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S 1269

Relates to the use of airway clearance devices in schools

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Joe Addabbo and 6 co-sponsors

Requires the Massachusetts Trial Court to build a system tracking civil malpractice lawsuits against health care providers and report annual counts to the Legislature.

REFERRED TO EDUCATION
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Bill Summary · S 1269

Bill summary — S.1269 (2025): An Act relative to the tracking of medical malpractice cases

Status: Referred to Education (filed/introduced January–April 2025)
Primary sponsor (filed text): Sen. Bruce E. Tarr (petition also lists Rep. Peter J. Durant)

Purpose

The bill requires the Massachusetts Trial Court to build and operate a system to track and categorize civil malpractice actions (described in the bill as civil actions for “malpractice, error or mistake” against health care providers) and to provide an annual report on the counted cases to the Legislature. The stated intent is to create a central, consistent data source on malpractice litigation involving health care providers.

Key provisions

  • Directs the Administrator of the Trial Court to develop and implement a tracking system for any civil action alleging malpractice, error, or mistake against a provider of health care.
  • Requires an annual submission, due each year by December 31, of “the number of any civil action malpractice, error or mistake against a provider of health care” to:
    • the Clerks of the Massachusetts House and Senate, and
    • the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.
  • Starts with a broad “notwithstanding” clause overriding conflicting general or special laws (i.e., it takes precedence over other statutes to the extent necessary to implement the tracking requirement).

Who would be affected

  • Trial Court administration: responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining the tracking/categorization system and for producing the annual report.
  • Health care providers and their insurers: their civil malpractice actions would be counted and categorized by the court system.
  • Legislature and Judiciary committee: recipients of the annual numeric report; may use data for oversight, policy, or legislative purposes.
  • Courts and clerks: may face additional administrative tasks to ensure cases are categorized and recorded consistently.

Implementation and timeline notes

  • The bill does not specify detailed implementation deadlines beyond the annual December 31 reporting date.
  • It does not define the specific categories to be used (e.g., specialty, allegation type, outcome, damages), nor does it specify whether identifying or case-level data must be retained or reported — the text requires reporting only of the number of such civil actions.
  • The bill does not specify funding, staffing, or penalties for noncompliance.

Potential impacts and issues to consider

  • Benefits: centralized counts could improve legislative and public understanding of malpractice litigation trends and help inform policy decisions.
  • Practical/administrative considerations: developing a reliable categorization scheme, ensuring consistent data entry across trial court divisions, and potential IT costs.
  • Legal/privacy considerations: the bill does not call for publication of case details, but implementation will need to ensure compliance with court confidentiality and privacy laws.
  • Ambiguities: the bill’s phrases (“malpractice, error or mistake”; what constitutes a “provider of health care”; what categories to use) are broad and may require further statutory or regulatory clarification.

Legislative history (selected)

  • Filed/Presented: Senate docket/No. 1269 (filed 1/17/2025; introduced in Senate 4/2/2025).
  • Referred to: Education (current status listed as REFERRED TO EDUCATION); earlier referrals/committee actions in the Judiciary and other records appear in the file.
  • Hearings scheduled in September 2025 (per docket entries).

Note: The file’s cover text shows Sen. Bruce E. Tarr as the sponsor and petitioning members; some metadata supplied elsewhere appears inconsistent (additional sponsor names and multiple committee referrals). The summary above is based on the bill’s enacted text as filed.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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