from consolidating cases involving health care pro-
viders and cases involving products liability claims 
against the manufacturer, distributor, or product sell-
er of such medical product. 
(3) PACKAGING.—In a health care lawsuit for 
harm which is alleged to relate to the adequacy of the 
packaging or labeling of a drug which is required to 
have tamper-resistant packaging under regulations of 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services (includ-
ing labeling regulations related to such packaging), 
the manufacturer or product seller of the drug shall 
not be held liable for punitive damages unless such 
packaging or labeling is found by the trier of fact by 
clear and convincing evidence to be substantially out 
of compliance with such regulations. 
(4) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply 
in any health care lawsuit in which— 
(A) a person, before or after premarket ap-
proval, clearance, or licensure of such medical 
product, knowingly misrepresented to or with-
held from the Food and Drug Administration in-
formation that is required to be submitted under 
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
U.S.C. 301 et seq.) or section 351 of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262) that is mate-
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rial and is causally related to the harm which 
the claimant allegedly suffered; or 
(B) a person made an illegal payment to an 
official of the Food and Drug Administration for 
the purpose of either securing or maintaining 
approval, clearance, or licensure of such medical 
product. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF PAYMENT OF FUTURE DAM-
AGES TO CLAIMANTS IN HEALTH CARE LAW-
SUITS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In any health care lawsuit, if an 
award of future damages, without reduction to present 
value, equaling or exceeding $50,000 is made against a 
party with sufficient insurance or other assets to fund a 
periodic payment of such a judgment, the court shall, at 
the request of any party, enter a judgment ordering that 
the future damages be paid by periodic payments, in ac-
cordance with the Uniform Periodic Payment of Judgments 
Act promulgated by the National Conference of Commis-
sioners on Uniform State Laws. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to all ac-
tions which have not been first set for trial or retrial before 
the effective date of this Act. 
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYSTEM; 
ADR.—The term ‘‘alternative dispute resolution sys-
tem’’ or ‘‘ADR’’ means a system that provides for the 
resolution of health care lawsuits in a manner other 
than through a civil action brought in a State or Fed-
eral court. 
(2) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘claimant’’ means 
any person who brings a health care lawsuit, includ-
ing a person who asserts or claims a right to legal or 
equitable contribution, indemnity, or subrogation, 
arising out of a health care liability claim or action, 
and any person on whose behalf such a claim is as-
serted or such an action is brought, whether deceased, 
incompetent, or a minor. 
(3) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—The term ‘‘com-
pensatory damages’’ means objectively verifiable mon-
etary losses incurred as a result of the provision of, 
use of, or payment for (or failure to provide, use, or 
pay for) health care services or medical products, such 
as past and future medical expenses, loss of past and 
future earnings, cost of obtaining domestic services, 
loss of employment, and loss of business or employ-
ment opportunities, damages for physical and emo-
tional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical im-
pairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of en-
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joyment of life, loss of society and companionship, 
loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic serv-
ice), hedonic damages, injury to reputation, and all 
other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or nature. The 
term ‘‘compensatory damages’’ includes economic 
damages and noneconomic damages, as such terms 
are defined in this section. 
(4) CONTINGENT
FEE.—The term ‘‘contingent 
fee’’ includes all compensation to any person or per-
sons which is payable only if a recovery is effected on 
behalf of one or more claimants. 
(5) ECONOMIC DAMAGES.—The term ‘‘economic 
damages’’ means objectively verifiable monetary losses 
incurred as a result of the provision of, use of, or 
payment for (or failure to provide, use, or pay for) 
health care services or medical products, such as past 
and future medical expenses, loss of past and future 
earnings, cost of obtaining domestic services, loss of 
employment, and loss of business or employment op-
portunities. 
(6) HEALTH CARE LAWSUIT.—The term ‘‘health 
care lawsuit’’ means any health care liability claim 
concerning the provision of health care goods or serv-
ices or any medical product affecting interstate com-
merce, or any health care liability action concerning 
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the provision of health care goods or services or any 
medical 
product 
affecting 
interstate 
commerce, 
brought in a State or Federal court or pursuant to 
an alternative dispute resolution system, against a 
health care provider, a health care organization, or 
the manufacturer, distributor, supplier, marketer, 
promoter, or seller of a medical product, regardless of 
the theory of liability on which the claim is based, or 
the number of claimants, plaintiffs, defendants, or 
other parties, or the number of claims or causes of ac-
tion, in which the claimant alleges a health care li-
ability claim. Such term does not include a claim or 
action which is based on criminal liability; which 
seeks civil fines or penalties paid to Federal, State, or 
local government; or which is grounded in antitrust. 
(7) HEALTH CARE LIABILITY ACTION.—The term 
‘‘health care liability action’’ means a civil action 
brought in a State or Federal court or pursuant to 
an alternative dispute resolution system, against a 
health care provider, a health care organization, or 
the manufacturer, distributor, supplier, marketer, 
promoter, or seller of a medical product, regardless of 
the theory of liability on which the claim is based, or 
the number of plaintiffs, defendants, or other parties, 
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