MEDICAL MALPRACTICE COURT NOTICES

HB0241

HOUSE BILL 241

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Tara L. Lujan
and
Pamelya Herndon
and
Reena Szczepanski

AN ACT

RELATING TO PHYSICIANS; REQUIRING COURTS TO NOTIFY THE NEW
MEXICO MEDICAL BOARD WHEN PHYSICIANS ARE NAMED AS DEFENDANTS IN
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASES; EXTENDING THE PERIOD IN WHICH THE
NEW MEXICO MEDICAL BOARD MAY SUMMARILY SUSPEND LICENSEES;
REQUIRING THE NEW MEXICO MEDICAL BOARD TO POST CERTAIN
INFORMATION RELATING TO MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CLAIMS ON THE
BOARD'S WEBSITE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
Section 61-6-15.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2008,
Chapter 74, Section 1) is amended to read:

"61-6-15.1.
SUMMARY SUSPENSION OR RESTRICTION OF
LICENSE.--

A. The board may summarily suspend or restrict a
license issued by the board without a hearing, simultaneously
with or at any time after the initiation of proceedings for a
hearing provided under the Uniform Licensing Act, if the board
finds that evidence in its possession indicates that the
licensee:

(1) poses a clear and immediate danger to the
public health and safety if the licensee continues to practice;

(2) has been adjudged mentally incompetent by
a final order or adjudication by a court of competent
jurisdiction; or

(3) has pled guilty to or been found guilty of
any offense related to the practice of medicine or for any
violent criminal offense in this state or a substantially
equivalent criminal offense in another jurisdiction.

B. A licensee is not required to comply with a
summary action until service has been made or the licensee has
actual knowledge of the order, whichever occurs first.

C. A person whose license is suspended or
restricted under this section is entitled to a hearing by the
board pursuant to the Uniform Licensing Act within [
fifteen
]

thirty
days from the date the licensee requests a hearing."

SECTION 2.
Section 61-6-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1989,
Chapter 269, Section 12, as amended) is amended to read:

"61-6-16. REPORTING OF
MALPRACTICE CLAIMS
, SETTLEMENTS
AND JUDGMENTS, PROFESSIONAL REVIEW ACTIONS AND ACCEPTANCE OF
SURRENDERED LICENSE--IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL DAMAGES--PENALTY.--

A. When a malpractice claim is filed in a court of
New Mexico, the court shall notify the board of any licensees
named as defendants in the lawsuit. The court shall notify the
board if a claim against a licensee is dismissed, or if a claim
is amended to no longer include a licensee as a defendant.

[
A.
]
B.
All entities that make payments under a
policy of insurance, self-insurance or otherwise in settlement
or satisfaction of a judgment in a medical malpractice action
or claim, hospitals, health care entities and professional
review bodies shall report to the board all payments relating
to malpractice actions or claims arising in New Mexico that
involve a licensee and that are paid as a direct result of the
licensee's care, all appropriate professional review actions of
licensees and the acceptance or surrender of clinical
privileges by a licensee while under investigation or in lieu
of an investigation. For the purposes of this section, the
meaning of these terms shall be as contained in Section 431 of
the federal Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986, 42
USCA Section 11151.

C. A malpractice claim that results in at least one
million dollars ($1,000,000) in payments shall be reviewed by
the board.

D. The board shall maintain a database of all
notification reports made to the board pursuant to this
section. The database shall be posted on the board's website
and shall display all active malpractice claims against a
licensee, all payments made by or on behalf of a licensee as a
direct result of the licensee's care and any disciplinary
actions taken against the licensee.

[
B.
]
E.
The hospitals required to report under this
section, health care entities or professional review bodies
that provide such information in good faith shall not be
subject to suit for civil damages as a result of providing the
information.

[
C.
]
F.
A hospital, health care entity or
professional review body failing to comply with the reporting
requirements provided in this section shall be subject to civil
penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000)."

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