The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 President’s Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
    • Media
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 President’s Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
    • Media
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Media
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
      • Summit Sponsors
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Master Class 5.0 Trial Academy 2021
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

Florida Court Rules Malpractice Cap Unconstitutional, Again

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Larry Bodine

Non-economic damages caps in medical malpractice cases are unconstitutional, ruled the Florida Fourth Circuit appeals court. The plaintiff was successful in her claim against North Broward Hospital District, after a tube perforated the plaintiff’s esophagus during surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome.

gavel-judge-money-300x199According the plaintiff’s attorney Erin Gonzalez, medical malpractice was the only tort in Florida with caps on noneconomic damages, making this an important decision.

Susan Kalitan was placed in a drug-induced coma for several weeks; she continued to have pain and trouble eating. During trial, the plaintiff was awarded $4.7 million.

However, pursuant to Florida damages statutes and tort reform in 2003, the award was reduced. Damage awards in suits without catastrophic injuries are capped at $500,000.

The defendant challenged the original award stating there was no evidence to support the jury’s finding of a catastrophic injury.

Read More: No Retroactive Tort Reform in Florida Medical Malpractice Suit

Government Could Not Pass Rational Basis Test

The court closely followed the Eleventh Circuit decision in Estate of McCall v. United States, in which the negligence of Air Force doctors and nurses caused the death of Ms. McCall during childbirth. The original jury award was reduced from $2 million to less than $1 million. The appeals court ruled the noneconomic damages cap did violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Florida Constitution. McCall addressed the application of the damages cap to survivors in wrongful death actions.

In this case, the court believed the ruling also applied to personal injury victims. Additionally, the court applied the rational basis test to determine the constitutionality of the damages cap. Under the rational basis test, the statute must have a rational and reasonable relation to a legitimate state objective and cannot be arbitrary or “capriciously imposed.”

In passing the law, the Florida legislature deemed the state was in a “medical malpractice insurance crisis of unprecedented magnitude.” The concurring opinion in McCall stated the statute failed the “smell test” because the problem no longer existed.

If the statute was created to address the issue and the issue no longer exists, then the state no longer had a legitimate objective to which the damages cap could be rationally and reasonably related, thus failing the rational basis test, the appeals court stated.

The opinion written by Judge Forst, concluded the award reduction was improperly limited, and instructed the trial court to reinstate the total award decided by the jury.

 

North Broward Hospital District v. Susan Kalitan, Case No. 4D11-4806,4D11-4822, and 4D11-4834. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Florida

Posted in Blog, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury

Comments are closed.

Recent Posts

Santa Fe Agrees To a $36M Settlement With the Firms Responsible For Constructing Its Water Project

Santa Fe Agrees To a $36M Settlement With the Firms Responsible For Constructing Its Water Project

April 9th, 2021

The board of the Santa Fe city and county’s joint Buckman Direct Diversion agreed to a $36 million settlement last wee[Read More...]
Health Net Repaid $97.2M To Settle an Investigation Confirming It Over-Billed the U.S. For Veterans Care

Health Net Repaid $97.2M To Settle an Investigation Confirming It Over-Billed the U.S. For Veterans Care

April 7th, 2021

A Rancho Cordova health insurance company has repaid $97.2 million to settle an investigation into inflated claims submitted [Read More...]
Sessions at the 2021 Trial Lawyers Summit

Sessions at the 2021 Trial Lawyers Summit

April 5th, 2021

On May 4 - 7, 2021, The National Trial Lawyers will present the 10th annual Trial Lawyers Summit, hosted at the Loews Mi[Read More...]
The U.S. Settles the 1800s Land Grabs With the Pembina Band of Chippewas for $59M

The U.S. Settles the 1800s Land Grabs With the Pembina Band of Chippewas for $59M

April 5th, 2021

FARGO — A delegation that negotiated a treaty to obtain a large swath of the Red River Valley from the Ojibwe showed u[Read More...]
A Settlement With the Department of Agriculture Will Bring $715M in Food Stamps To Pennsylvania Households

A Settlement With the Department of Agriculture Will Bring $715M in Food Stamps To Pennsylvania Households

April 2nd, 2021

(Pittsburgh) — A legal settlement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and two Pennsylvania women who are food st[Read More...]

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.