§ 41.503 — Hospital care or assistance necessitated by traumatic injury; presumption regarding follow-up care

1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 and NRS 41.504 , 41.505 and 41.506 :
(a) A hospital which has been designated as a center for the treatment of trauma by the Administrator of the Division of Public and Behavioral Health of the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to NRS 450B.237 and which is a nonprofit organization;
(b) A hospital other than a hospital described in paragraph (a);
(c) An employee of a hospital described in paragraph (a) or (b) who renders care or assistance to patients;
(d) A physician or dentist licensed under the provisions of chapter 630 , 631 or 633 of NRS who renders care or assistance in a hospital described in paragraph (a) or (b), whether or not the care or assistance was rendered gratuitously or for a fee; and
(e) A physician or dentist licensed under the provisions of chapter 630 , 631 or 633 of NRS:
(1) Whose liability is not otherwise limited pursuant to NRS 41.032 to 41.0337 , inclusive; and
(2) Who renders care or assistance in a hospital of a governmental entity that has been designated as a center for the treatment of trauma by the Administrator of the Division of Public and Behavioral Health of the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to NRS 450B.237 , whether or not the care or assistance was rendered gratuitously or for a fee,
Ê that in good faith renders care or assistance necessitated by a traumatic injury demanding immediate medical attention, for which the patient enters the hospital through its emergency room or trauma center, may not be held liable for more than $50,000 in civil damages, exclusive of interest computed from the date of judgment, to or for the benefit of any claimant arising out of any act or omission in rendering that care or assistance if the care or assistance is rendered in good faith and in a manner not amounting to gross negligence or reckless, willful or wanton conduct.
2. The limitation on liability provided pursuant to this section does not apply to any act or omission in rendering care or assistance:
(a) Which occurs after the patient is stabilized and is capable of receiving medical treatment as a nonemergency patient, unless surgery is required as a result of the emergency within a reasonable time after the patient is stabilized, in which case the limitation on liability provided by subsection 1 applies to any act or omission in rendering care or assistance which occurs before the stabilization of the patient following the surgery; or
(b) Unrelated to the original traumatic injury.
3. If:
(a) A physician or dentist provides follow-up care to a patient to whom the physician or dentist rendered care or assistance pursuant to subsection 1;
(b) A medical condition arises during the course of the follow-up care that is directly related to the original traumatic injury for which care or assistance was rendered pursuant to subsection 1; and
(c) The patient files an action for malpractice based on the medical condition that arises during the course of the follow-up care,
Ê there is a rebuttable presumption that the medical condition was the result of the original traumatic injury and that the limitation on liability provided by subsection 1 applies with respect to the medical condition that arises during the course of the follow-up care.
4. For the purposes of this section:
(a) “Reckless, willful or wanton conduct,” as it applies to a person to whom subsection 1 applies, shall be deemed to be that conduct which the person knew or should have known at the time the person rendered the care or assistance would be likely to result in injury so as to affect the life or health of another person, taking into consideration to the extent applicable:
(1) The extent or serious nature of the prevailing circumstances;
(2) The lack of time or ability to obtain appropriate consultation;
(3) The lack of a prior medical relationship with the patient;
(4) The inability to obtain an appropriate medical history of the patient; and
(5) The time constraints imposed by coexisting emergencies.
(b) “Traumatic injury” means any acute injury which, according to standardized criteria for triage in the field, involves a significant risk of death or the precipitation of complications or disabilities.

Legislative History

(Added to NRS by 2002 Special Session, 4 ; A 2007, 31 )