Montana Code 50-4-1005. Private cause of action for subsequent harm
50-4-1005. Private cause of action for subsequent harm. (1) Any health care professional or physician who provides the medical treatments prohibited in 50-4-1004(1)(a) or (1)(b) is strictly liable to that person if the medical treatment or the after-effects of the medical treatment result in any injury, including physical, psychological, emotional, or physiological harms, within the next 25 years.
Terms Used In Montana Code 50-4-1005
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Health care professional: means a person who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by the laws of this state to administer health care in the ordinary course of the practice of the person's profession. See Montana Code 50-4-1003
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Physician: means a person who is licensed to practice medicine in this state. See Montana Code 50-4-1003
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(2)Except as provided in subsection (3), a person who suffers an injury described in subsection (1) or the person’s legal guardian or estate may bring a civil action with respect to the injury or for any violation of 50-4-1004 within 4 years from the time of discovery by the injured party of both the injury and the causal relationship between the medical treatment and the injury against the offending health care professional or physician in a court of competent jurisdiction for:
(a)declaratory or injunctive relief;
(b)compensatory damages, including but not limited to pain and suffering, loss of reputation, loss of income, and loss of consortium, including the loss of expectation of sharing parenthood;
(c)punitive damages;
(d)any other appropriate relief; and
(e)attorney fees and costs.
(3)(a) If, at the time the person subjected to medical treatment discovers the injury and the causal relationship between the medical treatment and the injury, the person is under legal disability, the limitation period in subsection (2) does not begin to run until the removal of the disability.
(b)The limitation period in subsection (2) does not run during a time period when the individual is subject to threats, intimidation, manipulation, fraudulent concealment, or fraud perpetrated by the health care professional or physician who provided the medical treatment described in subsection (1) or by any person acting in the interest of the health care professional or physician.
(4)A health care professional or physician may not be indemnified for potential liability under this section.
(5)The attorney general may bring an action to enforce compliance with this section.
(6)This section does not deny, impair, or otherwise affect any right or authority of the attorney general, the state, or any agency, officer, or employee of the state, acting under any law other than this section, to institute or intervene in any proceeding.