MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2002 3rd Extraordinary Session
To: Select Committee on Civil Justice Reform
By: Representative Blackmon
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 11-11-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY VENUE IN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACTIONS; TO CREATE SECTION 11-1-62, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE INDEMNIFICATION OF PHYSICIANS AND PHARMACISTS FOR ACTIONS INVOLVING FDA APPROVED DRUGS; TO AMEND SECTION 11-1-63, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; TO AMEND SECTION 15-1-36, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE NOTICE FOR MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACTIONS; TO PROVIDE THAT PAYMENTS FROM COLLATERAL SOURCES MAY BE REDUCED FROM AWARDS IN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACTIONS; TO REQUIRE AFFIDAVITS IN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACTIONS; TO SPECIFY NOTICE IN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACTIONS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL DISCLOSURE PANEL; TO PROVIDE FOR THE COMPOSITION AND DUTIES OF THE PANEL; TO PROVIDE FOR DISCLOSURE; TO PROVIDE FOR INFORMED CONSENT; TO CLARIFY THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACTIONS; TO CREATE SECTION 11-1-67, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE A LIMITATION ON THE AWARD OF PUNITIVE DAMAGES; TO CREATE SECTION 11-1-69, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE A LIMITATION ON THE AWARD OF NONECONOMIC DAMAGES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 11-11-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
11-11-3. (1) Civil actions of which the circuit court has original jurisdiction shall be commenced in the county in which the defendant or any of them may be found or in the county where the cause of action may occur or accrue and, if the defendant is a domestic corporation, in the county in which said corporation is domiciled or in the county where the cause of action may occur or accrue, except where otherwise provided, and except actions of trespass on land, ejectment and actions for the statutory penalty for cutting and boxing trees and firing woods and actions for the actual value of trees cut which shall be brought in the county where the land or some part thereof is situated. If a civil action is brought in an improper county, such action may be transferred to the proper county pursuant to Section 11-11-17.
(2) Civil actions for medical malpractice shall be commenced in the county in which the defendant resides or in the county where the cause of action occurred.
SECTION 2. The following shall be codified as Section 11-1-62, Mississippi Code of 1972:
11-1-62. In any civil action alleging damages caused by a prescription drug and absent any negligence on the part of the physician or pharmacist, a physician or pharmacist shall be indemnified by the manufacturer of the prescription drug for any damages if the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved that drug for treatment of the condition, disease or illness for which the drug was prescribed. It is the intent of this section to indemnify innocent physicians and pharmacists who are not actively negligent from forum driven lawsuits.
SECTION 3. Section 11-1-63, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
11-1-63. In any action for damages caused by a product except for commercial damage to the product itself:
(a) Subject to the provisions of Section 11-1-62, the manufacturer or seller of the product shall not be liable if the claimant does not prove by the preponderance of the evidence that at the time the product left the control of the manufacturer or seller:
(i) 1. The product was defective because it deviated in a material way from the manufacturer's specifications or from otherwise identical units manufactured to the same manufacturing specifications, or
2. The product was defective because it failed to contain adequate warnings or instructions, or
3. The product was designed in a defective manner, or
4. The product breached an express warranty or failed to conform to other express factual representations upon which the claimant justifiably relied in electing to use the product; and
(ii) The defective condition rendered the product unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer; and
(iii) The defective and unreasonably dangerous condition of the product proximately caused the damages for which recovery is sought.
(b) A product is not defective in design or formulation if the harm for which the claimant seeks to recover compensatory damages was caused by an inherent characteristic of the product which is a generic aspect of the product that cannot be eliminated without substantially compromising the product's usefulness or desirability and which is recognized by the ordinary person with the ordinary knowledge common to the community.
(c) (i) In any action alleging that a product is defective because it failed to contain adequate warnings or instructions pursuant to paragraph (a)(i)2 of this section, the manufacturer or seller shall not be liable if the claimant does not prove by the preponderance of the evidence that at the time the product left the control of the manufacturer or seller, the manufacturer or seller knew or in light of reasonably available knowledge should have known about the danger that caused the damage for which recovery is sought and that the ordinary user or consumer would not realize its dangerous condition.
(ii) An adequate product warning or instruction is one that a reasonably prudent person in the same or similar circumstances would have provided with respect to the danger and that communicates sufficient information on the dangers and safe use of the product, taking into account the characteristics of, and the ordinary knowledge common to an ordinary consumer who purchases the product; or in the case of a prescription drug, medical device or other product that is intended to be used only under the supervision of a physician or other licensed professional person, taking into account the characteristics of, and the ordinary knowledge common to, a physician or other licensed professional who prescribes the drug, device or other product.
(d) In any action alleging that a product is defective pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, the manufacturer or seller shall not be liable if the claimant (i) had knowledge of a condition of the product that was inconsistent with his safety; (ii) appreciated the danger in the condition; and (iii) deliberately and voluntarily chose to expose himself to the danger in such a manner to register assent on the continuance of the dangerous condition.
(e) In any action alleging that a product is defective pursuant to paragraph (a)(i)2 of this section, the manufacturer or seller shall not be liable if the danger posed by the product is known or is open and obvious to the user or consumer of the product, or should have been known or open and obvious to the user or consumer of the product, taking into account the characteristics of, and the ordinary knowledge common to, the persons who ordinarily use or consume the product.
(f) In any action alleging that a product is defective because of its design pursuant to paragraph (a)(i)3 of this section, the manufacturer or product seller shall not be liable if the claimant does not prove by the preponderance of the evidence that at the time the product left the control of the manufacturer or seller:
(i) The manufacturer or seller knew, or in light of reasonably available knowledge or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, about the danger that caused the damage for which recovery is sought; and
(ii) The product failed to function as expected and there existed a feasible design alternative that would have to a reasonable probability prevented the harm. A feasible design alternative is a design that would have to a reasonable probability prevented the harm without impairing the utility, usefulness, practicality or desirability of the product to users or consumers.
(g) (i) The manufacturer of a product who is found liable for a defective product pursuant to subsection (a) shall indemnify a product seller for the costs of litigation, any reasonable expenses, reasonable attorney's fees and any damages awarded by the trier of fact unless the seller exercised substantial control over that aspect of the design, testing, manufacture, packaging or labeling of the product that caused the harm for which recovery of damages is sought; the seller altered or modified the product, and the alteration or modification was a substantial factor in causing the harm for which recovery of damages is sought; the seller had actual knowledge of the defective condition of the product at the time he supplied same; or the seller made an express factual representation about the aspect of the product which caused the harm for which recovery of damages is sought.
(ii) Subparagraph (i) shall not apply unless the seller has given prompt notice of the suit to the manufacturer within thirty (30) days of the filing of the complaint against the seller.
(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to eliminate any common law defense to an action for damages caused by a product.
SECTION 4. Section 15-1-36, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
15-1-36. (1) For any claim accruing on or before June 30, 1998, and except as otherwise provided in this section, no claim in tort may be brought against a licensed physician, osteopath, dentist, hospital, nurse, pharmacist, podiatrist, optometrist or chiropractor for injuries or wrongful death arising out of the course of medical, surgical or other professional services unless it is filed within two (2) years from the date the alleged act, omission or neglect shall or with reasonable diligence might have been first known or discovered.
(2) For any claim accruing on or after July 1, 1998, and except as otherwise provided in this section, no claim in tort may be brought against a licensed physician, osteopath, dentist, hospital, nurse, pharmacist, podiatrist, optometrist or chiropractor for injuries or wrongful death arising out of the course of medical, surgical or other professional services unless it is filed within two (2) years from the date the alleged act, omission or neglect shall or with reasonable diligence might have been first known or discovered, and, except as described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection, in no event more than seven (7) years after the alleged act, omission or neglect occurred:
(a) In the event a foreign object introduced during a surgical or medical procedure has been left in a patient's body, the cause of action shall be deemed to have first accrued at, and not before, the time at which the foreign object is, or with reasonable diligence should have been, first known or discovered to be in the patient's body.
(b) In the event the cause of action shall have been fraudulently concealed from the knowledge of the person entitled thereto, the cause of action shall be deemed to have first accrued at, and not before, the time at which such fraud shall be, or with reasonable diligence should have been, first known or discovered.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4) of this section, if at the time at which the cause of action shall or with reasonable diligence might have been first known or discovered, the person to whom such claim has accrued shall be six (6) years of age or younger, then such minor or the person claiming through such minor may, notwithstanding that the period of time limited pursuant to subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall have expired, commence action on such claim at any time within two (2) years next after the time at which the minor shall have reached his sixth birthday, or shall have died, whichever shall have first occurred.
(4) If at the time at which the cause of action shall or with reasonable diligence might have been first known or discovered, the person to whom such claim has accrued shall be a minor without a parent or legal guardian, then such minor or the person claiming through such minor may, notwithstanding that the period of time limited pursuant to subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall have expired, commence action on such claim at any time within two (2) years next after the time at which the minor shall have a parent or legal guardian or shall have died, whichever shall have first occurred; provided, however, that in no event shall the period of limitation begin to run prior to such minor's sixth birthday unless such minor shall have died.
(5) If at the time at which the cause of action shall or with reasonable diligence might have been first known or discovered, the person to whom such claim has accrued shall be under the disability of unsoundness of mind, then such person or the person claiming through him may, notwithstanding that the period of time hereinbefore limited shall have expired, commence action on such claim at any time within two (2) years next after the time at which the person to whom the right shall have first accrued shall have ceased to be under the disability, or shall have died, whichever shall have first occurred.
(6) When any person who shall be under the disabilities mentioned in subsections (3), (4) and (5) of this section at the time at which his right shall have first accrued, shall depart this life without having ceased to be under such disability, no time shall be allowed by reason of the disability of such person to commence action on the claim of such person beyond the period prescribed under Section 15-1-55, Mississippi Code of 1972.
(7) For the purposes of subsection (3) of this section, and only for the purposes of such subsection, the disability of infancy or minority shall be removed from and after a person has reached his sixth birthday.
(8) For the purposes of subsection (4) of this section, and only for the purposes of such subsection, the disability of infancy or minority shall be removed from and after a person has reached his sixth birthday or from and after such person shall have a parent or legal guardian, whichever occurs later, unless such disability is otherwise removed by law.
(9) The limitation established by this section as to a licensed physician, osteopath, dentist, hospital or nurse shall apply only to actions the cause of which accrued on or after July 1, 1976.
(10) The limitation established by this section as to pharmacists shall apply only to actions the cause of which accrued on or after July 1, 1978.
(11) The limitation established by this section as to podiatrists shall apply only to actions the cause of which accrued on or after July 1, 1979.
(12) The limitation established by this section as to optometrists and chiropractors shall apply only to actions the cause of which accrued on or after July 1, 1983.
(13) The limitation established by this section as to actions commenced on behalf of minors shall apply only to actions the cause of which accrued on or after July 1, 1989.
(14) No action based upon the health care provider's professional negligence may be begun unless the defendant has been given notice as provided in Section 7 of this act.
SECTION 5. After the jury makes an award in an action for personal injury against a health care provider based upon professional negligence, the defendant may present to the presiding judge evidence of any amount payable as a benefit to the plaintiff as a result of the personal injury under the United States Social Security Act, any state or federal income disability or worker's compensation act, any health, sickness or income-disability insurance, accident insurance that provides health benefits or income-disability coverage and any contract or agreement of any group, organization, partnership or corporation to provide, pay for or reimburse the cost of medical, hospital, dental or other health care services. If the defendant elects to present such evidence, the plaintiff may introduce evidence of any amount which the plaintiff has paid or contributed to secure his right to these insurance benefits. The plaintiff may also introduce evidence of any leave time lost due to the personal injury. The presiding judge shall reduce the jury award by the amount of such benefits less any amount which the plaintiff has paid or contributed to secure such benefits.
"Health care provider" means an individual licensed, certified or otherwise authorized or permitted by law to provide health care in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession.
"Professional negligence" means a negligent act or omission to act by a health care provider in the rendering of professional services, which act or omission is the proximate cause of a personal injury or wrongful death, provided that such services are within the scope of services for which the provider is licensed and which are not within any restriction imposed by the licensing agency or licensed hospital.
SECTION 6. Before any action for medical malpractice may be brought, the attorney bringing such action shall sign an affidavit as an officer of the court stating that he has had his case reviewed by a medical expert and the medical expert has determined that medical malpractice is evident in such action.
SECTION 7. (1) (a) Any person or his authorized agent asserting a health care liability claim shall give written notice of such claim by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each physician or health care provider against whom such claim is being made at least 60 days before the filing of a suit in any court of this state based upon a health care liability claim.
(2) In such pleadings as are subsequently filed in any court, each party shall state that it has fully complied with the provisions of this section and shall provide such evidence thereof as the judge of the court may require to determine if the provisions of this act have been met.
(3) Notice given as provided in this act shall toll the applicable statute of limitations to and including a period of seventy-five (75) days following the giving of the notice, and this tolling shall apply to all parties and potential parties.
(4) All parties shall be entitled to obtain complete and unaltered copies of the claimant's medical records from any other party within ten (10) days from the date of receipt of a written request for such records; provided, however, that the receipt of a medical authorization executed by the claimant herein shall be considered compliance by the claimant with this section.
(5) For the purposes of this section, a request for the medical records of a deceased person or a person who is incompetent shall be deemed to be valid if accompanied by an authorization signed by a parent, spouse or adult child of the deceased or incompetent person.
SECTION 8. Pleadings in a suit based on a health care liability claim shall not specify an amount of money claimed as damages. The defendant may file a special exception to the pleadings on the ground the suit is not within the court's jurisdiction, in which event, the plaintiff shall inform the court and defendant in writing of the total dollar amount claimed. This section does not prevent a party from mentioning the total dollar amount claimed in examining prospective jurors or voir dire or in argument to the court or jury.
SECTION 9. (1) In this section, "panel" means the Mississippi Medical Disclosure Panel.
(2) In a suit against a physician or health care provider involving a health care liability claim that is based on the failure of the physician or health care provider to disclose or adequately to disclose the risks and hazards involved in the medical care or surgical procedure rendered by the physician or health care provider, the only theory on which recovery may be obtained is that of negligence in failing to disclose the risks or hazards that could have influenced a reasonable person in making a decision to give or withhold consent.
(3) (a) The Mississippi Medical disclosure Panel is created to determine which risks and hazards related to medical care and surgical procedures must be disclosed by health care providers or physicians to their patients or persons authorized to consent for their patients and to establish the general form and substance of such disclosure.
(b) The panel established herein is administratively attached to the State Department of Health. The State Department of Health, at the request of the panel, shall provide administrative assistance to the panel; and the State Department of Health and the panel shall coordinate administrative responsibilities in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of facilities and services. The State Department of Health, at the request of the panel, shall submit the panel's budget request to the Legislature. The panel shall be subject, except where inconsistent, to the rules and procedures of the State Department of Health.
(c) The panel is composed of nine (9) members, with three (3) members licensed to practice law in this state and six (6) members licensed to practice medicine in this state. Members of the panel shall be selected by the State Health Officer.
(d) The State Health Officer shall select members of the panel according to the following schedule:
(i) One (1) attorney and two (2) physicians to serve a term of two (2) years, which term shall begin on January 1, 2003, and expire on December 31, 2005, or until a successor is qualified;
(ii) One (1) attorney and two (2) physicians to serve a term of four (4) years, which terms shall begin January 1, 2003, and expire December 31, 2007, or until a successor is qualified.
(iii) One (1) attorney and two (2) physicians to serve a term of six (6) years, which term shall begin January 1, 2003, and expire on December 31, 2009, or until a successor is qualified.
Thereafter, at the expiration of the term of each member of the panel so appointed, the State Health Officer shall select a successor, and such successor shall serve for a term of six (6) years, or until his successor is selected. Any member who is absent for three (3) consecutive meetings without the consent of a majority of the panel present at each such meeting may be removed by the State Health Officer at the request of the panel submitted in writing and signed by the chairman. Upon the death, resignation or removal of any member, the State Health Officer shall fill the vacancy by selection for the unexpired portion of the term.
(e) Members of the panel are not entitled to compensation for their services, but each panelist is entitled to reimbursement of any necessary expense incurred in the performance of his duties on the panel including necessary travel expenses.
(f) Meetings of the panel shall be held at the call of the chairman or on petition of at least three (3) members of the panel.
(g) At the first meeting of the panel each year after its members assume their positions, the panelists shall select one of the panel members to serve as chairman and one of the panel members to serve as vice chairman, and each such officer shall serve for a term of one (1) year. The chairman shall preside at meetings of the panel, and in his absence, the vice chairman shall preside.
(h) Employees of the State Department of health shall serve as the staff for the panel.
(4) (a) To the extent feasible, the panel shall identify and make a thorough examination of all medical treatments and surgical procedures in which physicians and health care providers may be involved in order to determine which of those treatments and procedures do and do not require disclosure of the risks and hazards to the patient or person authorized to consent for the patient.
(b) The panel shall prepare separate lists of those medical treatments and surgical procedures that do and do not require disclosure and for those treatments and procedures that do require disclosure shall establish the degree of disclosure required and the form in which the disclosure will be made.
(c) Lists prepared under paragraph (b) of this subsection together with written explanations of the degree and form of disclosure shall be published by the State Department of Health.
(d) At least annually, or at such other period the panel may determine from time to time, the panel will identify and examine any new medical treatments and surgical procedures that have been developed since its last determinations, shall assign them to the proper lists, and shall establish the degree of disclosure required and the form in which the disclosure will be made. The panel will also examine such treatments and procedures for the purpose of revising lists previously published. These determinations shall be published by the State Department of Health.
(5) Before a patient or a person authorized to consent for a patient gives consent to any medical care or surgical procedure that appears on the panel's list requiring disclosure, the physician or health care provider shall disclose to the patient, or person authorized to consent for the patient, the risks and hazards involved in that kind of care or procedure. A physician or health care provider shall be considered to have complied with the requirements of this section if disclosure is made as provided in subsection (6) of this section.
(6) Consent to medical care that appears on the panel's list requiring disclosure shall be considered effective under this section if it is given in writing, signed by the patient or a person authorized to give the consent and by a competent witness, and if the written consent specifically states the risks and hazards that are involved in the medical care or surgical procedure in the form and to the degree required by the panel under subsection (4) of this section.
(7) (a) In a suit against a physician or health care provider involving a health care liability claim that is based on the negligent failure of the physician or health care provider to disclose or adequately to disclose the risks and hazards involved in the medical care or surgical procedure rendered by the physician or health care provider:
(i) Both disclosure made as provided in subsection (5) of this section and failure to disclose based on inclusion of any medical care or surgical procedure on the panel's list for
which disclosure is not required shall be admissible in evidence and shall create a rebuttable presumption that the requirements of subsections (5) and (6) of this section have been complied with and this presumption shall be included in the charge to the jury; and
(ii) Failure to disclose the risks and hazards involved in any medical care or surgical procedure required to be disclosed under subsections (5) and (6) of this section shall be admissible in evidence and shall create a rebuttable presumption of a negligent failure to conform to the duty of disclosure set forth in subsections (5) and (6) of this section, and this presumption shall be included in the charge to the jury; but failure to disclose may be found not to be negligent if there was an emergency or if for some other reason it was not medically feasible to make a disclosure of the kind that would otherwise have been negligence.
(b) If medical care or surgical procedure is rendered with respect to which the panel has made no determination either way regarding a duty of disclosure, the physician or health care provider is under the duty otherwise imposed by law.
(8) (a) The panel shall develop and prepare written materials to inform a patient or person authorized to consent for a patient of the risks and hazards of a hysterectomy.
(b) The materials shall be available in English, Spanish, and any other language the panel considers appropriate. The information must be presented in a manner understandable to a layperson.
(c) The materials must include:
(i) A notice that a decision made at any time to refuse to undergo a hysterectomy will not result in the withdrawal or withholding of any benefits provided by programs or projects receiving federal funds or otherwise affect the patient's right to future care or treatment;
(ii) The name of the person providing and explaining the materials;
(iii) A statement that the patient or person authorized to consent for the patient understands that the hysterectomy is permanent and nonreversible and that the patient will not be able to become pregnant or bear children if she undergoes a hysterectomy;
(iv) A statement that the patient has the right to seek a consultation from a second physician;
(v) A statement that the patient or person authorized to consent for the patient has been informed that a hysterectomy is a removal of the uterus through an incision in the lower abdomen or vagina and that additional surgery may be necessary to remove or repair other organs, including an ovary, tube, appendix, bladder, rectum or vagina;
(vi) A description of the risks and hazards involved in the performance of the procedure; and
(vii) A written statement to be signed by the patient or person authorized to consent for the patient indicating that the materials have been provided and explained to the patient or person authorized to consent for the patient and that the patient or person authorized to consent for the patient understands the nature and consequences of a hysterectomy.
(d) The physician or health care provider shall obtain informed consent under this section of this act from the patient or person authorized to consent for the patient before performing a hysterectomy unless the hysterectomy is performed in a life-threatening situation in which the physician determines obtaining informed consent is not reasonably possible. If obtaining informed consent is not reasonably possible, the physician or health care provider shall include in the patient's medical records a written statement signed by the physician certifying the nature of the emergency.
(e) The panel may not prescribe materials under this section without first consulting with the State Board of Medical Licensure.
SECTION 10. Notwithstanding any other law, no health care liability claim may be commenced unless the action is filed within two (2) years from the occurrence of the breach or tort or from the date the medical or health care treatment that is the subject of the claim or the hospitalization for which the claim is made is completed; provided that, minors under the age of twelve (12) years shall have until their fourteenth birthday in which to file, or have filed on their behalf, the claim. Except as herein provided, this section applies to all persons regardless of minority or other legal disability.
SECTION 11. The following shall be codified as Section 11-1-67, Mississippi Code of 1972:
11-1-67. (1) In all civil actions where an entitlement to punitive damages shall have been established under applicable laws, no punitive damages shall be awarded unless the court finds that the defendant intended to cause harm or acted in a manner exhibiting gross negligence and no award of punitive damages shall exceed the greater of the amount of Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00) or three percent (3%) of such defendant's net worth, whichever is less, unless the finder of fact and court find by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with criminal intent to cause serious physical bodily injury. This restriction shall not be disclosed to the trier of fact, but shall be applied by the court to any punitive damages verdict.
(2) Nothing herein shall be construed as creating a right to an award of punitive damages or to limit the duty of the court, or the appellate courts, to scrutinize all punitive damage awards, ensure that all punitive damage awards comply with applicable procedural, evidentiary and constitutional requirements, and to order remittitur where appropriate.
SECTION 12. The following shall be codified as Section 11-1-69, Mississippi Code of 1972:
11-1-69. (1) For the purposes of this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Noneconomic damages" means subjective, nonpecuniary damages arising from death, pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish, worry, emotional distress, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, bystander injury, injury to reputation, humiliation, loss of the enjoyment of life, hedonic damages, other nonpecuniary damages, and any other theory of damages such as fear of loss, illness or injury. The term "noneconomic damages" shall not include punitive damages.
(b) "Actual economic damages" means objectively verifiable pecuniary damages arising from medical expenses and medical care, rehabilitation services, custodial care, disabilities, loss of earnings and earning capacity, loss of income, burial costs, loss of use of property, costs of repair of replacement of property, costs of obtaining substitute domestic services, loss of employment, loss of business or employment opportunities, and other objectively verifiable monetary losses.
(2) In any civil action, compensation for the noneconomic damages suffered by the injured plaintiff shall not exceed the amount of One Million Dollars ($ 1,000,000.00), unless the jury determines that there is a substantial or permanent loss or impairment of a bodily function or substantial disfigurement, or other special circumstances in the case which warrant a finding that imposition of such a limitation would deprive the plaintiff of just compensation for the injuries sustained.
(3) If liability is found, then the trier of fact, in addition to other appropriate findings, shall make separate findings specifying the total amount of noneconomic damages and the total amount of actual economic damages for each separate claimant in a manner that the court may apply the restrictions of this section.
(4) The trier of fact shall not be advised of the limitations imposed by this section.
SECTION 13. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.