The
Decision of the Medical Review Panel and Filing Suit
The
attorney chairman is responsible for setting up the
meeting of the medical review panel. Usually, that meeting
is conducted at the office of the attorney chairman
and the three physician members and representatives
of the patient and defendant doctor all appear in person.
If a physician cannot be
present, the attorney chairman
may allow him to participate
by telephone. The patient
or his attorney may also
be allowed to participate
by telephone if the meeting
location is inconvenient.
At the meeting, the attorney
chairman introduces the
parties and makes sure that
the physician members have
all of the information they
need to decide the case.
Then, the attorney chairman
dismisses the parties and
their attorneys so that
the medical review panel
can discuss the case and
render a decision.
The attorney chairman is
present with the physician
members of the medical review
panel, but he is not allowed
to vote. He is there to
preside over the deliberations
and provide the legal standards
by which the physician members
must decide the case.
When a decision has been
reached, the attorney chairman
calls the parties back into
the room to hear the decision
of the medical review panel.
That decision is read to
the parties. Some attorney
chairmen then allow a few
brief questions to be presented
to the members of the medical
review panel before the
decision is reduced to a
formal writing.
After a brief period of
questioning, the attorney
chairman will type the decision
of the medical review panel
into the correct legal format,
have the physician members
sign it and then distribute
it to the parties.
Legally, only one of three
legally acceptable decisions
can be made by the medical
review panel: (i) that the
evidence demonstrates that
the involved physician breached
the standard of care, (ii)
that the evidence demonstrates
that the involved physician
did not breach the standard
of care, or (iii) that a
question of fact exists
bearing on the issue of
liability which does not
require expert opinion and
therefore the medical review
panel cannot render a decision.
If the decision is that
a breach of the standard
of care occurred, the medical
review panel is then asked
to determine whether that
breach caused the patient
to sustain any damages and
the nature and extent of
those damages. The reasons
for the decision are also
reduced to writing in a
brief statement.
After the medical review
panel decides the case,
the attorney chairman must
mail, by certified mail,
a copy of the decision and
reasons to the parties.
The patient then has 90
days from the date of receipt
of the decision of the medical
review panel to file suit
in state district court.
If he does not file suit
within that time period,
then the case is over.
If the case is filed in
district court, then the
whole litigation process
begins again and culminates
in a settlement, dismissal
or trial.
