SOURCE: KRQE
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed emergency legislation to tweak New Mexico’s new law on medical malpractice to head off a possible loss of insurance coverage for some health care providers.
Lujan Grisham’s office said she signed the legislation Wednesday and appreciated that the Legislature acted on the issue during a recent special session on redistricting and pandemic relief.
Officials said the new medical malpractice law, which takes effect Jan. 1, needed to be changed so that numerous physician-owned small businesses could keep their insurance coverage and stay open.
A coalition of plaintiffs’ lawyers, hospital officials, physicians and patient advocates supported the special session legislation to eliminate questions about legal liability of independent doctors, including surgeons who practice at various hospitals.
The new law taking effect Jan. 1 adjusts New Mexico’s caps for legal damages available to people harmed by medical wrongdoing or negligence.