When the mediation panel makes a mediation decision in a medical accident case, what must it weigh in setting the amount of damages payable to the patient?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the copy of the mediation decision the panel has made, the medical records and reports showing what harm came to the patient's life, body and property, the material on whether the healthcare institution operator or a healthcare provider was at fault and to what degree, and anything showing conduct of the patient's own that contributed to the loss.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the provision at its word: where the panel makes a mediation decision under the preceding provision, it must determine the damages amount, weighing the harm to the patient's life, body and property arising from the medical accident, the degree of fault of the healthcare institution operator or the healthcare provider, and any fault attributable to the patient.
Another reading notes that the provision lists these three matters as things to consider but sets no scale or order for weighing them, and speaks of the panel's decision only in that mediation context, so the file must show how far each factor was in fact addressed.
Your judgment
When fault is shown on the side of the healthcare provider and on the side of the patient, what in the record shows how much each should affect the amount set?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to add, remove or define the matters the panel must consider, or if an authoritative decision explains how fault attributable to the patient bears on the amount.