18 Del. Admin. Code § 1401-12.0

Current through Register Vol. 28, No. 5, November 1, 2024

Section 1401-12.0 - Convening of Panel

12.1 On and after June 25, 1976, any party to any civil action alleging malpractice as defined in 18 Del.C. § 6801(7), at any time after the filing of an answer or any motion filed in lieu thereof, shall have the right to convene a malpractice review panel by filing a demand therefor with the Prothonotary, all parties to the civil action, and the Commissioner. The demand for the convening of such a malpractice review panel shall be in substantially the following form:

Name of Case: ____________________ Civil Action No.__________________

The undersigned (name of petitioner), of (city) in (county), being a party to the above civil action alleging malpractice within the meaning of 18 Del.C. § 6801(7), certifies that:

12.1.1 (patient's name) was a patient of (health care provider), on (date); and

12.1.2 Said (health care provider), in treating said (patient's name) for (nature of condition or disease), is alleged to have committed an act of malpractice in rendering or failing to render health care services to the injury of (patient's name) in that (short statement of incident and injury); and

12.1.3 A complaint and an answer have been filed in the above-mentioned action (or a motion has been filed in lieu of an answer), copies of which are annexed hereto.

In consequence thereof, the undersigned petitioner hereby respectfully and in good faith requests that a panel be convened pursuant to 18 Del.C. § 6802 for investigation of this matter.

____________________________________

Petitioner or Attorney for Petitioner

12.2 Upon receipt of a demand for convening a malpractice review panel, the Commissioner shall appoint a member of his staff as the ex-officio member of the panel. The ex-officio member, after consultation with the appropriate medical professional society, shall also designate the health care discipline involved. See 18 Del.C. § 6804(a). The member of the Commissioner's staff so appointed shall, within five days of his appointment, advise all named parties where they may inspect copies of the various lists prepared and updated by the Commissioner, which lists contain the names and descriptions of potential panel members.

12.3 The members of the panel shall be selected from such lists in accordance with 18 Del.C. § 6805 and the provisions of this rule. If the parties to the action do not, within ten days after receipt of such notice, agree in writing to the ex-officio member of the panel on the members of such panel, the ex-officio member of the panel shall so inform the Commissioner. The ex-officio member of the panel shall then promptly submit a list of each category of proposed panelists to the parties. The number of persons on each list will be calculated by the following formula: three times the number of parties plus two persons for each category. The parties shall exercise their peremptory challenges within ten days from receipt of the list, delivering these challenges to the ex-officio member of the panel who shall promptly select the panel from the remaining names on each list by lot.

12.4 Promptly after selection of the panel, the ex-officio member of the panel shall notify the parties of the date by which all evidence shall be submitted to the panel pursuant to 18 Del.C. § 6807. The ex-officio member shall be responsible for presentation or delivery of such evidence or copies thereof to the panel members as expeditiously as feasible.

12.5 In the event a hearing is to be held, the ex-officio member of the panel, after consulting with the members selected for the panel and the parties, shall schedule it promptly. The parties to the proceeding shall be given not less than ten days' notice of such hearing. Either party may submit further evidence, in addition to that referred to in section 12.4 hereof, at that time.

12.6 A request for a continuance of the hearing may be made in writing to the chairperson. A continuance will be granted only upon good cause shown.

18 Del. Admin. Code § 1401-12.0