On November 15, 2018, the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously struck down as unconstitutional Kentucky’s 2017 Medical Review Panel Act, because of it conflicting impermissibly with entitlement to “open courts” by medical malpractice victims. The 27-page opinion is Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Claycomb, Nos. 2017-SC-000614-TG and 2017-SC-000615-TG.
The unconstitutional legislation in Claycomb was sponsored by a doctor-turned-legislator. Virginia has a medical review panel statute, which is used rarely, but which likewise should be found unconstitutional.
