In a 4-3 ruling, the Florida high court found that limits passed in 2003 on non-economic damages violated equal protection rights under the state constitution.
The state legislature originally passed the law to address a “medical malpractice insurance crisis,” alleging rising malpractice insurance premiums had forced doctors to leave the state or retire early. The law set different limits on awards based on a variety of factors.
But the court majority said there is no evidence that there is a “crisis” that supports the discriminatory award caps.
The court’s dissenters said their colleagues ignored the legislature’s fact-finding work and overreached their authority.
Nearly 30 states have laws limiting non-economic damages in malpractice cases, but courts in nearly a dozen states, including Illinois, Georgia, and Missouri, have overturned them.
Malpractice premiums have been stable or have declined for a number of years after rising significantly in the early 2000s. But physician and hospital groups continue to press for damage caps, arguing they hold down healthcare costs.
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Harris Meyer is a senior reporter providing news and analysis on a broad range of healthcare topics. He served as managing editor of Modern Healthcare from 2013 to 2015. His more than three decades of journalism experience includes freelance reporting for Health Affairs, Kaiser Health News and other publications; law editor at the Daily Business Review in Miami; staff writer at the New Times alternative weekly in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; senior writer at Hospitals & Health Networks; national correspondent at American Medical News; and health unit researcher at WMAQ-TV News in Chicago. A graduate of Northwestern University, Meyer won the 2000 Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism.