Articles Tagged with Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice

During the George W. Bush administration, so-called tort reform was a hot topic around the nation.  There were various attempts to create national tort reform that didn’t work, but states around the country tried too, and in some cases were successful.  One of those was Florida.

medical malpractice The 2003 bill, signed into law by then-governor Jeb Bush placed a cap of $500,000 on what are known as non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases, and a cap of $1 million if the injuries caused by medical malpractice were what they called catastrophic. Continue reading

Recently, the North Carolina Supreme Court took on the issue of whether an arbitration agreement can be enforced in a medical contract. In a 4-2 decision, the court ruled plaintiff patient and his wife don’t need to go to private arbitration with the doctor and surgical practice for permanent injuries plaintiff suffered when defendant doctor performed surgery on him eight years ago. medical doctor

Plaintiff went to the doctor for repair of a hernia. When he made his first appointment with the surgeon, he was handed a huge stack of paperwork to sign, which defendant doctor’s office routinely presents to new patients, along with other documents, prior to the first time the doctor meets with the patient. Included in that stack of papers was a legal document, known as an arbitration agreement, in which plaintiff signed away his right to have any future disputes with the doctor – including those pertaining to medical malpractice – resolved by a court of law. Instead, any disputes would be handled through a private arbitration firm.

This practice has become increasingly common, and the Florida Supreme Court encountered this very issue with regard to medical malpractice claims in a 2013 case – and reached a very similar conclusion.  Continue reading

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