Mont. Med. Legal Panel R. 8

OTHER PAPERS

(a) How Cases Submitted. Claimants shall submit a case for the consideration of the Panel

through an Application made pursuant to these Rules. When an Application that complies

with these Rules is received by the Panel, the case shall be deemed submitted.

(b) Transmittal of the Case. Upon receipt of an Application or an amendment thereto, the

office of the Director shall:

(1) Transmit a copy of the same upon all health care providers whose conduct is claimed

by the Application to have constituted the basis for a malpractice claim. Service must be

made by mailing a certified copy of the Application to the health care provider at the

provider’s last-known address, postage prepaid, by certified mail, return receipt requested.

(2) Upon the receipt of the Application for review, the Director shall send a copy of the

Application to the health care provider’s professional society or association by U.S. mail or

electronically. If no state professional society or association exists with respect to such health

care provider, or if the health care provider does not belong to such a society or association,

the Director shall send the Application to the health care provider’s state licensing board.

(c) Service of Names and Information on Panel Members to Parties. Following the

selection of Panel members pursuant to Rule 10, the Director shall send to all parties, by U.S.

mail or electronically, a list of the Panel members selected, including a short professional

biographical sketch of each Panel member, if available.

(d) Service of Records on Panel Members. At least ten (10) days prior to the hearing date

set for a claim, the Director shall serve on each Panel member electronic or, if requested by

the Panel member, paper copies of all claims, briefs and medical records of the Patient which

have been obtained by the Panel, and other documents pertaining to the claim. If the Director

or Chairperson determines that it is impractical to reproduce or furnish a medical record or

other document to each Panel member, such records or documents may be made available for

inspection by the Panel members and parties, at the office of the Director, during regular

business hours, upon reasonable notice of the intended time and date of inspection, and shall

be officially served on the Panel members for the first and only time at the hearing.

(e) Return of Records by Panel Members. Each Panel member shall return all copies of the

claim, medical records, exhibits and other documents to a Panel representative upon the

completion of the hearing or to the office of the Director upon a Panel decision made without

hearing, Order of Dismissal being entered or other termination of claim proceedings. If a

Panel member has received copies of the claim, medical records, exhibits and/or other

documents and is unable to complete his/her duties as a Panel member, that member shall

return all such copies to the office of the Director or provide written confirmation to the

office of the Director that all such copies were destroyed in compliance with Panel

destruction requirements, within ten (10) days of being removed as a Panel member.

(f) Filing with the Office of the Director Only Manner of Pleading. Filing with the office

of the Director is the only manner for a party to file a motion, pleading or other similar paper

in a Panel matter. Service by the parties upon the Chairperson does not constitute filing with

the office of the Director or notice to the Panel or other parties. All motions, memoranda,

pleadings and other papers filed with the office of the Director, other than the filing of an

Application or an amended Application by the Claimant, may be filed electronically by any

party.

(g) Service on Parties and Chairperson required. Except as otherwise provided in these

Rules, all motions, memoranda, pleadings and other papers filed with the office of the

Director shall be served on the Chairperson, if one has been selected, and upon all other

parties in the manner provided by Rule 5 of the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure.

(h) Costs. The cost of a request for records or other information, either pursuant to an

appropriate Authorization Form or a Panel issued subpoena, and the reproduction and

transmission of the medical records, health care information or other similar information to

the parties and Panel members, shall be at the expense of the Panel, except a party will be

charged for the reasonable expense of reproducing imaging studies and other out of the

ordinary requests made by that party, as determined by the office of the Director.