Latest news with #SB734
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Capless: Med mal bill passes second Senate panel without limitations on damages
(iStock /Getty Images Plus) A bill that would allow more lawsuits for medical malpractice cleared its second Senate panel Tuesday over strong objections from health care and business lobbyists who say they would favor the proposal if it included caps on damages. Sen. Clay Yarborough said he is continuing to fine tune the proposal (SB 734) that, if passed, would allow parents of single, childless, adult children (and adult children of single parents) to sue physicians and hospitals for noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering. The law doesn't allow that now. That's because they were left out of a 1990 law that expanded the class of survivors entitled to recover damages for pain and suffering for a wrongful death. 'I remain open and willing to consider changes that some would like to make, though we must pursue a solution that can secure support from both chambers and thus prevent the exceptions from remaining on our books for what would be 36 years if we don't do something this year,' Yarborough said as he closed the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee debate on the bill. 'The bill is about accountability, the value of life, ensuring our laws are just.' The bill passed by an 8-2 vote with Sens. Colleen Burton and Gayle Harrell voting no. Those senators during debate said the state could enhance its regulations over providers to increase accountability in lieu of increasing potential civil liability. Harrell, a longstanding champion of physicians in the Florida Legislature, added that the bill could open doctors and hospitals to wrongful death litigation from children who have been estranged from their parents. David Mica, executive vice president for public affairs for the Florida Hospital Association, told the panel that physicians in Miami Dade County pay the highest medical malpractice rates in four areas of medicine in the country: family practice, obstetrics, emergency medicine, and orthopedics. Mica told the committee that he'd spoken with a top 100-rated South Florida hospital that morning. An official at the facility, which he did not name, said its reinsurance rates increased by 76% year-over-year and 101% over the past three years. For the first time in the hospital's history, Mica said, it was procuring coverage from an insurance company with a less than A-rating. 'That's not how this system should work,' Mica said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Mica, as well as representatives of the state's largest business associations, wants senators to cap the amount in damages that plaintiffs can recover. Not just for the new suits that would be allowed under the proposal, but for all medical malpractice cases. I remain open and willing to consider changes that some would like to make though we must pursue a solution that can secure support from both chambers and thus prevent the exceptions from remaining on our books for what would be 36 years if we don't do something this year. – Sen. Clay Yarborough Yarborough filed similar legislation last year but had to amend it to include a $500,000 damages limit per claimant for practitioners and $750,000 for 'non-practitioners' to move it through its first committee stop. The cap was a non-starter in the Florida House and the bill died. Florida Chamber of Commerce lobbyist Carolyn Johnson told members the bill would 'significantly increase ligation.' It would inflate medical malpractice insurance rates that are already highest in the nation, she said. That, in turn, would lead to higher health care costs for consumers and businesses. As a result, she continued, fewer physicians would practice in Florida, 'exacerbating Florida's already medical professional shortage.' Johnson said the Florida Chamber supported Yarborough's bill last year with its medical malpractice caps but that without them, 'unfortunately, we have to stand here in opposition today.' Yarborough stressed that he didn't intend to criticize the health care delivery system, although plenty of criticism of Florida's physicians and hospital system was aired during the debate by proponents of the bill, who shared their stories of medical malpractice. Opponents said the legislation would make a bad situation worse. Villages Resident Bob Harris said there are 12 houses on his block, 11 of which are occupied by residents who hail from 10 different states. 'You can talk about pickle ball and golf for a couple of minutes, then you talk about quality [of health care],' he said. He and his peers, he said, are looking for stability, long term relationships with providers they trust and access to specialists. 'We have two neighbors who travel to their home state for their health care. They are full- time residents of Florida, and that's why — it's because they can't get here what they need in health care,' Harris said. SB 734 heads to the Rules Committee next. The House Civil Justice earlier this month voted unanimously to pass HB 6017, the companion bill. The legislation heads to the House Judiciary Committee next, the last committee before the full House can take a vote. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Lawmakers Weigh Medical Malpractice Change
Florida lawmakers are considering changing a decades-old law and clearing the way for more medical-malpractice lawsuits over patient deaths. With the issue closely watched by health-care, business and legal groups, the House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill (HB 6017) that would make the change, a day after the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a similar measure (SB 734). The bills would undo part of a 1990 law that involves wrongful-death lawsuits and what are known as 'non-economic' damages for such things as pain and suffering. That part of the law prevents people from seeking non-economic damages in certain circumstances. People who are 25 years old or older cannot seek such damages in medical-malpractice cases involving deaths of their parents. Also, parents cannot seek such damages in malpractice cases involving the deaths of their children who are 25 or older. Numerous people told lawmakers this week that the law has prevented them from pursuing malpractice lawsuits in the deaths of family members. Supporters said the bill would hold health-care providers accountable for negligence. 'This bill is simply about accountability and parity,' House bill sponsor Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce, said. But opponents argued it would lead to hundreds of additional medical-malpractice lawsuits each year, increasing insurance costs and exacerbating shortages of physicians. Florida Hospital Association lobbyist David Mica said that would affect access to patient care, such as in areas with rural hospitals. 'Universally, we're concerned about this really from an access to care,' Mica said. 'Specifically, when we look at our rural hospitals, they're running on razor-thin margins.' Medical malpractice has been a battleground in the state Capitol for decades, with doctors and their allies trying to limit lawsuits and plaintiffs' attorneys and their allies arguing that limits would prevent injured people and their families from getting justice. That political dynamic has been evident this week, with opponents of the bills including the Florida Hospital Association, the Florida Medical Association, the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association, the Florida Insurance Council, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida. Supporters have included the Florida Justice Association, which represents plaintiffs' attorneys, and AARP. Lawmakers have considered similar bills in recent years but have not passed them. As an example of the people who testified this week about being affected by the law, Sabrina Davis told the House panel that her father, Keith Davis, went to a hospital for knee pain. She said a doctor did not order an ultrasound that would have detected a blood clot that led to his death. Davis said Florida 'should not be a state that provides sanctuary for bad medicine.' But Vicki Norton, a Palm Beach County emergency physician who represented the Florida Medical Association and the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association, told lawmakers that malpractice costs in the state are 'astronomical.' She said the bill would hurt efforts to attract doctors and affect access to care. The House bill also would need to clear the House Judiciary Committee before it could go to the full House. The Senate version, which was approved in a 9-2 vote Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, would need to clear two more committees before it could go to the full Senate. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
House, Senate panels OK bills to revamp Florida's medical malpractice laws
A bill that would revamp the state's wrongful death statutes to allow more lawsuits stemming from medical malpractice is moving through the committee process in the Florida Legislature. The House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee voted unanimously Wednesday to approve HB 6017. The vote followed a Tuesday evening 9-2 vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee to approve SB 734. The legislation heads to the House Judiciary Committee next but has no additional committee references in that chamber, while the Senate version will head to the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services and the Rules Committee. When it comes to wrongful deaths stemming from medical malpractice claims, parents of single, childless, adult children cannot sue for noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering. Additionally, adults (defined as 25 or older) cannot pursue wrongful death claims for parents who die from medical malpractice. This is in no way a knock against the medical profession or anyone in it, because Florida has some of the best health care providers and institutions in the country and beyond. – Sen. Clay Yarborough The Legislature adopted the ban during the 1990s as lawmakers wrestled with rising malpractice premiums. There has been a concerted effort in recent years, though, to eliminate the ban, and members of Senate Judiciary heard from people on both sides of the issue Tuesday, the first day of the annual 60-day legislative session. Senate sponsor Clay Yarborough of Jacksonville, who chairs the committee, said existing law is 'unjust and prevent[s] accountability.' 'This is in no way a knock against the medical profession or anyone in it, because Florida has some of the best health care providers and institutions in the country and beyond. I don't have a number to quote, but I will venture to say we likely have a low, single-digit percentage of those in Florida's health care community that have issues with malpractice or negligence,' Yarborough said. 'While we all understand no amount of money can bring back a loved one, to solely argue from a monetary or economic perspective would be misplaced, because no individual and no institution is above accountability, which is exactly what this bill is about.' Opponents argued that changing the law would drive up costs of health care and incentivize physicians to leave the state, although recent research shows a number of other reasons why physicians are leaving practices, including family demands and inadequate support staff. Shelly Knick is a claims adjuster for the Physicians Insurance company, which covers doctors and hospitals. She testified that the change would mean an additional 500 wrongful death lawsuits annually, an estimate she called conservative. 'Each [hospital] will face an additional one to two wrongful death cases annually,' Knicks testified. 'Non-economic damages like pain and suffering are often the largest portion of settlements which exponentially increase the cost. But, importantly, understand that most medical malpractice lawsuits do not involve negligence. They result from unfortunate medical outcomes, not bad medicine. ' Her remarks seemed to belie some of the stories supporters of the bill shared during their testimony in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sara Franqui shared the story of her 28-year-old daughter, Sadie Dela Cruz, who died in 2021. Her daughter suffered what's called an ovarian torsion, which occurs when an ovary twists on its supporting ligaments and cuts off blood flow. She said her daughter went to several physicians about her pain but that they misdiagnosed her condition. When the pain became unmanageable, she testified, her daughter went to the emergency room at the hospital where she had worked for seven years. But her daughter, who had developed sepsis, was misdiagnosed by a 'brand new doctor and a travelling nurse that was new.' 'All she needed was a septic test. She went to various doctors and when she finally went to the hospital and she thought she had hope to live they let her die,' Franqui told the House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee. Franqui, who also testified during the Senate hearing, said she feels she's been 'chosen' to take her experience and try to change the law. 'And now I come to you because I feel that we have been chosen,' she told senators. 'We have been chosen as messengers to the people and to our representatives.' Navy veteran Keith Davis died from a blood clot after being admitted to a hospital for knee pain. His daughter, Sabrina Davis, filed a complaint against the doctor with the Department of Health. She testified that the Florida Board of Medicine, charged with disciplining physicians, found that the doctor violated the standards of care and committed medical malpractice. The BOM hit the doctor with a $7,500 fine and made him take a continuing education course on blood clots, Davis said, 'I still ask myself today how my dad can serve in the Navy on a ballistic missile nuclear submarine and travel the depths of the ocean but when he goes into a hospital for knee pain not make it out alive.' Florida has had no caps on pain and suffering in medical malpractice lawsuits since 2014, when the Florida Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional. But the makeup of the Florida Supreme court has changed since then, with the majority of the justices appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The medical community is eager to put the rejuggled court to the test. Yarborough filed similar legislation last year but agreed to put a cap of $500,000 per claimant for practitioners and $750,000 on 'non-practitioners' found liable, such as hospitals and health care facilities. The cap would drop to $150,000 for health care practitioners in emergency medical cases. There are no caps in the 2025 legislation and at least one senator who voted to pass the Senate bill Tuesday explained his yes vote was conditional. Sen. Ed Hooper, chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, said he had three conversations with Yarborough about the bill and promised to support the measure in Senate Judiciary. 'I want to help and work with you to make this as good as it can be made, but my commitment to you was that I will support the bill at this stop and I'm not going to change my mind today,' Hooper said. Palm Beach County Medical Society President-elect Vicki Norton told the Florida Phoenix Wednesday that she started practicing emergency medicine in Florida in 2010 with the security of knowing there were limits on the amount a plaintiff could be awarded for pain and suffering had she been sued. The threat of lawsuits, she said, was one reason she left Philadelphia. 'I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I was scared to death I was going to make a mistake and then I was going to get sued for like millions of dollars.' Norton, assistant medical director of the Boca Raton Regional Hospital emergency department, said she saw her medical malpractice insurance premiums increase following the 2014 ruling. Also, hospital call sheets started to have 'gaps in the schedule for high-risk specialties,' and that she once had to fly a patient from her hospital to UF Health Shands in Gainesville for emergency heart surgery. 'I had no surgeon on call,' she said. 'I had to call all around the state.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
