TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) – The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a state law that placed a $1 million limit on the amount of money people can be awarded in wrongful death cases caused by medical malpractice.
The 5-2 ruling declared as unconstitutional a key provision of a 2003 malpractice law signed by then-Governor Jeb Bush and enacted by a Republican-controlled state legislature.
Supporters of the 2003 law said at the time the limits were needed to keep a lid on insurance rates to prevent doctors from leaving Florida during what they described as a “medical malpractice crisis.”
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
