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NORTH CAROLINA TORT REFORM

Several bills have been introduced in North Carolina with the hope of reforming the tort system.  We will only highlight briefly some of the finer points relating to subrogation:North Carolina House Bill 542

The House of Representatives in North Carolina has introduced a bill that would allow into evidence the amount “reasonably paid” for past medical expenses and the amount “actually necessary” to satisfy future medical expenses.  The source of payment and right of subrogation would also be admissible.  The bill would cap non-economic damages in a medical malpractice action to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000.00).

North Carolina House Bill 732

North Carolina is again attempting to change from a contributory negligence state to a modified comparative negligence state.  House Bill 732 would allow a claim for personal injury, wrongful death, or harm to property based on negligence only when the claimant’s (plaintiff’s) fault is less than the fault of all other combined parties responsible for the damage.  There are exceptions listed in the bill.

The bill also would require that a workers’ compensation lien be reduced by the percentage of fault of the employer and require notice be given to the employer.  In essence this would give the workers’ compensation insurer an opportunity to intervene in the employee’s personal injury action.  Additionally, the bill would allow for the introduction into evidence of past medical expenses, creating a “rebuttable presumption” that the amount required to discharge the liability to the provider for the services is reasonable.

North Carolina Senate Bill 674

Like House Bill 732, Senate Bill 674 requires reduction of a worker’s compensation lien by the percentage of fault attributable to the employer and requires notice be given to the employer.  Past medical expenses are allowed to be introduced into evidence, but only in the amount necessary to discharge the liability incurred by the injured party.  

We recommend a full and more in-depth review of the North Carolina bills if you handle actions and/or claims in the state.

Thanks to Joseph Willis III with Gibson & Sharps in Louisville, Kentucky for alerting the Amicus Committee to these bills.

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This entry was posted by cmonfils on Tuesday, April 26th, 2011 at 1:25 pm and is filed under North Carolina, Subrogation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.