Title 10 — Health and Safety

This Chapter may be cited as the Medical Malpractice Mandatory Arbitration Act.

As used in this chapter: (a) Association means the American Arbitration Association or other entity organized to arbitrate disputes pursuant to this Chapter. (b) Health professional means any person licensed or certified to practice the healing arts within the territory of Guam. …

Any claim that accrues or is being pursued in the territory of Guam, whether in tort, contract, or otherwise, shall be submitted to mandatory arbitration pursuant to the terms of this Chapter if it is a controversy between the patient, his relatives, his heirs-at-law or personal …

Arbitration is initiated by a petitioner or petitioners serving a written demand for arbitration upon a respondent or respondents in the same manner provided by law for the service of summons in the Superior Court of Guam; except that the petitioner or his agent may serve the dem…

Within twenty (20) days after service of a demand for arbitration, the respondent or respondents shall file a response to the demand for arbitration and serve it upon the petitioner or petitioners, or their attorney. The response shall identify any defenses then known to the resp…

COL120106 A claim shall be waived and forever barred as against a respondent if on the date the demand is served the applicable statute of limitations would bar the claim.

The prevailing standard of duty, practice, or care by a reasonable physician in the same field practicing medicine in the community at the time of the alleged malpractice shall be the standard applied in the arbitration.

The Association shall administer a proceeding filed under this Chapter. The administrative expense shall be as agreed to by the parties and the Association, or as may be provided by the Association. The administrative costs shall be equally shared by the parties subject to an awa…

An arbitration under this Chapter shall be heard by a panel of three (3) arbitrators. The chairperson shall be decided by the three (3) panel members and shall have jurisdiction over pre-hearing procedures. The three (3) panel members shall include an attorney, a physician, prefe…

The Association shall make an initial screening for bias as may be appropriate and shall require a candidate for a particular case to complete a current personal disclosure statement under oath. In addition to other relevant information this statement shall disclose any personal …

The arbitration proceeding shall be subject to rules promulgated by the Association in conformance with this chapter. COL120106

In cases involving a common question of law or fact, when there are multiple petitioners and/or multiple respondents, the disputes, controversies, and issues shall be consolidated into a single arbitration proceeding. (a) A person who is not a party to the arbitration may join in…

Prior to the institution of a proceeding or claim by a patient, any offer of reparations and all communications incidental thereto made in writing to a patient by a health professional or health care institution are privileged and may not be used by any party to establish the lia…

(a) When a minor, or an insane or incompetent person is a petitioner, he must appear either by general guardian or a Guardian Ad Litem appointed by the Superior Court of Guam. A Guardian Ad Litem may be appointed in a claim for arbitration under this chapter when it is deemed by …

If any suit or proceeding is brought in the courts of Guam upon any issue referable to arbitration under this chapter, the court in which said suit is pending, upon being satisfied that the issue involved in such suit or proceeding is referable to arbitration under this chapter, …

The party aggrieved by the alleged failure, neglect, or refusal of another to arbitrate under this chapter, may petition the Superior Court of Guam, for an order directing that such arbitration proceed in the manner provided for in this chapter. Five (5) days notice in writing of…

Once the arbitration panel has been selected, each of the arbitrators shall be provided with a copy of the demand for arbitration and any responses thereto by the Association. Each of the arbitrators shall also be provided by the Association with the parties= notices to each othe…

The panel or its chairperson in the arbitration proceeding shall, upon COL120106 application by a party to the proceeding, and may upon its own deter- mination, issue a subpoena requiring a person to appear and be examined with reference to a matter within the scope of the procee…

A hearing shall be informal and the arbitrators shall be the sole judge of the relevancy and materiality of the evidence offered. (a) The arbitrators may receive and consider evidence in the form of an affidavit, but shall give appropriate weight to any objections made. All docum…

Within thirty (30) days after the arbitrators have been selected, any petitioner pursuing a claim against a respondent shall identify the expert witnesses that the petitioner will call at the arbitration hearing. When identifying such experts, the petitioner shall provide the nam…

Within thirty (30) days after the respondent has identified respondent's expert witnesses, the parties shall exchange a list of witnesses that they expect to call to testify at the arbitration hearing along with a summary of each witnesses' proposed testimony. The parties shall a…

Additional discovery, not otherwise provided for in this chapter, such as depositions, interrogatories and requests to produce, shall not be permit- ted unless: (a) The parties stipulate to allow additional discovery; or, COL120106 (b) A majority of the arbitrators at the pre- ar…

Within thirty (30) days after the parties have exchanged their lists of witnesses and provided each other with the documents that the parties in- tend to introduce as evidence at the arbitration hearing, the arbitrators shall meet at a place designated by the chairperson and cond…

Any arbitration brief to be filed by a petitioner must be filed at least ten (10) working days before the arbitration hearing. Any arbitration brief to be filed by a respondent must be filed at least five (5) working days before the arbitration hearing. A petitioner may file a re…

Any party may be represented in hearings before the arbitration panel by counsel. A party may appear without counsel, and shall be advised of such right and the right to retain counsel in a manner calculated to inform the person COL120106 of the nature and complexity of a proceed…

Parties to the arbitration and their counsel are entitled to attend all hearings. Non-party witnesses may be excluded by either party upon request.

The arbitrators shall require all witnesses at the arbitration hearing to testify under oath.

The arbitration may proceed in the absence of any party who, after due notice, fails to be present. An award shall not be made solely on the default of a party. The arbitrators shall require the attending party to submit evidence.

Hearings may be adjourned by a majority of the arbitrators only for good cause, and an appropriate fee will be charged if the arbitrators determine that a party has wrongfully caused an adjournment to take place.

Any party who proceeds with arbitration after knowledge that any provision of this chapter has not been complied with and fails to state his objections thereto in writing shall be deemed to have waived his right to object.

Except for the parties to the arbitration and their agents, officers, and employees, all witnesses appearing pursuant to subpoena are entitled to receive fees and mileage in the same amount and under the same circumstances as prescribed by law for witnesses in civil actions in th…

Damages shall be monetary only and shall be without limitation as to nature or amount unless otherwise provided by law.

The award of the arbitrators shall be rendered promptly by the arbitrators and, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, not later than twenty (20) business days from the date of the close of the hearing. However, if the arbitrators fail to render an award within twenty (20) busin…

A majority of the panel of arbitrators may grant monetary damages only deemed equitable and just. (a) The award in the arbitration proceeding shall be in writing and shall be signed by the arbitrators or a majority of the panel of arbitrators. An award cannot be rendered unless i…

COL120106 The parties shall accept as legal delivery of the award the placing of the award or a true copy thereof in the mail by the arbitrators addressed to such party at its last known address or to the party's attorney, or personal service of the award on the party or the part…

At any time within one (1) year after an award is made, any party to the arbitration may apply to the Superior Court of Guam for an order confirming the award and thereupon the court must grant such an order unless the award is vacated, modified, corrected, or appealed as prescri…

In any of the following cases, the Superior Court of Guam may make an order vacating the award upon the application of any party to the arbitration: (a) Where the award was procured by corruption, fraud or undue means; (b) Where there was corruption in any of the arbitrators; (c)…

COL120106 In any of the following cases, the Superior Court of Guam may make an order modifying or correcting the award upon the application of any party to the arbitration: (a) Where there was an evident material miscalculation of figures or an evident material mistake in the de…

Notice of a motion to vacate, modify, or correct an award must be served upon the adverse party or his attorney within thirty (30) days after the award is served upon the party seeking to vacate, modify or correct the award.

(a) Within thirty (30) days after the award is served upon the parties, any party may file with the clerk of the Superior Court of Guam and serve on the other parties and the Association a written Notice of Appeal and Request for Trial De Novo of the action. (b) After the filing …

(a) The clerk shall seal any arbitration award if a trial de novo is requested. The jury will not be informed of the arbitration proceeding, the award, or about any other aspect of the arbitration proceedings. The sealed arbitration award shall not be opened until after the verdi…

Every case transferred to the court shall maintain the approximate position on the civil trial docket as if the case had not been so transferred, unless at the discretion of the court, the docket position is modified.

(a) The Prevailing Party in a trial de novo is the party who has (1) appealed and improved upon the arbitration award by forty percent (40%) or more, or (2) has not appealed and the opposing party has appealed and failed to improve upon the arbitration award by forty percent (40%…

(a) After the verdict is received and filed, or the court's decision rendered in a trial de novo, the trial court shall impose sanctions, as set forth below, against the non-prevailing party whose appeal resulted in the trail de novo. (b) The sanctions to be imposed by the court …

Claims against the government of Guam and its agencies are governed by the Government Claims Act. Thus, this chapter does not apply to claims against the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority or other health care institu- tions established by the government of Guam.

This chapter shall not apply to any claim that accrues before the date that the chapter becomes law.

The provisions of Title 5, Chapter 32, Guam Code Annotated, entitled, Deceptive Trade Practices - Consumer Protection Act, shall not be applicable to this chapter and to the extent any of the provisions of this chapter are inconsistent or conflict with the provisions of the Decep…

If any section or sentence of this chapter is deemed unconstitutional, then that section or sentence shall be severed from the chapter and the re- mainder of the chapter shall remain and be of full force and effect. ---------- COL120106 COL120106