On Thursday evening of this week, the Florida state legislature passed a compromised medical liability reform package. In terms of "routine" medical malpractice cases, the bill establishes a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages per claimant, regardless of the number of defendant physicians involved. Unfortunately, this cap could be "pierced" and raised to $1 million, based on a number of exceptions, such as for cases involving wrongful death or permanent vegetative state. In addition, should the court find that a manifest injustice would occur if the lower cap was imposed AND that a catastrophic injury has occurred, juries could award the injured patient an additional amount up to $1 million in non-economic damages.
Positive aspects of the bill include: a $150,000 cap on non-economic damages for physicians providing emergency care; enhanced Good Samaritan protections; and new patient safety protections. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) has already signaled that he will sign the bill.