Florida Supreme Court Rules Against Caps on Wrongful Death Medical Malpractice Awards
Posted on Mar 14, 2014 9:02am PDT
Positive news out of the Florida Supreme Court yesterday. The AP reports in a 5-2 decision authored by Justice R. Fred Lewis, the Florida Supreme Court declared unconstitutional "caps placed on how much money people can receive in cases" in which a physicians mistake led to the death of patient.
The cap limited the amount for pain and suffering to $500,000.00 for injuries and $1 million if someone died or was left in a permanent vegistative state.
The limits on lawsuits were part of then-Republican Governor Jeb Bush's push in 2003 to lower the cost of malpractice insurance rates and keep doctors from moving out of state. In its ruling, authored by Justice R. Fred Lewis, the Florida Supreme Court wrote, "The cap on non-economic damages serves no purpose other than to arbitrarily punish the most grievously injured or their surviving family members."
This is a huge victory for Florida plaintiffs and their families.