Texas was particularly pronounced in long19 underserved geographic areas such as the rural and 

20 border regions, and in key specialties such as obstet21 rics, neurosurgery, and orthopedic surgery. 

22 (13) Arizona adopted medical liability reforms 

23 that deterred frivolous litigation by requiring expert 

24 opinion testimony at the threshold of medical liabilVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:13 Oct 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1734.IS S1734

wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1734 IS

1 ity suits and by raising the standards of qualifica2 tion for expert witnesses. 

3 (14) The health care and insurance industries 

4 are industries affecting interstate commerce and the 

5 health care liability litigation systems existing 

6 throughout the United States are activities that af7 fect interstate commerce by contributing to the high 

8 costs of health care and premiums for health care li9 ability insurance purchased by health care system 

10 providers. 

11 (15) The health care liability litigation systems 

12 existing throughout the United States have a signifi13 cant effect on the amount, distribution, and use of 

14 Federal funds because of— 

15 (A) the large number of individuals who 

16 receive health care benefits under programs op17 erated or financed by the Federal Government; 

18 (B) the large number of individuals who 

19 benefit because of the exclusion from Federal 

20 taxes of the amounts spent to provide them 

21 with health insurance benefits; and 

22 (C) the large number of health care pro23 viders who provide items or services for which 

24 the Federal Government makes payments. 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1734 IS

1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYS4 TEM; ADR.—The term ‘‘alternative dispute resolution 

5 system’’ or ‘‘ADR’’ means a system that provides 

6 for the resolution of health care lawsuits in a man7 ner other than through a civil action brought in a 

8 State or Federal court. 

9 (2) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘claimant’’ means 

10 any person who brings a health care lawsuit, includ11 ing a person who asserts or claims a right to legal 

12 or equitable contribution, indemnity or subrogation, 

13 arising out of a health care liability claim or action, 

14 and any person on whose behalf such a claim is as15 serted or such an action is brought, whether de16 ceased, incompetent, or a minor. 

17 (3) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—The term 

18 ‘‘compensatory damages’’ means objectively 

19 verifiable monetary losses incurred as a result of the 

20 provision of, use of, or payment for (or failure to 

21 provide, use, or pay for) health care services or med22 ical products, such as past and future medical ex23 penses, loss of past and future earnings, cost of ob24 taining domestic services, loss of employment, and 

25 loss of business or employment opportunities, dam26 ages for physical and emotional pain, suffering, inVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:13 Oct 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1734.IS S1734

wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1734 IS

1 convenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, 

2 disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of soci3 ety and companionship, loss of consortium (other 

4 than loss of domestic service), hedonic damages, in5 jury to reputation, and all other nonpecuniary losses 

6 of any kind or nature. Such term includes economic 

7 damages and noneconomic damages, as such terms 

8 are defined in this section. 

9 (4) ECONOMIC DAMAGES.—The term ‘‘economic 

10 damages’’ means objectively verifiable monetary 

11 losses incurred as a result of the provision of, use 

12 of, or payment for (or failure to provide, use, or pay 

13 for) health care services or medical products, such as 

14 past and future medical expenses, loss of past and 

15 future earnings, cost of obtaining domestic services, 

16 loss of employment, and loss of business or employ17 ment opportunities. 

18 (5) HEALTH CARE GOODS OR SERVICES.—The 

19 term ‘‘health care goods or services’’ means any 

20 goods or services provided by a health care institu21 tion, provider, or by any individual working under 

22 the supervision of a health care provider, that relates 

23 to the diagnosis, prevention, care, or treatment of 

24 any human disease or impairment, or the assessment 

25 of the health of human beings. 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1734 IS

1 (6) HEALTH CARE INSTITUTION.—The term 

2 ‘‘health care institution’’ means any entity licensed 

3 under Federal or State law to provide health care 

4 services (including but not limited to ambulatory 

5 surgical centers, assisted living facilities, emergency 

6 medical services providers, hospices, hospitals and 

7 hospital systems, nursing homes, or other entities li8 censed to provide such services). 

9 (7) HEALTH CARE LAWSUIT.—The term 

10 ‘‘health care lawsuit’’ means any health care liability 

11 claim concerning the provision of health care goods 

12 or services affecting interstate commerce, or any 

13 health care liability action concerning the provision 

14 of (or the failure to provide) health care goods or 

15 services affecting interstate commerce, brought in a 

16 State or Federal court or pursuant to an alternative 

17 dispute resolution system, against a health care pro18 vider or a health care institution regardless of the 

19 theory of liability on which the claim is based, or the 

20 number of claimants, plaintiffs, defendants, or other 

21 parties, or the number of claims or causes of action, 

22 in which the claimant alleges a health care liability 

23 claim. 

24 (8) HEALTH CARE LIABILITY ACTION.—The 

25 term ‘‘health care liability action’’ means a civil acVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:13 Oct 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1734.IS S1734

wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1734 IS

1 tion brought in a State or Federal Court or pursu2 ant to an alternative dispute resolution system, 

3 against a health care provider or a health care insti4 tution regardless of the theory of liability on which 

5 the claim is based, or the number of plaintiffs, de6 fendants, or other parties, or the number of causes 

7 of action, in which the claimant alleges a health care 

8 liability claim. 

9 (9) HEALTH CARE LIABILITY CLAIM.—The 

10 term ‘‘health care liability claim’’ means a demand 

11 by any person, whether or not pursuant to ADR, 

12 against a health care provider or health care institu13 tion, including third-party claims, cross-claims, 

14 counter-claims, or contribution claims, which are 

15 based upon the provision of, use of, or payment for 

16 (or the failure to provide, use, or pay for) health 

17 care services, regardless of the theory of liability on 

18 which the claim is based, or the number of plaintiffs, 

19 defendants, or other parties, or the number of 

20 causes of action. 

21 (10) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘health care 

23 provider’’ means any person (including but not 

24 limited to a physician (as defined by section 

25 1861(r) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1734 IS

1 1395x(r)), registered nurse, dentist, podiatrist, 

2 pharmacist, chiropractor, or optometrist) re3 quired by State or Federal law to be licensed, 

4 registered, or certified to provide health care 

5 services, and being either so licensed, reg6 istered, or certified, or exempted from such re7 quirement by other statute or regulation. 

8 (B) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PROFES9 SIONAL ASSOCIATIONS.—For purposes of this 

10 Act, a professional association that is organized 

11 under State law by an individual physician or 

12 group of physicians, a partnership or limited li13 ability partnership formed by a group of physi14 cians, a nonprofit health corporation certified 

15 under State law, or a company formed by a 

16 group of physicians under State law shall be 

17 treated as a health care provider under sub18 paragraph (A). 

19 (11) NONECONOMIC DAMAGES.—The term 

20 ‘‘noneconomic damages’’ means damages for phys21 ical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, 

22 physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, 

23 loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and compan24 ionship, loss of consortium (other than loss of do25 mestic service), hedonic damages, injury to reputaVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:13 Oct 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1734.IS S1734

wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1734 IS

1 tion, and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind 

2 or nature. 

3 (12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

4 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

5 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 

6 Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Is7 lands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and 

8 any other territory or possession of the United 

9 States, or any political subdivision thereof. 

10 SEC. 4. COMPENSATING PATIENT INJURY. 

11 (a) UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF DAMAGES FOR ACTUAL

12 ECONOMIC LOSSES IN HEALTH CARE LAWSUITS.—In any 

13 health care lawsuit, nothing in this Act shall limit the re14 covery by a claimant of the full amount of the available 

15 economic damages, notwithstanding the limitation con16 tained in subsection (b). 

17 (b) ADDITIONAL NONECONOMIC DAMAGES.— 

18 (1) HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.—In any health 

19 care lawsuit where final judgment is rendered 

20 against a health care provider, the amount of non21 economic damages recovered from the provider, if 

22 otherwise available under applicable Federal or State 

23 law, may be as much as $250,000, regardless of the 

24 number of parties other than a health care institu25 tion against whom the action is brought or the numVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:13 Oct 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1734.IS S1734

wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1734 IS

1 ber of separate claims or actions brought with re2 spect to the same occurrence. 

3 (2) HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS.— 

4 (A) SINGLE INSTITUTION.—In any health 

5 care lawsuit where final judgment is rendered 

6 against a single health care institution, the 

7 amount of noneconomic damages recovered 

8 from the institution, if otherwise available 

9 under applicable Federal or State law, may be 

10 as much as $250,000, regardless of the number 

11 of parties against whom the action is brought 

12 or the number of separate claims or actions 

13 brought with respect to the same occurrence. 

14 (B) MULTIPLE INSTITUTIONS.—In any 

15 health care lawsuit where final judgment is ren16 dered against more than one health care insti17 tution, the amount of noneconomic damages re18 covered from each institution, if otherwise avail19 able under applicable Federal or State law, may 

20 be as much as $250,000, regardless of the 

21 number of parties against whom the action is 

22 brought or the number of separate claims or ac23 tions brought with respect to the same occur24 rence, except that the total amount recovered 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1734 IS

1 from all such institutions in such lawsuit shall 

2 not exceed $500,000. 

3 (c) NO DISCOUNT OF AWARD FOR NONECONOMIC

4 DAMAGES.—In any health care lawsuit— 

5 (1) an award for future noneconomic damages 

6 shall not be discounted to present value; 

7 (2) the jury shall not be informed about the 

8 maximum award for noneconomic damages under 

9 subsection (b); 

10 (3) an award for noneconomic damages in ex11 cess of the limitations provided for in subsection (b) 

12 shall be reduced either before the entry of judgment, 

13 or by amendment of the judgment after entry of 

14 judgment, and such reduction shall be made before 

15 accounting for any other reduction in damages re16 quired by law; and 

17 (4) if separate awards are rendered for past 

18 and future noneconomic damages and the combined 

19 awards exceed the limitations described in subsection 

20 (b), the future noneconomic damages shall be re21 duced first. 

22 (d) FAIR SHARE RULE.—In any health care lawsuit, 

23 each party shall be liable for that party’s several share 

24 of any damages only and not for the share of any other 

25 person. Each party shall be liable only for the amount of 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1734 IS

1 damages allocated to such party in direct proportion to 

2 such party’s percentage of responsibility. A separate judg3 ment shall be rendered against each such party for the 

4 amount allocated to such party. For purposes of this sec5 tion, the trier of fact shall determine the proportion of 

6 responsibility of each party for the claimant’s harm. 

7 SEC. 5. ENSURING RELIABLE EXPERT TESTIMONY. 

8 (a) EXPERT WITNESS QUALIFICATIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any health care lawsuit, 

10 an individual shall not give expert testimony on the 

11 appropriate standard of practice or care involved un12 less the individual is licensed as a health profes13 sional in 1 or more States and the individual meets 

14 the following criteria: 

15 (A) If the party against whom or on whose 

16 behalf the testimony is to be offered is or 

17 claims to be a specialist, the expert witness 

18 shall specialize at the time of the occurrence 

19 that is the basis for the lawsuit in the same 

20 specialty or claimed specialty as the party 

21 against whom or on whose behalf the testimony 

22 is to be offered. If the party against whom or 

23 on whose behalf the testimony is to be offered 

24 is or claims to be a specialist who is board cer25 tified, the expert witness shall be a specialist 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1734 IS

1 who is board certified in that specialty or 

2 claimed specialty. 

3 (B) During the 1-year period immediately 

4 preceding the occurrence of the action that gave 

5 rise to the lawsuit, the expert witness shall have 

6 devoted a majority of the individual’s profes7 sional time to one or more of the following: 

8 (i) The active clinical practice of the 

9 same health profession as the defendant 

10 and, if the defendant is or claims to be a 

11 specialist, in the same specialty or claimed 

12 specialty. 

13 (ii) The instruction of students in an 

14 accredited health professional school or ac15 credited residency or clinical research pro16 gram in the same health profession as the 

17 defendant and, if the defendant is or 

18 claims to be a specialist, in an accredited 

19 health professional school or accredited 

20 residency or clinical research program in 

21 the same specialty or claimed specialty. 

22 (C) If the defendant is a general practi23 tioner, the expert witness shall have devoted a 

24 majority of the witness’s professional time in 

25 the 1-year period preceding the occurrence of 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1734 IS

1 the action giving rise to the lawsuit to one or 

2 more of the following: 

3 (i) Active clinical practice as a general 

4 practitioner. 

5 (ii) Instruction of students in an ac6 credited health professional school or ac7 credited residency or clinical research pro8 gram in the same health profession as the 

9 defendant. 

10 (2) HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS.—If the de11 fendant in a health care lawsuit is a health care in12 stitution that employs a health professional against 

13 whom or on whose behalf the testimony is offered, 

14 the provisions of paragraph (1) apply as if the 

15 health professional were the party or defendant 

16 against whom or on whose behalf the testimony is 

17 offered. 

18 (3) POWER OF COURT.—Nothing in this sub19 section shall limit the power of the trial court in a 

20 health care lawsuit to disqualify an expert witness 

21 on grounds other than the qualifications set forth 

22 under this subsection. 

23 (4) LIMITATION.—An expert witness in a health 

24 care lawsuit shall not be permitted to testify if the 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 1734 IS

1 fee of the witness is in any way contingent on the 

2 outcome of the lawsuit. 

3 (b) PRELIMINARY EXPERT OPINION TESTIMONY

4 AGAINST HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS.— 

5 (1) CERTIFICATION.—In any health care law6 suit, the claimant (or its attorney) shall certify in a 

7 written statement that is filed and served with the 

8 claim whether or not expert opinion testimony is 

9 necessary to prove the health care professional’s 

10 standard of care or liability for the claim. 

11 (2) PRELIMINARY EXPERT OPINION.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the claimant in any 

13 health care lawsuit certifies that expert opinion 

14 testimony is necessary as required under para15 graph (1), the claimant shall serve a prelimi16 nary expert opinion affidavit. The claimant may 

17 provide affidavits from as many experts as the 

18 claimant determines to be necessary. 

19 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A preliminary ex20 pert opinion affidavit under subparagraph (A) 

21 shall contain at least the following information: 

22 (i) The expert’s qualifications to ex23 press an opinion on the health care profes24 sionals standard of care or liability for the 

25 claim. 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 1734 IS

1 (ii) The factual basis for each claim 

2 against a health care professional. 

3 (iii) The health care professional’s 

4 acts, errors or omissions that the expert 

5 considers to be a violation of the applicable 

6 standard of care resulting in liability. 

7 (iv) The manner in which the health 

8 care professional’s acts, errors, or omis9 sions caused or contributed to the damages 

10 or other relief sought by the claimant. 

11 (3) DISPUTES.—If the claimant in any health 

12 care lawsuit or its attorney certifies that expert tes13 timony is not required for the claim and the defend14 ant disputes that certification in good faith, the de15 fendant may apply by motion to the court for an 

16 order requiring the claimant to obtain and serve a 

17 preliminary expert opinion affidavit under this sub18 section, and such motion may be granted by the 

19 court. 

20 (4) DISMISSALS.—The court in a health care 

21 lawsuit, on its own motion or the motion of the de22 fendant, shall dismiss the claim against the defend23 ant without prejudice if the claimant fails to file and 

24 serve a preliminary expert opinion affidavit after the 

25 claimant (or its attorney) has certified that an affiVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:13 Oct 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1734.IS S1734

wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 1734 IS

1 davit is necessary or the court has ordered the 

2 claimant to file and serve an affidavit. 

3 SEC. 6. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

4 (a) GENERAL VACCINE INJURY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that title XXI 

6 of the Public Health Service Act establishes a Fed7 eral rule of law applicable to a civil action brought 

8 for a vaccine-related injury or death— 

9 (A) this Act shall not affect the application 

10 of the rule of law to such an action; and 

11 (B) any rule of law prescribed by this Act 

12 in conflict with a rule of law of such title XXI 

13 shall not apply to such action. 

14 (2) EXCEPTION.—If there is an aspect of a civil 

15 action brought for a vaccine-related injury or death 

16 to which a Federal rule of law under title XXI of 

17 the Public Health Service Act does not apply, then 

18 this Act or otherwise applicable law (as determined 

19 under this Act) will apply to such aspect of such ac20 tion. 

21 (b) SMALLPOX VACCINE INJURY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that part C of 

23 title II of the Public Health Service Act establishes 

24 a Federal rule of law applicable to a civil action 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 1734 IS

1 brought for a smallpox vaccine-related injury or 

2 death— 

3 (A) this Act shall not affect the application 

4 of the rule of law to such an action; and 

5 (B) any rule of law prescribed by this Act 

6 in conflict with a rule of law of such part C 

7 shall not apply to such action. 

8 (2) EXCEPTION.—If there is an aspect of a civil 

9 action brought for a smallpox vaccine-related injury 

10 or death to which a Federal rule of law under part 

11 C of title II of the Public Health Service Act does 

12 not apply, then this Act or otherwise applicable law 

13 (as determined under this Act) will apply to such as14 pect of such action. 

15 (c) OTHER FEDERAL LAW.—Except as provided in 

16 this section, nothing in this Act shall be deemed to affect 

17 any defense available, or any limitation on liability that 

18 applies to, a defendant in a health care lawsuit or action 

19 under any other provision of Federal law. 

20 SEC. 7. STATE FLEXIBILITY AND PROTECTION OF STATES’ 

21 RIGHTS. 

22 (a) HEALTH CARE LAWSUITS.—The provisions gov23 erning health care lawsuits set forth in this Act shall pre24 empt, subject to subsections (b) and (c), State law to the 

25 extent that State law prevents the application of any proVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:13 Oct 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1734.IS S1734

wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 1734 IS

1 visions of law established by or under this Act. The provi2 sions governing health care lawsuits set forth in this Act 

3 supersede chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, to 

4 the extent that such chapter provides for a greater amount 

5 of damages than provided in this Act. 

6 (b) PREEMPTION OF CERTAIN STATE LAWS.—No 

7 provision of this Act shall be construed to preempt any 

8 State law (whether effective before, on, or after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act) that specifies a particular 

10 monetary amount of compensatory or punitive damages 

11 (or the total amount of damages) that may be awarded 

12 in a health care lawsuit, regardless of whether such mone13 tary amount is greater or lesser than is provided for under 

14 this Act, notwithstanding section 4(a). 

15 (c) PROTECTION OF STATE’S RIGHTS AND OTHER

16 LAWS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any issue that is not gov18 erned by a provision of law established by or under 

19 this Act (including the State standards of neg20 ligence) shall be governed by otherwise applicable 

21 Federal or State law. 

22 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

23 Act shall be construed to— 

24 (A) preempt or supersede any Federal or 

25 State law that imposes greater procedural or 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 1734 IS

1 substantive protections for a health care pro2 vider or health care institution from liability, 

3 loss, or damages than those provided by this 

4 Act; 

5 (B) preempt or supercede any State law 

6 that permits and provides for the enforcement 

7 of any arbitration agreement related to a health 

8 care liability claim whether enacted prior to or 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act; 

10 (C) create a cause of action that is not 

11 otherwise available under Federal or State law; 

12 or 

13 (D) affect the scope of preemption of any 

14 other Federal law. 

15 SEC. 8. APPLICABILITY; EFFECTIVE DATE. 

16 This Act shall apply to any health care lawsuit 

17 brought in a Federal or State court, or subject to an alter18 native dispute resolution system, that is initiated on or 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS