SB 761 - This act provides for disbursement of the Tort Victims' Compensation Fund. Any plaintiff shall notify the Attorney General of any case seeking punitive damages, except for actions regarding improper health care pursuant to Chapter 538, RSMo. The state shall have a lien of fifty percent of punitive damages, which shall attach after final judgment and expiration of appeals. The Attorney General shall serve the appropriate party with the lien notice. Attorneys' fees and expenses shall be paid prior to enforcement of the lien. Cases resolved by arbitration, mediation or settlement are exempt.

The act also establishes a Legal Services for Low-Income People Fund, consisting of twenty-five percent of payments received by the Tort Victims' Compensation Fund. The funds shall be used by legal services organizations in Missouri.

Seventy-five percent of the payments received by the Tort Victims' Compensation Fund shall be credited to the Division of Workers' Compensation to assist uncompensated tort victims. "Uncompensated tort victim" is defined as a prevailing plaintiff in a civil tort case that has received a final monetary judgment, but is unable collect or enforce the judgment. The Division shall retain discretion to make an award, in any amount. Awards by the Division are capped at $300,000. The Division retains the right of subrogation for any amount awarded.

The act provides for the contents of the application and the procedure to make claims to the Division. Any uncompensated tort victim found personally liable on a cross-complaint, or found to have been contributorily or comparatively negligent, is eligible to receive compensation to the extent of the amount awarded by the court or jury. An uncompensated tort victim is ineligible to receive an award while incarcerated, or after two felony violations in the past ten years.

A claim must be filed within two years after a final award in a tort case. Any party may appeal the decision of the Division to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission, and parties aggrieved by a decision of the Commission may seek judicial review. This act is nearly identical to SB 742.
JOAN GUMMELS