Florida Supreme Court Removes Damages Caps

Cap on Noneconomic Damages Deemed Unconstitutional

On Thursday, June 8^th, Florida health care took a major step forward as the Florida Supreme Court ruled the cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice injury cases as unconstitutional. Put in place in 2011, the lawmakers who fought for these caps argued the medical malpractice insurance crisis was harming Floridians because it was pushing doctors to leave the state for fear of major reprisal. This 4-3 decision is based on the findings of the legislation as opposed to the opinions of the majority.

However, Justices Ricky Polston, Charles Canady and C. Alan Lawson dissented in the decision erasing caps on damages for pain and suffering. They felt this was inherently unconstitutional as there was no longer any rational evidence for this supposed medical malpractice insurance crisis. Thus, the only result this law was bringing was the harming of patients who have suffered severe injuries due to a health care provider. There is no reasonable need for these caps to be put in place, as they arbitrarily reduced the damages awarded to personal injury plaintiffs who deserve them.

Cases of Medical Malpractice

This case began after dental assistant Susan Kalitan went into surgery in 2007 for carpal-tunnel syndrome, and ended up injured due to medical malpractice. Her injuries included a perforated esophagus because of tubes inserted into her mouth and esophagus during the anesthesia process. Kalitan filed a lawsuit in 2008 against the North Broward Hospital District, and a jury awarded $4 million in non-economic damages. However, due to the caps instilled from the former law, the amount was reduced by about $2 million.

Fighting for Justice

Our firm, Schlesinger Law Offices, P.A., is incredibly proud to announce our very own Scott P. Schlesinger brought this case because he felt the majority ruling was incredibly unfair to all victims of medical malpractice. Making major strides in the field of personal injury, Attorney Schlesinger continues to tirelessly fight for the justice of all victims of personal injury. This ruling will go down in history as a victory for the people of Florida.