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📜 Civil Liability Amendment Bill 2004

Assented toLABill 2756 April 2004

The Civil Liability Amendment Bill 2004 amends the Civil Liability Act 2002. It introduces a new evidentiary test for the standard of care required of health professionals, shifting towards a peer-accepted practice standard, and makes further provisions regarding proportionate liability for economic loss or property damage claims.

Impact

Health professionals and patients are affected by the change in negligence standards, potentially making it harder to sue doctors for treatment decisions. Businesses and individuals involved in economic loss or property damage claims will be affected by the new proportionate liability rules, changing how damages are allocated among multiple parties.

Key Changes

["Introduces a 'peer professional opinion' standard for health professional negligence, similar to the Bolam test.", "Defines 'apportionable claim' for proportionate liability as claims for economic loss or property damage arising from a failure to take reasonable care or under the Fair Trading Act 1987 s10.", "Excludes concurrent wrongdoers who intentionally or fraudulently caused the loss/damage from the proportionate liability provisions."]