The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina grants registered nurses limited immunity from medical malpractice when following provider orders
Last action · May 6, 2025: Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action)Sponsors: Carson Smith and 5 others
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Would Do
North Carolina limits liability for registered nurses who act under the direction of a supervising health care provider, establishing that nurses do not owe an independent to patients while executing physician orders. The law takes effect immediately upon becoming law and applies to acts or omissions occurring on or after that date.
Changes legal accountability for registered nurses by shielding them from separate malpractice liability when following medical orders, while preserving nurse liability for , intentional wrongdoing, or acting outside direct supervision.
- In 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled in Connette ex rel. Gullatte v. Charlotte Mecklenburg Hospital Authority that registered nurses could be held independently liable for medical malpractice, overturning 90 years of established precedent from the 1932 case Byrd v. Marion General Hospital. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Registered Nurses
Registered nurses receive limited immunity from medical malpractice claims when following the direction of a supervising health care provider, provided they do not commit gross negligence or act outside supervision.
Patients
Patients are restricted from recovering damages in medical malpractice actions against a registered nurse solely on the grounds of an independent duty of care when the nurse was following provider directions.
Health Care Providers
Supervising health care providers maintain primary direction over care execution while nurses act under their orders.
Key Facts
- Registered nurses acting at the direction of a supervising health care provider do not owe an independent separate duty of care to the patient.
- Nurses are explicitly stated not to be engaged in a collaborative process with joint responsibility as part of a health care team under these conditions.
- The primary duty of a nurse is defined as diligently executing the orders of a physician.
- No recovery under a medical malpractice action is permitted against a nurse on the sole grounds of a separate duty of care when acting under provider direction.
Show all 6 facts
- Nurses remain liable for professional conduct not in accordance with standards of practice, obvious negligence leading to substantial injury, gross negligence, wanton conduct, or intentional wrongdoing.
- The immunity does not apply when nurses act outside the supervision of a health care provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this bill remove all malpractice liability for registered nurses in North Carolina?
What legal precedent does this legislation address?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
7 actions- May 6, 2025HouseRe-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- May 6, 2025HouseReptd Fav Com Sub 2
- Apr 29, 2025HouseRe-ref Com On Judiciary 2
- Apr 29, 2025HouseReptd Fav Com Substitute
- Apr 3, 2025HouseRef to the Com on Health, if favorable, Judiciary 2, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 3, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
Show 1 earlier action
- Apr 2, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 1 more sponsor
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Legislative Reversal of Judicial Precedent
The General Assembly explicitly acted to overturn the liability standard established by the 2022 North Carolina Supreme Court decision in Connette ex rel. Gullatte v. Charlotte Mecklenburg Hospital Authority.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools