Title 27, Title 27

The panel shall review all malpractice claims or potential claims against chiropractic physicians covered by this chapter, except claims subject to a valid arbitration agreement allowed by law.

Panelists and witnesses are absolutely immune from civil liability for all communications, findings, opinions, and conclusions made in the course and scope of the duties prescribed by this chapter.

The executive director of the Montana chiropractic association shall appoint the director of the panel, subject to the approval of the chief justice of the Montana supreme court. The director shall serve at the pleasure of and the director's salary must be set by the executive di…

(1) The director, subject to the approval of the chief justice, may employ and fix the compensation for clerical and other assistants that the director considers necessary. (2) The panel shall maintain adequate offices, in which its records must be kept and official business tran…

(1) Each member of the panel must be paid a salary of $40 an hour, under guidelines promulgated by the Montana supreme court. (2) Each member of the panel, the director, and the director's staff are entitled to travel expenses incurred while on the business of the panel, as provi…

The director, in consultation with the state bar of Montana and subject to approval of the supreme court, is authorized to adopt and publish rules of procedure necessary to implement and carry out the duties of the panel. Rules may not be adopted that require a party to make a mo…

The panel may provide for the administration of oaths, the receipt of claims filed, the promulgation of forms required by rules adopted by the director, the issuance of subpoenas, and the performance of all other acts required to fairly and effectively administer this chapter.

(1) There is a pretrial review fund to be administered by the director for the purposes stated in this chapter. The fund and any income from it must be held in trust, deposited in an account, and invested and reinvested by the director. The fund may not become part of or revert t…

(1) The panel and fund may be audited by or at the direction of the legislative auditor and in accordance with 5-13-304 and 5-13-309. Any audit that is conducted by the legislative auditor or approved by the legislative auditor under 5-13-411 must include a determination of the a…

A claimant shall submit a case for the consideration of the panel before filing a complaint in a court sitting in Montana by addressing an application in writing, signed by the claimant or the claimant's attorney, to the director of the panel.

The application must contain a statement: (1) in reasonable detail of the elements of the chiropractic physician's conduct that are believed to constitute a malpractice claim, the dates the conduct occurred, and the names and addresses of all witnesses, chiropractic and other phy…

Amendments to an application may be made in the manner authorized by rule.

If an application employs a theory of respondeat superior or any other derivative theory of recovery, the director shall give a copy of the application to the state professional society, association, or licensing board of both the individual chiropractic physician whose alleged m…

Upon receipt of an application, the director or the director's delegate shall serve a copy of the application on the chiropractic physician whose alleged malpractice caused the application to be filed. Service must be by mailing a certified copy of the application to the chiropra…

(1) If a chiropractic physician whose alleged malpractice caused the application to be filed chooses to retain legal counsel, the chiropractic physician's attorney shall informally enter an appearance with the director. (2) The chiropractic physician shall answer the application …

The director shall cooperate fully with the claimant in retaining as an expert consultant a chiropractic physician qualified in the field of chiropractic.

At least 10 days prior to the hearing, the director shall give each panel member copies of all claims, all briefs, all chiropractic, medical, or hospital records, and all other documents that the director considers necessary.

Those eligible to sit on the panel are chiropractic physicians licensed under Montana law and residing in Montana and attorneys who are members of the state bar of Montana. Three panel members who are chiropractic physicians and three panel members who are attorneys shall sit in …

The board of chiropractors and the director of the state bar of Montana shall each annually transmit a list of licensees to the director of the panel. Within 14 days from the date of transmittal of a list, the director shall select 12 proposed panelists from the list. The directo…

If there are multiple defendants, the case against each may be reviewed by a separate panel or, at the discretion of the panel initially appointed or by stipulation of the parties, a single combined panel may review all the claims against all defendants.

(1) A panel member or proposed member must be disqualified from consideration of a case in which, by virtue of the member's circumstances, the member believes that serving on the panel would be inappropriate, considering the purpose of the panel. The director may excuse a panel m…

(1) Subject to subsection (2), the director shall choose a date, time, and place for hearing and give prompt notice thereof to the parties involved, their attorneys, and the members of the panel. The hearing date may not be more than 120 days after transmittal of the application …

(1) At the time set for hearing, the claimant must be present and give a brief statement of the claimant's case, including the facts constituting the alleged professional malpractice that the claimant is prepared to prove. The chiropractic physician against whom the claim is brou…

(1) At the conclusion of the hearing, the panel may take the case under advisement or may request that additional facts, records, witnesses, or other information be obtained and presented to it at a supplemental hearing. The supplemental hearing must be held at a date and time no…

At or prior to the time set for the hearing, the attorney members of the panel shall select a presiding officer, who must be an attorney.

Upon consideration of all relevant evidence, the panel shall decide whether there is: (1) substantial evidence that the acts complained of occurred and that they constitute malpractice; and (2) a reasonable medical probability that the patient was injured thereby.

The deliberations of the panel are confidential. Each vote of the panel on a question for discussion must be by secret ballot. The decision must be by a majority vote of those voting members of the panel who sat during the case.

(1) The decision must: (a) be in writing and signed by the presiding officer; (b) contain only the conclusions reached by a majority of the panel; and (c) list the number of dissenting members, if any. (2) The majority may briefly explain the reasoning and the basis for its decis…

A copy of the decision must be given to the parties and their attorneys and retained in the permanent files of the panel.

The panel's decision is without administrative or judicial authority and is not binding upon a party. The panel may recommend an award or approve a settlement agreement. An approved settlement agreement is binding on the parties.

(1) Upon receipt of an application by the director, the running of an applicable limitation period in a malpractice claim is tolled as to each chiropractic physician named as a party and as to each other person or entity named as a necessary or proper party for a court action tha…

The director shall maintain records of all proceedings before the panel. The record must include the nature of the act or omission complained of, a brief summary of the evidence, the decision of the panel, and any majority or dissenting opinions filed. Records that identify a par…

(1) A panel member must not be called to testify in any proceeding concerning the deliberations, discussions, decisions, and internal proceedings of the panel. (2) A decision of the panel is not admissible as evidence in an action subsequently brought in a court of law.