2005 Connecticut Code - Sec. 52-190a. Prior reasonable inquiry and certificate of good faith required in negligence action against health care provider.

      Sec. 52-190a. Prior reasonable inquiry and certificate of good faith required in negligence action against health care provider. (a) No civil action shall be filed to recover damages resulting from personal injury or wrongful death occurring on or after October 1, 1987, whether in tort or in contract, in which it is alleged that such injury or death resulted from the negligence of a health care provider, unless the attorney or party filing the action has made a reasonable inquiry as permitted by the circumstances to determine that there are grounds for a good faith belief that there has been negligence in the care or treatment of the claimant. The complaint or initial pleading shall contain a certificate of the attorney or party filing the action that such reasonable inquiry gave rise to a good faith belief that grounds exist for an action against each named defendant. For the purposes of this section, such good faith may be shown to exist if the claimant or his attorney has received a written opinion, which shall not be subject to discovery by any party except for questioning the validity of the certificate, of a similar health care provider, as defined in section 52-184c, which similar health care provider shall be selected pursuant to the provisions of said section, that there appears to be evidence of medical negligence. In addition to such written opinion, the court may consider other factors with regard to the existence of good faith. If the court determines, after the completion of discovery, that such certificate was not made in good faith and that no justiciable issue was presented against a health care provider that fully cooperated in providing informal discovery, the court upon motion or upon its own initiative shall impose upon the person who signed such certificate or a represented party, or both, an appropriate sanction which may include an order to pay to the other party or parties the amount of the reasonable expenses incurred because of the filing of the pleading, motion or other paper, including a reasonable attorney's fee. The court may also submit the matter to the appropriate authority for disciplinary review of the attorney if the claimant's attorney submitted the certificate.

      (b) Upon petition to the clerk of the court where the action will be filed, an automatic ninety-day extension of the statute of limitations shall be granted to allow the reasonable inquiry required by subsection (a) of this section. This period shall be in addition to other tolling periods.

      (P.A. 86-338, S. 12; P.A. 87-227, S. 9; P.A. 03-202, S. 14.)

      History: P.A. 87-227 amended Subsec. (a) to replace provision that "No action, accruing on or after October 1, 1986, shall be filed to recover damages for personal injury or wrongful death" with "No civil action shall be filed to recover damages resulting from personal injury or wrongful death occurring on or after October 1, 1987"; P.A. 03-202 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting provision re form prescribed by rules of the superior court and making technical changes.

      P.A. 86-338 cited. 214 C. 1, 6, 7. Good faith certificate is not jurisdictional. 215 C. 701, 702, 705-710, 713. Cited. 236 C. 681, 690. Cited. 242 C. 1. In workers compensation case where city sought to intervene in employee's negligence action against physician, the city as a would-be intervenor was not required to file a good faith certificate where employee had filed such a certificate and the city asserted no additional claims. 253 C. 429. Applies only to civil actions to recover damages and does not apply to apportionment complaints under Sec. 52-102b which seek only apportionment of liability. 269 C. 10.

      Cited. 26 CA 497-499, 501. Cited. 33 CA 378, 380, 383, 384, 386. Cited. 37 CA 105, 123. Fall by person dependent on a wheelchair while transferring from wheelchair to an exercise mat at physical therapy facility during scheduled session, where transfers were a stated goal of therapy, is medical malpractice. 61 CA 353.

      Cited. 41 CS 169, 173-175.

      Subsec. (a):

      Cited. 215 C. 701, 705, 709, 712. Cited. 242 C. 1.

      Cited. 33 CA 378.

      Cited. 41 CS 169, 170, 172.

      Subsec. (b):

      Cited. 242 C. 1. Ninety-day extension provided in subsec. applies equally to both the two-year statute of limitation and three-year statute of repose in Sec. 52-584. 269 C. 787.

      Cited. 33 CA 378, 381-383, 385. Cited. 43 CA 397.