I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2497 
To restore fairness and reliability to the medical justice system and promote 
patient safety by fostering alternatives to current medical tort litigation, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 24, 2007 
Mr. COOPER (for himself and Mr. THORNBERRY) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To restore fairness and reliability to the medical justice sys-
tem and promote patient safety by fostering alternatives 
to current medical tort litigation, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair and Reliable Med-
ical Justice Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to restore fairness and reliability to the 
medical justice system by fostering alternatives to 
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current medical tort litigation that promote early 
disclosure of health care errors and provide prompt, 
fair, and reasonable compensation to patients who 
are injured by health care errors; 
(2) to promote patient safety through disclosure 
of health care errors; and 
(3) to support and assist States in developing 
such alternatives. 
SEC. 3. STATE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS TO EVALUATE 
ALTERNATIVES TO CURRENT MEDICAL TORT 
LITIGATION. 
Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 399R. STATE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS TO EVALU-
ATE ALTERNATIVES TO CURRENT MEDICAL 
TORT LITIGATION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to 
award demonstration grants to States for the develop-
ment, implementation, and evaluation of alternatives to 
current tort litigation for resolving disputes over injuries 
allegedly caused by health care providers or health care 
organizations. In awarding such grants, the Secretary 
shall ensure the diversity of the alternatives so funded. 
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‘‘(b) DURATION.—The Secretary may award up to 10 
grants under subsection (a) and each grant awarded under 
such subsection may not exceed a period of 5 years. 
‘‘(c) CONDITIONS FOR DEMONSTRATION GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS.—Each State desiring a 
grant under subsection (a) shall— 
‘‘(A) develop an alternative to current tort 
litigation for resolving disputes over injuries al-
legedly caused by health care providers or 
health care organizations; and 
‘‘(B) promote a reduction of health care 
errors by allowing for patient safety data re-
lated to disputes resolved under subparagraph 
(A) to be collected and analyzed by organiza-
tions that engage in efforts to improve patient 
safety and the quality of health care. 
‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE TO CURRENT TORT LITIGA-
TION.—Each State desiring a grant under sub-
section (a) shall demonstrate how the proposed al-
ternative described in paragraph (1)(A)— 
‘‘(A) makes the medical liability system 
more reliable through prompt and fair resolu-
tion of disputes; 
‘‘(B) encourages the disclosure of health 
care errors; 
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