North Carolina General Statutes 131D-21.2. Quality assurance, medical, or peer review committees
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 131D-21.2
- Adult care home: is a n assisted living residence in which the housing management provides 24-hour scheduled and unscheduled personal care services to two or more residents, either directly or, for scheduled needs, through formal written agreement with licensed home care or hospice agencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 131D-20
- 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.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Testify: Answer questions in court.
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
(a) A member of a duly appointed quality assurance, medical, or peer review committee shall not be subject to liability for damages in any civil action on account of any act, statement, or proceeding undertaken, made, or performed within the scope of the functions of the committee, if the committee member acts without malice or fraud, and if such peer review committee is approved and operates in accordance with N.C. Gen. Stat. § 131D-21.1
(b) The proceedings of a quality assurance, medical, or peer review committee, the records and materials it produces and the materials it considers shall be confidential and not considered public records within the meaning of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1, ” ‘Public records’ defined”, and shall not be subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil action against an adult care home or a provider of professional health services that results from matters that are the subject of evaluation and review by the committee. No person who was in attendance at a meeting of the committee shall be required to testify in any civil action as to any evidence or other matters produced or presented during the proceedings of the committee or as to any findings, recommendations, evaluations, opinions, or other actions of the committee or its members. However, information, documents, or records otherwise available are not immune from discovery or use in a civil action merely because they were presented during proceedings of the committee. Documents otherwise available as public records within the meaning of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1 do not lose their status as public records merely because they were presented or considered during proceedings of the committee. A member of the committee or a person who testifies before the committee may testify in a civil action but cannot be asked about the person’s testimony before the committee or any opinions formed as a result of the committee hearings. (2004-149, s. 2.3; 2006-264, s. 65.)