Florida medical malpractice News

Commentary: Florida High Court Med Mal Award Cap Ruling Ignores Market History

In its recent ruling that the cap on noneconomic damages for personal injury awards or settlements in medical negligence cases was unconstitutional, the Florida Supreme Court ignored why these caps were put into place—to ensure patients’ access to care and …

NORCAL Mutual to Acquire FD Insurance in Florida

NORCAL Mutual Insurance Co. and FD Insurance, a medical malpractice provider for physicians and surgeons in Florida, have signed a definitive agreement for NORCAL to acquire FD Insurance. This acquisition expands NORCAL’s national footprint and establishes Jacksonville, Fla., as its …

Florida Drops Order for The Doctors Co. to Lower Rates

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has dropped its Order for The Doctors Co. (TDC) to lower its filed rates by 15 percent. The rates proposed by the medical malpractice insurer back in Dec. 2014 will remain the same …

The Doctors Co. Challenging Florida’s Order to Decrease Med Mal Rates

An order by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation for medical malpractice insurer The Doctors Co. (TDC) to decrease its rates by 15 percent is being contested by the California-based company. A hearing has been set for Oct. 7, 2015, …

Florida Supreme Court Rules Medical Malpractice Caps Aren’t Retroactive

A 2003 law capping medical malpractice lawsuit awards at $500,000 can’t be applied retroactively. That’s what the Supreme Court ruled in a Miami-Dade County case in which a woman suffered permanent damage to her leg from unnecessary surgery in early …

Florida Constitutional Amendment on Medical Malpractice Caps Urged

Following a Florida Supreme Court decision that struck down caps on certain awards in medical malpractice lawsuits, the members of a 2002 task force that supported those caps are calling for a constitutional amendment that would place the caps on …

Florida Supreme Court Rejects Rule on Medical Malpractice Expert Testimony

The Florida Supreme Court refused last Thursday to adopt a state rule reflected in a law that creates restrictions on doctors who can testify during medical malpractice trials, agreeing it would have a chilling effect on the ability to find …

Trial Attorneys Challenge Florida’s Medical Malpractice Law

Florida trial attorneys filed five lawsuits against health care providers challenging a state law that imposes new restrictions on medical malpractice claims. The attorneys allege that the law allows medical malpractice defendants to acquire personal health care information about a …

Florida Supreme Court Nixes Pre-Surgery Damages Clause without Concession

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled unenforceable a doctor’s financial and arbitration agreement with a patient prior to surgery because it lacked an admission of liability by the medical provider. To be enforceable under Florida’s medical malpractice statute, such an …

Florida Lawmakers Approve Medical Malpractice Reform

In a victory for medical malpractice insurers and physicians, Florida lawmakers have approved a series of tort reforms that among other things will require expert witnesses testifying against physicians in a malpractice suit to be engaged in the same specialty. …