Medical Negligence Arbitration Bill Passes North Carolina House

The North Carolina House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would establish a process of voluntary arbitration for medical negligence claims and make pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate such claims void and unenforceable. The bill will now go to the Senate for debate. The bill would allow parties to voluntarily agree to arbitrate medical negligence disputes and set a cap of $1 million for economic and non-economic damages in arbitration.

Under the bill, both parties to a lawsuit for wrongful death or personal injury arising out of medical negligence could file a stipulation with the court electing to arbitrate the dispute. If they do not elect to arbitrate, both would have to file a declaration with the court stating that their attorneys presented the arbitration option to them, but they rejected that option.

The bill also contains extensive procedures detailing how to conduct a medical negligence arbitration. A provision that could discourage arbitration would have the arbitrator's fees and expenses paid by the losing party. The bill says nothing about attorney fee awards.

H.B. 1671 would allow awards to be appealed on limited grounds, but there is "no right to a trial de novo" on appeal. An award could be overturned only on the grounds contained in the North Carolina Revised Uniform Arbitration Act.