Under a North Carolina bill, emergency room patients would be barred from recovering damages from providers — even if they are harmed or permanently disfigured from the care they received, according to a Raleigh Telegram report.
SB #33, introduced by Sen. Tom Apodaca (R-Hendersonville), removes the liability of any medical provider that offers emergency medical services — including hospital emergency rooms and possibly EMS and first responder personnel — unless the provider’s care constituted as gross negligence, wanton conduct or intentional wrongdoing. Plaintiffs would then have to prove emergency personnel acted to intentionally harm them.
The bill has passed several readings, but specific details of the bill are still being reworked.
Read the Raleigh Telegram report on North Carolina’s emergency room bill.
Read about other bills related to healthcare:
– GOP Senators Reintroduce Bill to Abolish Rate-Setting Panel
– Texas Bills Aim to Protect Physicians; Authors’ Motives Scrutinized
– California Bill Extending Seismic Upgrade Deadline Goes to Governor
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