Providing for the use of best practice guidelines in medical malpractice cases as an absolute defense against allegations, excepting guidelines authorizing or recommending the denial of treatment, food or fluids necessary to sustain life; limiting the amount of damages allowed to be awarded for noneconomic losses in malpractice actions against health care providers regardless of the number of parties involved, prohibiting disclosure of the limit to the trier of fact, requiring court or jury reduction of amounts awarded in excess of the limit; limiting the amount of punitive, exemplary or similar damages allowed to be awarded, requiring damages awarded to be paid directly to the Minnesota comprehensive health association (MCHA) to be used to reduce member assessments; prohibiting the award of excessive attorney fees, specifying certain limits; exempting licensed private nonprofit hospitals from liability for punitive, exemplary or similar damages awarded for noneconomic losses
(mk)