§ 3-2A-04. Claims filed with Director; selection of arbitrators
West's Annotated Code of MarylandCourts and Judicial ProceedingsEffective: October 1, 2019
Effective: October 1, 2019
MD Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings, § 3-2A-04
§ 3-2A-04. Claims filed with Director; selection of arbitrators
(a)(1)(i) A person having a claim against a health care provider for damage due to a medical injury shall file the claim with the Director and, if the claim is against a physician, the Director shall forward copies of the claim to the State Board of Physicians.
(b) Unless the sole issue in the claim is lack of informed consent:
(1)(i) 1. Except as provided in item (ii) of this paragraph, a claim or action filed after July 1, 1986, shall be dismissed, without prejudice, if the claimant or plaintiff fails to file a certificate of a qualified expert with the Director attesting to departure from standards of care, and that the departure from standards of care is the proximate cause of the alleged injury, within 90 days from the date of the complaint; and
(2)(i) A claim or action filed after July 1, 1986, may be adjudicated in favor of the claimant or plaintiff on the issue of liability, if the defendant disputes liability and fails to file a certificate of a qualified expert attesting to compliance with standards of care, or that the departure from standards of care is not the proximate cause of the alleged injury, within 120 days from the date the claimant or plaintiff served the certificate of a qualified expert set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection on the defendant.
(ii) A health care provider who attests in a certificate of a qualified expert or who testifies in relation to a proceeding before an arbitration panel or a court concerning compliance with or departure from standards of care may not have devoted more than 25% of the expert's professional activities to activities that directly involve testimony in personal injury claims during the 12 months immediately before the date when the claim was first filed.
(c)(1) Within 20 days after the filing of the claimant's certificate of a qualified expert, or, in a case in which lack of informed consent is the sole issue, within 20 days after the filing of the defendant's response, the Director shall deliver to each party the names of six persons chosen at random from the attorney categorical list prepared by him pursuant to § 3-2A-03(c) of this subtitle, together with a brief biographical statement as to each of these persons.
(2) No later than 20 days after receiving notice of the scheduled hearing, the Director shall deliver to each party the names of six persons chosen at random from each of the remaining categorical lists prepared by him pursuant to § 3-2A-03(c) of this subtitle, together with a brief biographical statement as to each of these persons. If the claim or the response states that the matter falls within one or more recognized specialties, the Director, if practicable, shall include persons in the specialty on the list from the health care provider category. Before delivering each list, the Director shall inquire of the persons selected and assure himself that they do not have a personal or economic relationship with any of the parties or their counsel, or any cases in which they are a party before the arbitration office, that can form the basis of any partiality on their part. If, in the judgment of the Director, a person selected has such a relationship with a party, his name shall be replaced by another chosen at random.
(d)(1) Within 15 days after delivery of the list, a party may object in writing stating the reasons therefor to the inclusion of any arbitrator on the list. If the Director finds a reasonable basis for the objection, he shall replace the name of the arbitrator with the name of another arbitrator. Within 30 days after delivery of the initial list or, if an arbitrator is replaced, within 30 days after delivery of the replacement list, each party shall strike from the list in each category any name or names that are unacceptable and return a copy of the list with his strikes to the Director. Upon motion of either party, the panel chairman, for good cause shown and in conjunction with the Director, shall require that subsequent strikes be made in a lesser period of time. A party may not strike more than two names in any category.
(iii) Within the time period specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection, multiple claimants or multiple health care providers fail to agree on their strikes in any category, they shall notify the Director of their disagreement, and the Director may make the strikes on their behalf with respect to that category; and
(e)(1) The Director shall compare the lists returned to him and the lists from which he has stricken names pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, and shall select the first mutually agreeable person in each category as the arbitrators.
(2) The Director shall establish by regulation procedures for selection of alternates to serve in place of arbitrators unable to serve after appointment. Procedures for the selection of alternate arbitrators shall provide that alternate arbitrators are chosen at random from the categorical lists prepared by the Director under § 3-2A-03(c) of this subtitle, and may not be confined to time limitations in subsection (d)(1) of this section. The Director may require the attendance of an appropriate alternate at any proceeding under this subtitle.
(f)(1) The parties may, within the time for returning their lists to the Director, agree in writing upon a single arbitrator. In that event, they shall advise the Director in writing of their choice, and the one arbitrator shall constitute the arbitration panel.
Credits
Added by Acts 1976, c. 235, § 1, eff. July 1, 1976. Amended by Acts 1979, c. 332, § 1, eff. July 1, 1979; Acts 1979, c. 549, § 1, eff. July 1, 1979; Acts 1980, c. 439, § 1, eff. July 1, 1980; Acts 1981, c. 588, § 1, eff. July 1, 1981; Acts 1986, c. 640, § 1, eff. July 1, 1986; Acts 1986, c. 642, § 1, eff. July 1, 1986; Acts 1988, c. 6, § 1, eff. Feb. 18, 1988; Acts 1988, c. 26, § 1, eff. July 1, 1988; Acts 1988, c. 109, § 7, eff. July 1, 1988; Acts 1988, c. 138, § 1, eff. July 1, 1988; Acts 1988, c. 150, § 1, eff. July 1, 1988; Acts 1988, c. 291, § 1, eff. July 1, 1988; Acts 1989, c. 5, § 1, eff. March 9, 1989; Acts 1989, c. 688, § 1, eff. July 1, 1989; Acts 1990, c. 546, § 3, eff. Oct. 1, 1990; Acts 1997, c. 14, § 20, eff. April 8, 1997; Acts 1999, c. 164, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, c. 252, §§ 1, 10, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2004, 1st Sp. Sess., c. 5, § 1, eff. Jan. 11, 2005; Acts 2006, c. 44, § 6, eff. April 8, 2006; Acts 2007, c. 5, § 1, eff. March 22, 2007; Acts 2019, c. 525, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2019.
MD Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings, § 3-2A-04, MD CTS & JUD PRO § 3-2A-04
Current with legislation effective through June 1, 2023, from the 2023 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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