Health-Care Medical Negligence Insurance and Litigation

Del. Code tit. 18, ch. 68
in effect

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6801 Definitions.

For the purpose of this chapter the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) “Category of health-care provider” means a type or class of health-care provider for which a separate license is required under Delaware law. (2) “Commissioner” means the Insurance Commissioner of this State. (3) “Health care” means any act or treatment performed or furnished, or which should have been performed or furnished, by any health-care provider for, to or on behalf of a patient during the patient’s medical care, treatment or confinement. (4) “Health-care provider” means a person, corporation, facility or institution licensed by this State pursuant to Title 24, excluding Chapter 11 thereof, or Title 16 to provide health-care or professional services or any officers, employees or agents thereof acting within the scope of their employment; provided, however, that the term “health-care provider” shall not mean or include any nursing service or nursing facility conducted by or for those who rely upon treatment solely by spiritual means in accordance with the creed or tenets of any generally recognized church or religious denomination. (5) “Informed consent” means the consent of a patient to the performance of health-care services by a health-care provider given after the health-care provider has informed the patient, to an extent reasonably comprehensible to general lay understanding, of the nature of the proposed procedure or treatment and of the risks and alternatives to treatment or diagnosis which a reasonable patient would consider material to the decision whether or not to undergo the treatment or diagnosis. (6) “Medical negligence” means any tort or breach of contract based on health care or professional services rendered, or which should have been rendered, by a health-care provider to a patient. The standard of skill and care required of every health-care provider in rendering professional services or health care to a patient shall be that degree of skill and care ordinarily employed in the same or similar field of medicine as defendant, and the use of reasonable care and diligence. (7) “Net direct premiums” means gross direct premiums, subscription dues, assessments, membership fees or other consideration received for or written on: a. Casualty insurance as defined in § 906(a) of this title, including the liability component of multiple peril policies as computed by the Commissioner; b. health insurance as defined in § 903 of this title; and c. health service contracts of health service corporations subject to Chapter 63 of this title, less the amount of any such consideration received which is returned on cancelled policies or contracts, the unabsorbed portion of any deposit premium and the amount returned to policyholders as dividends and similar returns, whether paid in cash or credit in reduction of premiums. (8) “Patient” means a natural person who receives or should have received health care from a licensed health-care provider under a contract, express or implied. (9) “Tail coverage” means insurance coverage, under a claims-made medical negligence insurance policy, for an alleged act of medical malpractice that occurred during the effective period of the policy but for which a claim was not made until after the policy was no longer in effect.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6802 Jurisdiction of the Superior Court.

(a) The Superior Court of the State shall have exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions alleging health care medical negligence. (b) [Repealed.]

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6806 Commissioner to administer process of selection of medical negligence review panel members; rules and regulations of medical negligence review panels [Repealed].

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6820 Reports; contents; when due.

(a) Every insurance carrier providing medical negligence coverage and who pays any amount for insurance coverage for any medical negligence claim shall file a report with the Commissioner within 60 days following the final disposition by agreement, settlement, order, adjudication, or otherwise of such medical negligence claim against the insurance carrier’s insured. Such report shall include the following: (1) The name of the insured. (2) A detailed statement of the medical negligence claim asserted against the insured. (3) A statement detailing the result or final disposition of the claim against the insured, including disclosure of the manner of the resolution or disposition of such claim, the amount ordered, adjudged or agreed to be paid by or on behalf of the insured, the amount paid by such insurance carrier on behalf of the insured as part of that settlement, adjudication or order and the total amount paid by such insurance carrier for attorney’s fees, costs and expenses incurred on behalf of the insured. (b) Except as otherwise required by this section or § 6821 of this title, information reported to the Commissioner shall be kept confidential, shall not be subject to disclosure to the public pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, Chapter 100 of Title 29, or for any other reason, and shall not be subject to subpoena or any other legal process. (c) A standard form to be used by insurance carriers making reports pursuant to this section shall be created jointly by the Commissioner and the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline. (d) The Commissioner shall, on an annual basis, submit to the General Assembly a report that shall not disclose any personal information but which shall provide the following aggregated statistical information: (1) The number of separate medical negligence claims resolved or disposed of by agreement, by order, or by adjudication during the immediately preceding calendar year; (2) The type of medical negligence claim made; (3) The average amount paid in settlement of each such claim or the average amount ordered to be paid; and (4) The average amount paid by insurance carriers for attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses incurred in defense of such claims. Following its submission to the General Assembly, the Commissioner shall make the report submitted pursuant to subsection (d) of this section available to the public and to any medical negligence insurance carrier.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6821 Disciplinary action.

(a) The Commissioner shall forward the name of every health-care provider against whom a settlement is made or judgment is rendered under this chapter to the appropriate agency for licensure or professional registration and examination for review of the fitness of the health-care provider to practice the profession. In each case involving review of a health-care provider’s fitness to practice under this chapter, the agency shall have the power, in appropriate cases, to take the following disciplinary action: (1) Censure, public or private; (2) Imposition of probation for determinate period; (3) Suspension of the health-care provider’s license for a determinate period; (4) Revocation of the license; or (5) In the instance of institutional or corporate providers, the ordering of temporary or permanent cessation of the particular program, procedure or service resulting in the claim or judgment, and/or the ordering, monitoring and evaluation of corrective action necessary to bring such activity into compliance with contemporary standards. (b) Review of the health-care provider’s fitness to practice shall be conducted in accordance with the applicable procedures set forth in Title 16 or 24, or other applicable provisions, and shall include a determination of whether a provider has been shown to be unfit to continue the practice of the profession because of a series of actions presumed to be medical negligence, because of verdicts or settlements against the provider, or because of a single case in which the act or omission is considered to include gross negligence on the provider’s part.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6850 Legal terms as at common law.

Any legal term or word of art used in this chapter, not otherwise defined, shall have such meaning as is consistent with the common law.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6851 Agreement assuring result to be in writing.

No liability shall be imposed upon any health-care provider on the basis of an alleged breach of contract, express or implied, assuring results to be obtained from undertaking or not undertaking any diagnostic or therapeutic procedure in the course of health care, unless such contract is set forth in writing and signed by such health-care provider or by an authorized agent of such health-care provider.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6852 Informed consent.

(a) No recovery of damages based upon a lack of informed consent shall be allowed in any action for medical negligence unless: (1) The injury alleged involved a nonemergency treatment, procedure or surgery; and (2) The injured party proved by a preponderance of evidence that the health-care provider did not supply information regarding such treatment, procedure or surgery to the extent customarily given to patients, or other persons authorized to give consent for patients by other licensed health-care providers in the same or similar field of medicine as the defendant. (b) In any action for medical negligence, in addition to other defenses provided by law, it shall be a defense to any allegation that such health-care provider treated, examined or otherwise rendered professional care to an injured party without his or her informed consent that: (1) A person of ordinary intelligence and awareness in a position similar to that of the injured party could reasonably be expected to appreciate and comprehend hazards inherent in such treatment; (2) The injured party assured the health-care provider he or she would undergo the treatment regardless of the risk involved or that he or she did not want to be given the information or any part thereof to which he or she could otherwise be entitled; or (3) It was reasonable for the health-care provider to limit the extent of his or her disclosures of the risks of the treatment, procedure or surgery to the injured party because further disclosure could be expected to affect, adversely and substantially, the injured party’s condition, or the outcome of the treatment, procedure or surgery.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6853 Affidavit of merit, expert medical testimony.

(a) No health-care negligence lawsuit shall be filed in this State unless the complaint is accompanied by: (1) An affidavit of merit as to each defendant signed by an expert witness, as defined in § 6854 of this title, and accompanied by a current curriculum vitae of the witness, stating that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there has been health-care medical negligence committed by each defendant. If the required affidavit does not accompany the complaint or if a motion to extend the time to file said affidavit as permitted by paragraph (a)(2) of this section has not been filed with the court, then the Prothonotary or clerk of the court shall refuse to file the complaint and it shall not be docketed with the court. The affidavit of merit and curriculum vitae shall be filed with the court in a sealed envelope which envelope shall state on its face: “Confidential subject to 18 del. C., section 6853. The contents of this envelope May only be viewed by a judge of the superior court.” Notwithstanding any law or rule to the contrary the affidavit of merit shall be and shall remain sealed and confidential, except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, shall not be a public record and is exempt from Chapter 100 of Title 29. (2) The court, may, upon timely motion of the plaintiff and for good cause shown, grant a single 60-day extension for the time of filing the affidavit of merit. Good cause shall include, but not be limited to, the inability to obtain, despite reasonable efforts, relevant medical records for expert review. (3) A motion to extend the time for filing an affidavit of merit is timely only if it is filed on or before the filing date that the plaintiff seeks to extend. The filing of a motion to extend the time for filing an affidavit of merit tolls the time period within which the affidavit must be filed until the court rules on the motion. (4) The defendant or defendants not required to take any action with respect to the complaint in such cases until 20 days after plaintiff has filed the affidavit or affidavits of merit. (b) An affidavit of merit shall be unnecessary if the complaint alleges a rebuttable inference of medical negligence, the grounds of which are set forth below in subsection (e) of this section. (c) Qualifications of expert and contents of affidavit. — The affidavit or affidavits of merit shall set forth the expert’s opinion that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the applicable standard of care was breached by the named defendant or defendants and that the breach was a proximate cause of injury or injuries claimed in the complaint. An expert signing an affidavit of merit shall be licensed to practice medicine as of the date of the affidavit; and in the 3 years immediately preceding the alleged negligent act has been engaged in the treatment of patients and/or in the teaching/academic side of medicine in the same or similar field of medicine as the defendant or defendants, and the expert shall be Board certified in the same or similar field of medicine if the defendant or defendants is Board certified. The Board Certification requirement shall not apply to an expert that began the practice of medicine prior to the existence of Board certification in the applicable specialty. (d) Upon motion by the defendant the court shall determine in camera if the affidavit of merit complies with paragraph (a)(1) and subsection (c) of this section. The affidavit of merit shall not be discoverable in any medical negligence action. The affidavit of merit itself, and the fact that an expert has signed the affidavit of merit, shall not be admissible nor may the expert be questioned in any respect about the existence of said affidavit in the underlying medical negligence action or any subsequent unrelated medical negligence action in which that expert is a witness. (e) No liability shall be based upon asserted negligence unless expert medical testimony is presented as to the alleged deviation from the applicable standard of care in the specific circumstances of the case and as to the causation of the alleged personal injury or death; provided, however, that a rebuttable inference that personal injury or death was caused by negligence shall arise where evidence is presented that the personal injury or death occurred in any 1 or more of the following circumstances: (1) A foreign object was unintentionally left within the body of the patient following surgery; (2) An explosion or fire originating in a substance used in treatment occurred in the course of treatment; or (3) A surgical procedure was performed on the wrong patient or the wrong organ, limb or part of the patient’s body. Except as otherwise provided herein, there shall be no inference or presumption of negligence on the part of a health-care provider.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6854 Expert witness.

No person shall be competent to give expert medical testimony as to applicable standards of skill and care unless such person is familiar with the degree of skill ordinarily employed in the field of medicine on which he or she will testify.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6855 Punitive damages.

In any action for medical negligence, punitive damages may be awarded only if it is found that the injury complained of was maliciously intended or was the result of wilful or wanton misconduct by the health-care provider, and may be awarded only if separately awarded by the trier of fact in a separate finding from any finding of compensatory damages which separate finding shall also state the amounts being awarded for each such category of damages. Injuries shall not be considered maliciously intended in instances in which unforeseen damage or injury results from intended medication, manipulation, surgery, treatment or the intended omission thereof, administered or omitted without actual malice or if the intended treatment is applied or omitted by mistake to or for the wrong patient or wrong organ.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6856 General limitations.

No action for the recovery of damages upon a claim against a health-care provider for personal injury, including personal injury which results in death, arising out of medical negligence shall be brought after the expiration of 2 years from the date upon which such injury occurred; provided, however, that: (1) Solely in the event of personal injury the occurrence of which, during such period of 2 years, was unknown to and could not in the exercise of reasonable diligence have been discovered by the injured person, such action may be brought prior to the expiration of 3 years from the date upon which such injury occurred, and not thereafter; and (2) A minor under the age of 6 years shall have until the latter of time for bringing such an action as provided for hereinabove or until the minor’s 6th birthday in which to bring an action. (3) a. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, a cause of action based on the sexual abuse of a child patient by a health-care provider may be brought at any time following the commission of the act or acts that constituted the sexual abuse. A civil cause of action for sexual abuse of a child patient by a health-care provider shall be based upon sexual acts which would constitute a criminal offense under the Delaware Code. b. Through July 13, 2012, a child patient who has been a victim of sexual abuse by a health-care provider which was discovered and reported to a person or legal entity specified in § 1731A of Title 24 or which was unknown to and could not in the exercise of reasonable diligence have been discovered by the child patient or a parent, guardian, and/or next friend of a child patient, and as a consequence whose claim is barred by virtue of the expiration of the former civil statute of limitations, shall be permitted to file such claim in the Superior Court of this State. If the health-care provider committing the act of sexual abuse against a child patient was employed by an institution, agency, firm, business, corporation, or other public or private legal entity licensed by the State to provide health-care services that owed a duty of care to the child patient, or the health-care provider was engaged in some activity over which such legal entity had control, damages against such legal entity shall be awarded under this paragraph only if there is a finding of gross negligence on the part of the legal entity. c. A person against whom a suit is filed may recover attorneys’ fees where the Court determines that a false accusation was made with no basis in fact and with malicious intent. A verdict in favor of the accused shall not be the sole basis for a determination that an accusation was false. The Court must make an independent finding of an improper motive to award attorneys’ fees under this section. d. Nothing contained in this section shall apply to conduct by a health-care provider which is consistent with the recognized standard of care or the subject of a written consent. (4) A plaintiff may toll the above statutes of limitations for a period of time up to 90 days from the applicable limitations contained in this section by sending a Notice of Intent to investigate to each potential defendant or defendants by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the defendant’s or defendants’ regular place of business. The notice shall state the name of the potential defendant or defendants, the potential plaintiff and give a brief description of the issue being investigated by plaintiff’s counsel. The 90 days shall run from the last day of the applicable statute of limitations contained in this section. The notice shall not be filed with the court. If suit is filed after the applicable statute of limitations in this section, but before the 90-day period in this section expires, a copy of the notice shall be attached to the complaint to prove compliance with the statute of limitations.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6857 Savings clause.

This chapter applies to actions, cases and proceedings brought after April 26, 1976, and also applies to any further conduct of actions, cases and proceedings then pending, except to the extent that application of this chapter would not be feasible, or would work injustice, in which event former procedures apply.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6858 Tail coverage for Veterans Administration hospital surgeons.

No insurance policy sold or delivered in this State providing insurance for acts of medical negligence or malpractice shall revoke the tail coverage of a retired physician as a consequence of that physician ending that physician’s retirement for the specific and sole purpose of practicing medicine at a Veterans Administration facility in the State. Any contract language inconsistent with this section is void under Delaware law.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6861 Advance payment; evidence thereof.

(a) Any advance payment made by a defendant health care provider or the provider’s insurer to or for a plaintiff or any other person shall not be construed as an admission of liability for injuries or damages suffered by the plaintiff or anyone else in an action brought for health care medical negligence. (b) Evidence of an advance payment shall not be admissible unless there is a final judgment in favor of the plaintiff, in which event the Court shall reduce the judgment to the plaintiff to the extent of the advance payment. The advance payment shall inure to the exclusive credit of the defendant or the defendant’s insurer making the payment. In the event the advance payment exceeds the liability of the defendant or the insurer making it, the Court shall order any adjustment necessary to equalize the amount which each defendant is obligated to pay, exclusive of costs. In no case shall an advance payment in excess of an award be repayable by the person receiving it.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6862 Collateral source.

In any medical negligence action for damages because of property damage or bodily injury, including death resulting therefrom, there may be introduced, and if introduced, the trier of facts shall consider evidence of: (1) Any and all facts available as to any public collateral source of compensation or benefits payable to the person seeking such damages (including all sums which will probably be paid payable to such person in the future) on account of such property damage or bodily injury; and (2) any and all changes, including prospective changes, in the marital, financial or other status of any persons seeking or benefiting from such damages known to the parties at the time of trial; provided, however, this section shall not be applicable to life insurance or private collateral sources of compensation or benefits.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6863 Nonassignability of claims.

A claim for compensation under this chapter is not assignable; provided, however, that rights of subrogation shall not be deemed to constitute assignment.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6864 Periodic payments; reduction of awards in event of certain contingencies.

(a) Where a person recovers a judgment against a health-care provider, the Court may, after making a determination as to the amount of such judgment which was awarded as compensation for future pain and suffering, if any, the amount of such judgment awarded for future expenses of care of the injured party made necessary by reason of the injury involved, if any, and the amount of such judgment awarded as compensation for any other future damages, if any, direct that: (1) There shall be deducted from the award, and paid to the plaintiff, an amount sufficient to cover the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees, expenses related to the litigation, expenses incurred for past health-care and pain and suffering incurred as of the date of said payment; (2) The remainder of the award shall be paid to the plaintiff in equal or unequal monthly installments to be fixed by the Court for a period of time to be fixed by the Court; provided, however, that in addition thereto, medical expenses incurred and paid by plaintiff not otherwise reimbursed shall also be paid to plaintiff from the undistributed portion of the award; (3) Each monthly installment shall, in addition, include a payment of interest on the then unpaid balance at a rate to be fixed by the Court. (b) If a plaintiff receiving installment payments of a judgment shall die before the expiration of a 20-year period from the date of the award, and prior to the receipt by the plaintiff or on the plaintiff’s behalf of all such installment payments, the Court shall deduct from the total of the installment payments then remaining unpaid the amount thereof representing compensation for future pain and suffering and future expenses of care made necessary by the injury involved, shall cause the balance of all such installments after such deduction to be paid to the estate of the plaintiff so dying and shall cause such judgment to be marked satisfied. (c) If the plaintiff receiving installment payments shall die after the expiration of a 20-year period from the date of the award, then the payment shall automatically terminate as of the date of the plaintiff’s death.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6865 Limitation on attorneys’ fees.

(a) The amount of the claimant’s attorneys’ fees may not exceed the amounts in the following schedule: (1) 35% of the first $100,000 of damages; (2) 25% of the next $100,000 of damages; (3) 10% of the balance of any awarded damages. (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a claimant has the right to elect to pay for the attorneys’ services on a mutually satisfactory per diem basis. The election, however, must be exercised in written form at the time of employment.

Del. Code tit. 18, § 6870 §§ 6870, 6871. Study Commission; submission of reports and proposed legislation.

Repealed by 67 Del. Laws, c. 105, § 1, effective July 12, 1989.
Source: DE Code (Official Site)URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title18/c068/sc01/index.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026