November 04, 2010 (Press-News.org) In 2003, when Jeb Bush was governor, Florida passed a law to limit allowable financial compensation in medical malpractice lawsuits. According to those in favor of medical malpractice caps, a flood of high awards in medical malpractice cases forced health care costs to rise. Limiting the maximum possible medical malpractice award would result in lower health care costs, so the argument went.
Why? At the time, Florida medical malpractice insurance rates were the highest in the nation. According to proponents of medical malpractice caps, doctors and hospitals were passing on those costs to patients -- either by charging more for services or limiting their hours so patients had less access to necessary medical care.
What Are Florida's Medical Malpractice Caps?
The law does not limit a plaintiff's access to compensation for actual financial costs associated with the medical malpractice incident -- such as medical bills and lost income. Those types of costs are known as economic damages. The law limits non-economic damages, like compensation for pain and suffering, at $500,000 per doctor and $750,000 per hospital.
The law includes two exceptions to the medical malpractice damages limits. Caps on non-economic damages are lower for emergency room doctors: $150,000 per doctor and $300,000 total (from all health care practitioners). In cases of serious negligence resulting in egregious errors, the limits are higher: $1 million from doctors and $1.5 million from hospitals.
What Are the Real Results of Medical Malpractice Caps?
As a South Florida personal injury and medical malpractice law firm, Greenberg & Stone, P.A., is on the front lines when it comes to medical malpractice lawsuits and their effect on health care consumers and the health care system. From our own professional experiences and data from independent studies, we know the following to be true about the effects of Florida's medical malpractice damages caps:
Medical malpractice damages limits have a miniscule effect on heath care costs, including consumer health care insurance premiums. A 2004 report by the Congressional Budget Office estimated that limiting damage awards would only lower health care costs by about 0.4-0.5 percent.
- Because the medical malpractice damages caps have not lowered the cost of medical malpractice insurance for doctors, fewer doctors carry medical malpractice insurance because it is too expensive. This means that victims of medical malpractice by uninsured doctors may have no source of financial compensation. In 2008, a study by the Sun-Sentinel newspaper discovered that one-third of Miami doctors did not have medical malpractice insurance, and almost one-fourth of doctors in Broward and Palm Beach counties were uninsured.
- Fewer medical malpractice victims are filing claims, which mean that fewer medical malpractice victims are achieving the justice they deserve. According to the Florida Trial Court Statistical Guide, professional malpractice and product liability claims dropped more than 40 percent between 2000 and 2009.
- Some medical malpractice victims are not getting the justice they deserve, when their non-economic damages for pain and suffering are higher than the cap.
- Despite the drop in medical malpractice filings, medical errors occur in the United States more frequently than in other developed countries, according to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Thus, the decrease in medical malpractice filings does not mean that fewer doctors are committing acts of medical malpractice.
If you have questions about how Florida's medical malpractice damages caps might affect your medical malpractice claim, consult a knowledgeable Florida medical malpractice attorney.
Article provided by Greenberg & Stone, P.A.
Visit us at www.sgglaw.com
Medical Malpractice Cases Do Not Affect Health Care Costs
Medical malpractice cases don't raise heath care costs. However, fewer doctors carry expensive liability insurance, leaving malpractice victims high and dry. One-third of Miami doctors are uninsured.
2010-11-04
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
DUI Repeat Offenders Could Lose License for 10 Years under New CA Law
2010-11-04
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are over 310,000 individuals with three or more DUIs (driving under the influence) convictions in California today. If a bill recently signed by Governor Schwarzenegger had been in effect when they received their third conviction, most of those people would have no driver's license today.
The bill, AB 1601, was signed into law on September 25, 2010 and on January 1, 2012 will officially give judges the authority to revoke an individual's driver's license for ten years if he or she receives his or ...
Product Scares Bring Attention to FDA's Lack of Recall Power
2010-11-04
Every week there is seemingly a new product recall of some sort in the news. Whether it's automobiles or baby toys, a product is being removed from market shelves across the country. Many people may fail to realize, however, that when it comes to pulling defective food and drugs off market shelves, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has no authority to order companies to recall their products. In light of two recent recalls, Congress is proposing bills to reconsider this.
Eggs and Motrin
This past summer, news of eggs tainted with salmonella erupted nationwide. ...
Americans and Debt: The Downward Spiral of Default
2010-11-04
Easy access to credit through the past decade is now catching up with many Americans. In prosperous times, Americans were borrowing enormous amount of money but still getting by making their monthly car, student loan, and mortgage payments. But since the economic downturn, millions of Americans are now defaulting on these loans and finding out the dangers that go along with evading their loan obligations.
Money Judgments and Home Equity Loans
Some housing experts say the number of shoddy home equity loans issued during the housing boom is incalculable. The housing ...
Florida's HTO Amnesty Program
2010-11-04
In Florida, a person designated as a Habitual Traffic Offender (HTO) loses their license to drive for a period of five years. You may be given that designation by the Department of Highway Safety Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) by having three convictions for any of the following offenses within a five year period:
- Voluntary or involuntary manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle
- Any violation of 316.193 (driving under the influence or DUI)
- Any felony in the commission of which a motor vehicle is used
- Driving a motor vehicle while your license is ...
Avoiding Potential Pitfalls in Nursing Home Admissions Paperwork
2010-11-04
Be on the Lookout for Arbitration Agreements That Could Jeopardize Your Rights
The decision to admit yourself or a vulnerable loved one to a nursing home, residential care center or assisted living facility is a difficult one. Admission may be precipitated by a sudden downturn in health, the loss of a trusted at-home caregiver or other emotion-laden situations. Nursing home admissions come not only with a multitude of stresses to be felt and decisions to be made; they also come with a lot of paperwork.
Hidden deep within admission forms is likely to be a provision ...
Nursing Home Bed Rails Pose a Danger to Vulnerable Patients
2010-11-04
Harry Griph Sr. was expected to die. The 75-year-old retired phone company worker was in an assisted living facility as a hospice patient. The prognosis was grim: his chronic diseases and functional impairments indicated he was very near the end of life.
The New York Times reports that a staff member found him dead on Christmas morning. But Griph hadn't died of natural causes. His neck was trapped between the bed rail and the mattress. He had died of suffocation.
Griph's three children and his estate sued the nursing home where he died, the hospice provider, the maker ...
Domestic Violence Issues in a Child Custody Context
2010-11-04
As another National Domestic Violence Awareness Month comes to a close, there are millions of people around the country who are suffering in silence. Domestic abuse is one of the most underreported crimes in the nation, due in part because there is no clear-cut definition of what it is. California's laws governing domestic violence are very broad, something that victim advocates applaud and anyone who has been falsely accused laments.
Contrary to popular belief, "abuse" does not have to result in physical injury to be considered as contributing to an environment of violence ...
Schillings Hails Radmacher Ruling as More Than Just Financial Opportunity
2010-11-04
Schillings has revealed that a landmark legal ruling made by the Supreme Court has given significant strength to the rights of couples ahead of marriage to divide their assets in the event that the marriage breaks down.
The Supreme Court decided that prenuptial agreements should be given 'decisive weight' in divorce proceedings, rather than merely being taken into account alongside a number of other factors such as the standard of life enjoyed during the marriage and the earning capacity of the parties.
Commenting on the ruling, Keith Schilling, founder and senior ...
NH Hotels Reveals EBITDA More Than Doubled in the First 9 Months of 2010
2010-11-04
NH Hotels has revealed that the adverse situation of the industry in 2009 underwent a major turnaround during the first 9 months of 2010 leading to a significant improvement towards recovery in the Group's basic activity. NH Hotels' revenues totalled EUR980.5M, a 9.4% rise, and its Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) reflected both the strong recovery in the market and the remarkable increase in productivity. The company generated an EBITDA totalling EUR102.2M, more than double the figure for the same period in 2009, due mainly to an ...
npower and The Football League Announce GBP2m Community Investment
2010-11-04
npower and The Football League have announced the launch of 'Home Town Heroes', a new community initiative that aims to put the power into the hands of the fans.
The GBP2m Home Team Heroes initiative - which will be run over the course of the three year sponsorship - will ask communities around the UK's 72 Football League grounds to vote on how this money should be spent, in order to make the most impact in their local area.
Communities can choose from one of three projects for children:
- A 'respect' training workshop for ten year-olds run in schools with a focus ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Study unravels another piece of the puzzle in how cancer cells may be targeted by the immune system
Long-sought structure of powerful anticancer natural product solved by integrated approach
World’s oldest lizard wins fossil fight
Simple secret to living a longer life
Same plant, different tactic: Habitat determines response to climate
Drinking plenty of water may actually be good for you
Men at high risk of cardiovascular disease face brain health decline 10 years earlier than women
Irregular sleep-wake cycle linked to heightened risk of major cardiovascular events
Depression can cause period pain, new study suggests
Wistar Institute scientists identify important factor in neural development
New imaging platform developed by Rice researchers revolutionizes 3D visualization of cellular structures
To catch financial rats, a better mousetrap
Mapping the world's climate danger zones
Emory heart team implants new blood-pumping device for first time in U.S.
Congenital heart defects caused by problems with placenta
Schlechter named Cancer Moonshot Scholar
Two-way water transfers can ensure reliability, save money for urban and agricultural users during drought in Western U.S., new study shows
New issue of advances in dental research explores the role of women in dental, clinical, and translational research
Team unlocks new insights on pulsar signals
Great apes visually track subject-object relationships like humans do
Recovery of testing for heart disease risk factors post-COVID remains patchy
Final data and undiscovered images from NASA’s NEOWISE
Nucleoporin93: A silent protector in vascular health
Can we avert the looming food crisis of climate change?
Alcohol use and antiobesity medication treatment
Study reveals cause of common cancer immunotherapy side effect
New era in amphibian biology
Harbor service, VAST Data provide boost for NCSA systems
New prognostic model enhances survival prediction in liver failure
China focuses on improving air quality via the coordinated control of fine particles and ozone
[Press-News.org] Medical Malpractice Cases Do Not Affect Health Care CostsMedical malpractice cases don't raise heath care costs. However, fewer doctors carry expensive liability insurance, leaving malpractice victims high and dry. One-third of Miami doctors are uninsured.