RCW 48.140.020 Closed Claim Reporting Requirements

• Library: Washington Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through the 2023 1st Special Session
• Year: 2023
• Citation: RCW 48.140.020

(1) For claims closed on or after January 1, 2008:

(a) Every insuring entity or self-insurer that provides medical malpractice insurance to any facility or provider in Washington state must report each medical malpractice closed claim to the commissioner.

(b) If a claim is not covered by an insuring entity or self-insurer, the facility or provider named in the claim must report it to the commissioner after a final claim disposition has occurred due to a court proceeding or a settlement by the parties.

Instances in which a claim may not be covered by an insuring entity or self-insurer include, but are not limited to, situations in which the:

(i) Facility or provider did not buy insurance or maintained a self-insured retention that was larger than the final judgment or settlement;

(ii) Claim was denied by an insuring entity or self-insurer because it did not fall within the scope of the insurance coverage agreement; or

(iii) Annual aggregate coverage limits had been exhausted by other claim payments.

(c) If a facility or provider is insured by a risk retention group and the risk retention group refuses to report closed claims and asserts that the federal liability risk retention act (95 Stat. 949; 15 U.S.C. Sec. 3901 et seq.) preempts state law, the facility or provider must report all data required by this chapter on behalf of the risk retention group.