§27-26-5. Reports of judgments and settlements; confidentiality; penalty.

(a) Any insurance company which sells medical liability insurance to Alabama physicians or their professional corporations or professional associations, or to hospitals or other health care providers shall be required to report to the state licensing agency which issues the license of the physician, hospital, or other health care provider any final judgment or any settlement in or out of court resulting from a claim or action for damages for personal injuries caused by an error, omission, or negligence in the performance of professional services with or without consent rendered by its policyholder within 30 days after entry of a judgment in court or agreement to settle a claim in or out of court.

(b) The report rendered to the appropriate state agency shall consist of the name of the policyholder, or if the policyholder is a professional corporation or professional association, the name of the physician or physicians against whom the claim was made, the name of the claimant, a summary of the allegations made in the lawsuit, the injuries incurred by the claimant, and the terms of the judgment or settlement.

(c) The report rendered pursuant to the requirements of this section, and any and all information, interviews, reports, statements, memorandum, or other documents produced by the licensing board as a result of any investigation of the subject matter of the report are declared to be privileged and confidential. All such records, reports, proceedings, or other documents and any findings, conclusions, recommendations, or actions of the licensing board shall be confidential and shall not be public records nor available for court subpoena or for discovery proceedings. Nothing contained herein shall apply to records made in the regular course of business of a physician, hospital, or other health care provider and information, documents, or records otherwise available from original sources are not to be construed as immune from discovery or use in civil proceedings merely because they were presented to or considered by the licensing board.

(d) The failure to make the reports required by this section within the time periods which are provided shall be punishable under Section 27-1-12.

(Acts 1986, No. 86-441 p. 806; Acts 1991, No. 91-663, p. 1271, §1.)