An Act relative to the tracking of medical malpractice cases

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Bruce Tarr

Massachusetts bill: trial courts must track civil actions alleging medical malpractice and annually report counts to the Legislature, boosting transparency but adding admin work.

House concurred

Summary: An Act relative to the tracking of medical malpractice cases (Senate Docket No. 1892)

Overview

This bill would require the Massachusetts trial courts to create a formal system to track and categorize civil actions alleging malpractice, error, or mistake by health care providers. It also requires annual reporting of these actions to the Legislature.

Key Provisions

Establish a tracking system: The administrator of the trial court shall develop and implement a system to track and categorize civil actions that allege malpractice, error, or mistake by a health care provider.

Annual reporting: Each year, by December 31, the administrator must submit to the clerks of the House and Senate and the Joint Committee on the Judiciary the number of civil actions alleging malpractice, error, or mistake against health care providers.

Supersession language: The bill uses a “Notwithstanding any general or special to the contrary” clause, signaling that this tracking requirement would take precedence over conflicting provisions.

Affected Parties

Primary: The Trial Court Administrator, who would operate the tracking system and compile annual counts.

Health care providers: Entities or individuals named as defendants in medical malpractice-related civil actions.

Legislature and judiciary: Recipients of annual data to inform oversight and policy discussions.

Timeline and Process

Introduction and referrals: Filed February 27, 2025; referred to The Judiciary.

Status: House concurred (indicating approval by the House of the corresponding Senate-passed language).

Reporting cadence: Ongoing annual reports due by December 31 of each year.

Potential Impact

Transparency and data availability: Provides policymakers with annual metrics on civil actions alleging malpractice, potentially informing oversight, research, and policy discussions related to medical malpractice trends.

Administrative burden: Implementation would require the Trial Court Administrator to develop, deploy, and maintain a data tracking system and ensure timely annual reporting.

Privacy considerations: The data would be counts of actions; the bill does not specify patient or identifying information, focusing on the overall volume of cases.

Status and Next Steps

Status: House concurred (as of the latest actions).

Next steps: Upon final legislative approval, the bill would move toward enactment unless vetoed or altered during subsequent readings or by the Governor.