(a) Insurance companies providing insurance coverage against civil liability for the death or personal injury of any person as the result of negligence or health care liability in the rendering of professional services by a licensed physician, either doctor of osteopathic medicine or doctor of medicine, or by a licensed dentist shall report to the state board of medical examiners or state board of osteopathic examination or the state board of dentistry any settlement of a claim or judgment, sealed, confidential or otherwise, of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more that arises out of a claim of negligence or health care liability on the part of an insured physician or dentist as distinguished from administrative matters. The report shall be made within thirty (30) days of the settlement or judgment and shall contain only the following information:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 56-3-111

  • 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.
  • 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: means any association, aggregate of individuals, business, company, corporation, individual, joint-stock company, Lloyds-type organization, organization, partnership, receiver, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, trustee or society. See Tennessee Code 56-16-102
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
(1) The name and address of the licensed physician or dentist;
(2) The name and address of the plaintiff;
(3) The name of the patient, if different from the plaintiff;
(4) The name and location of the court in which a claim was filed, if any;
(5) The amount of any judgment or settlement; and
(6) The identity of the insurance company and the person filling out the report.
(b) The reports shall be confidential, shall not be subject to public inspection, shall not be subject to subpoena or used as evidence in any legal proceeding, civil or criminal; provided, however, that the reported judgments and settlements contained in the reports, except those that are ordered sealed or to remain confidential by a court of competent jurisdiction, may be used to fulfill the requirements of the Health Care Consumer Right to Know Act of 1998, compiled in title 63, chapter 32, but may not be used to initiate or prosecute any administrative proceeding before the board for licensing health care facilities.
(c) No insurance company, official, or other person authorized by an insurance company to issue the reports shall be liable for filing reports in accordance with this section, so long as the report is not disclosed to anyone other than authorized personnel of the state board of medical examiners, state board of osteopathic examination or the state board of dentistry, or the reported judgments and settlements contained in the reports, except those that are ordered sealed or to remain confidential by a court of competent jurisdiction are used to fulfill the requirements of the Health Care Consumer Right to Know Act of 1998.
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