Posted on 03/14/2014 7:05:12 AM PDT by smokingfrog
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – The Florida Supreme Court dropped a bomb on the Florida Legislature Thursday morning when it ruled that a 2003 law limiting damages in wrongful death medical-malpractice lawsuits is unconstitutional.
The 5-2 ruling said that a cap on “non-economic” damages violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Florida Constitution, according to the News Service of Florida.
The Florida Legislature passed the law during a 2003 special session called by then Gov. Jeb Bush, who pushed for malpractice lawsuit changes in an attempt to lower malpractice insurance rates and keep doctors from limiting their practices or moving out of state.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected this reasoning.
(Excerpt) Read more at miami.cbslocal.com ...
I bet.
Drinks all around!!
I don't like that lawyers get so much of the money. But doctors and other medical professionals who hook people on pharmaceuticals that can kill them deserve to be impoverished and not allowed to practice.
How about something simple like having patients sign waivers if they take a pharmaceutical with a possible side effect being death?
We all die. Any human expectation of perfection from doctors or any professional is doomed to disappointment. Negligence is one thing but bad outcomes are the ultimate fate of all medical effort. Like I said, we all die.
That will retire far more doctors in Florida.
In Texas the illegal alien users formed Texans for Lawsuit Reform and got what they wanted to immunize themselves from faulty construction, chinese drywall,etc..
They tinkered with the TX Constitution and chased the trial lawyers out of the state thereby cutting off donations to the D party
Sounds like a good plan but...
if you or a loved one really do have a claim for medmal or otherwise you can’t find a lawyer to take your case...
It works both ways...
If we can tinker with “trial by jury” then by extension the Second Amendment is also game here.
Good news, doctors can beat this and not have to pay any malpractice insurance premiums by becoming government employees. All they will have to do for complete protection, is faithfully follow the directives of the Obamacare death panel in their patients care.
I’m not sure about how the reform worked in Texas, but the intent is not to prevent someone who is injured from recovering actual and expected future damages due to that injury. It is to limit the “punitive” damages - money not intended to reimburse the plaintiff for costs incurred or income lost, but to punish the defendant for perceived negligence or malfeasance - to a reasonable amount. Actual damages is still not capped.
Florida will now become the Mississippi of medical lawsuits..............it has better weather....................
Morgan & Morgan...
...for the People.
Hic!
No caps. The laugh of Satan.
I’m torn on this issue. My sister-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Sept. Turns out it was on the June ct scan. Hospital tried to cover but three specialists confirmed that if the doc actually read it, he couldn’t have missed it.
Anyway, the hospital didn’t seem all that anxious to help her and she passed in Jan. Then micra kicked in and my brother’s lawyer dumped him (not enough $ to pursue).
Point is, my brother was trying to sue so they wouldn’t do this to someone else, he was going to give any money to her children. The bigger point is that the hospital has financial incentive to do less than stellar work on a pt if they screwed up on the case.
But I also hate all these people who take advantage and run the doctor’s malpractice up to unsustainable levels so, like I said, I’m torn.
Correct but there are problems in shutting out people who cannot demonstrate damages like homemakers, the elderly etc...I’m getting real stories from CONSERVATIVES about this problem.The fact that the TX Ruling-Class is in the cockpit on this is revolting to me.Not sure how you can regulate punitive damages and keep things inline with the Constitution. Next Fed Medmal Tort Reform...I smell serious danger ahead.
Sounds like the doc is the one that screwed up, so I can see why the hospital would not want to get involved. (Assuming the dr. was not an employee of the hospital.)
How is a cap on damages conservation in any respect?
Conservatism, at least as I understand it, is based upon personal responsibility. If you breach a standard of care, as judged by a jury, you need to accept responsibility for the results. You pay for the loss that someone else has suffered.
But not when you have a cap on damages. When somebody does not receive their full damages, society as a whole makes up the difference. Medicare and medicaid, social security and other public assistance programs get tapped. Because of “fairness” in the amount of a damage verdict as determined by a government.
Caps on damages or caps on salary because it is “unfair” that somebody should receive a certain sum of money are not different at all. Why not have the government approve all contracts in advance?
So yes, caps on damages are a perfect conservative solution.
The cap is on punitive damages, not actual damages.
Punitive damages are based on the depth of pockets of the defendant, not on "the loss that someone else has suffered."
You say that society as a whole will pay to make up the difference in damages. Punitive damages are compensation to a victim in excess of the actual loss. I would submit that society pays to make up this difference as well: In the form of higher prices for products and services
Floridians keep sending these liberal judges back in. We must get some new thinking in the Court.
In other news, Florida health insurance rates are expected to rise 50 percent. Bet on it.
As I read the article, and not the opinion, the cap was on “non-economic damages,” which means, essentially, pain and suffering
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.