Florida Republican Legislators Propose Measures to Help Doctors Avoid Malpractice Lawsuits

Under pending GOP proposals before the Florida legislature designed to help Florida doctors avoid malpractice lawsuits, the most a Medicaid recipient or his or her family could receive would be $200,000.

Since 2003, when lawmakers capped damages for pain and suffering at $500,000, many lawyers say they have drastically cut their medical malpractice caseloads. Cutting that cap further to $200,000, which is presently proposed, would make it financially impractical for lawyers to take on cases that often cost them $250,000 to get ready for trial.

Lawyers say the existing cap has created huge inequities. With no chance of multimillion dollar awards for pain and suffering, one of the biggest claims in malpractice cases is loss of earning power. That would mean that retirees and babies, both jobless, have little value in the eyes of the courts.

Among other measures being proposed to rein in malpractice lawsuits in Florida is one which would make hospitals immune from suits or mistakes by contract employees, such as anesthesiologists and radioligists. Another would make it harder to sue doctors for not ordering a test, and still another would require experts in malpracticwe cases to register with the State.

Doctors believe patients should be fairly compensated for mistakes, but that it shouldn't be a windfall, according to Dr. Maureen Whelihan, a gynecologist.

According to lawyers, however, when a doctor is successfully sued for cutting off the wrong leg of a Medicaid patient, he reimburses the state for what it paid for the botched surgery. As a result, lawyers contribute millions to the state.

Lawyers believe that profit-minded insurance companies are responsible for the high malpractice rates in Florida and other states, not lawsuits. As a last resort, according to the lawyers interviewed, they will sue.