1.Notice of claim.
A person may commence an action for professional negligence by:
1-A.
Confidentiality.
The notice of claim and all other documents filed with the court in the action for professional negligence during the prelitigation screening process are confidential.
1-B.
Fee.
At the time of filing notice of claim with the court, the claimant shall pay to the clerk a filing fee of $200 per notice filed.
2.Appearance; filing fee.
Within 20 days of receipt of notice of service upon the clerk, the person or persons accused of professional negligence in the notice or the person's or persons' representative shall file an appearance before the panel with a copy to the claimant. At the time of filing an appearance, the person or persons accused of professional negligence in the notice shal
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1.
Notice of claim.
A person may commence an action for professional negligence by:
1-A.
Confidentiality.
The notice of claim and all other documents filed with the court in the action for professional negligence during the prelitigation screening process are confidential.
1-B.
Fee.
At the time of filing notice of claim with the court, the claimant shall pay to the clerk a filing fee of $200 per notice filed.
2.
Appearance; filing fee.
Within 20 days of receipt of notice of service upon the clerk, the person or persons accused of professional negligence in the notice or the person's or persons' representative shall file an appearance before the panel with a copy to the claimant. At the time of filing an appearance, the person or persons accused of professional negligence in the notice shall each pay a filing fee of $200 per notice filed.
3.
Waiver.
Any party may, at the time of filing, apply to the chair of the panel for a waiver of the filing fee. The chair shall grant the waiver if:
4.
Filing of records; time for hearing; extensions.
Within 20 days of entry of appearance, the person or persons accused shall contact the claimant's counsel and by agreement shall designate a timetable for filing all the relevant medical and provider records necessary to a determination of the panel and for completing discovery. If the parties are unable to agree on a timetable within 60 days of the entry of appearance, the claimant shall notify the chair of the panel. The chair shall then establish a timetable for the filing of all relevant records and reasonable discovery, which must be filed at least 30 days before any hearing date. Depositions of persons other than the parties and the experts designated by the parties may not be taken except as permitted by the chair upon the request of a party. The hearing may not be later than 6 months from the service of the notice of claim upon the clerk, except when the time period has been extended by the panel chair in accordance with this subchapter.
5.
Lawsuits.
The pretrial screening may be bypassed if all parties agree upon a resolution of the claim by lawsuit. All parties to a claim may, by written agreement, submit a claim to the binding determination of the panel, either prior to or after the commencement of a lawsuit. Both parties may agree to bypass the panel and commence a lawsuit for any reason, or may request that certain preliminary legal affirmative defenses or issues be litigated prior to submission of the case to the panel. The panel has no jurisdiction to hear or decide, absent the agreement of the parties, dispositive legal affirmative defenses, and comparative negligence. The panel chair may require the parties to litigate, by motion, dispositive legal affirmative defenses in the Superior Court prior to submission of the case to the panel. Any such defense, as well as any motion relating to discovery that the panel chair has chosen not to rule on may be presented, by motion, in Superior Court without the necessity of a complaint having first been filed.
6.
Combining hearings.
Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, there must be one combined hearing or hearings for all claims under this section arising out of the same set of facts. When there is more than one person accused of professional negligence against whom a notice of claim has been filed based on the same facts, the parties may, upon agreement of all parties, require that hearings be separated. The chair may, for good cause, order separate hearings.
7.
Extensions of time.
All requests for extension of time under this subchapter must be made to the panel chair. The chair may extend any time period under this subchapter for good cause, except that the chair may not extend any time period that would result in the hearing being held more than one year from the filing of notice of claim upon the clerk unless good cause is shown.
8.
Dismissal.
Cases pending before the panels may be dismissed as follows.
9.
Default.
In addition to the sanctions set out in subsection 8, paragraph B, the following sanctions may be imposed against a defendant in a case pending before the panel.
PL 1985, c. 804, §§12,22 (NEW). PL 1989, c. 361, §§4-6,10 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 827, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 130, §§3,4 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 505, §§1-4 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 571, §1 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 523, §1 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 668, §102 (AMD). RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. B, §§84, 85 (COR).