The TortsProf blog is reporting that a sharply divided Florida Supreme Court recently struck down a 2003 statute that imposed a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. The court concluded that "the caps on noneconomic damages … arbitrarily reduce damage awards for plaintiffs who suffer the most drastic injuries” and that "because there is no evidence of a continuing medical malpractice insurance crisis justifying the arbitrary and invidious discrimination between medical malpractice victims, there is no rational relationship between the personal injury noneconomic damage caps … and alleviating this purported crisis. Therefore, we hold that the caps on personal injury noneconomic damages … violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Florida Constitution.”
I agree this is the correct decision which is, of course, good news for victims of medical malpractice in Florida. Unfortunately, as reported here over the last few weeks, many other jurisdictions are heading in the opposite direction, looking for ways to make it more difficult for victims to be able to recover for their injuries.
UPDATE 6/18/17: AboutLawsuits has a story here.
No comments:
Post a Comment