An Act To Prohibit Hospitals from Ch~ fer TreatDIaIt To Correct Medical Mistakes
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 2044
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: CROCKETI, BRAUTIGAM, BARTLETT, BLISS, CANAVAN, CONOVER, FAIRCLOTH, HASKELL, PERRY, PINGREE, TREAT
Amends: 22 MRSA §1721

Legislative Document 
No. 2044 
lLP.1428 
House of Representatives, December 21,2007 
An Act To Prohibit Hospitals from Ch~ 
fer TreatDIaIt To 
Correct Medical Mistakes 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the C1erk of the House on December 19,2007. Referred to the Committee on 
Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 401. 
Presented by Representative CROCKETI of Augusta 
IT/~frJ.~ 
MILliCENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representative BRAUTIGAM of Falmouth, Senator BARTLETT of 
Cumberland and Representatives: BLISS of South Portland, CANAVAN of Waterville, 
CONOVER of Oakland, FAIRCLOTH of Bangor, HASKELL of Portland, PERRY of Calais, 
PINGREE of North Haven, TREAT of Hallowell. 
I"rWlted on =ycJed paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1721 is enacted to read, 
§1721. Prohibition on charging for health care facility mistakes 
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following tenns have the following meanings. 
A. 
"Health care facility" means a hospital or ambulatory surgical center licensed 
under chapter 405. 
B. "Mistake or preventable adverse eventn includes but is not limited to: 
(1) Surgery perfonned on the wrong body part: 
(2) Surgery perfonned on the wrong patient: 
(3) The wrong surgical procedure perfonned on a patient: 
(4) Retention of a foreign object in a patient after surgery or another procedure: 
(5) Intraoperative or immediately postoperative death of a patient classified as a 
nonnal healthy patient under guidelines published by a national association of 
anesthesiologists: 
(6) Patient death or serious disability associated with the use of contaminated 
drugs, devices or biologics provided by a hospital or ambulatory surgical center; 
(7) Patient death or serious disability associated with the use or function of a 
device in patient care in which the device is used for functions other than as 
intended: 
(8) 
Patient death or serious disability associated with an intravascular air 
embolism that occurs while being cared for in a health care facility; 
(9) An infant's being discharged to the wrong person; 
(10) Patient death or serious disability associated with a patient's elopement for 
more than 4 hours; 
(11) Patient suicide or attempted suicide resulting in serious disability while 
being cared for in a health care facility; 
(12) Patient death or serious disability associated with a medication error such as 
an error involving the wrong drug, wrong dose, wrong patient, wrong time, 
wrong rate, wrong preparation or wrong route of administration; 
(13) Patient death or serious disability associated with a hemolytic reaction due 
to the administration of incompatible blood or blood products; 
(14) Maternal death or serious disability associated with labor or delivery in a 
low-risk pregnancy while being cared for in a health care facility; 
(15) Patient death or serious disability associated with hypoglycemia, the onset of 
which occurs while the patient is being cared for in a health care facility; 
Page I - 123LR2917(OI)-1 
I 
(16) 
Death or serious disability associated with failure to identify and treat 
hyperbilirubinemia in neonates; 
(17) Stage 3 or 4 pressure ulcers acquired after admission to a health care facility; 
(18) Patient death or serious disability due to spinal manipulative therapy; 
(19) Patient death or serious disability associated with an electric shock while 
being cared for in a health care facility; 
(20) Any incident in which a line designated for oxygen or other gas to be 
delivered to a patient contains the wrong gas or is contaminated by toxic 
substances; 
(21) Patient death or serious disability associated with a burn incurred from any 
II 
source while being cared for in a health care facility; 
(22) Patient death associated with a fall while being cared for in a health care 
facility; 
(23) Patient death or serious disability associated with the use of restraints or 
bedrails while being cared for in a health care facility; 
(24) Any instance of care ordered by or provided by someone impersonating a 
physician, nurse, pharmacist or other licensed health care provider; 
(25) Abduction of a patient of any age; 
(26) Sexual assault of a patient within or on the grounds of a health care facility; 
and 
(27) Death or significant injury of a patient or staff member resuJting from a 
physical assault that occurs within or on the grounds of a health care facility. 
2. Prohibitioll. A health care facility is prohibited from charging a patient or the 
patient's insurer for a mistake or preventable adverse event committed while the patient is 
in the care of that health care facility or for the care provided by that health care faci lity 
to correct the mistake OT preventable adverse event. 
SUMMARY 
This bill prohibits a health care facility from charging a patient or the patient's 
insurer for a mistake made by that health care facility or for a preventable adverse event 
that occurs while the patient is in the care of a health care facility or for the care provided 
by that health care facility to correct its mistakes or rectify the preventable adverse event. 
A list of27 such mistakes or preventable adverse events is provided and is taken from the 
recommendations of the National Quality Forum in 2002.