A New Prescription for an Old Headache: Calculating Judgments in Medical Malpractice Actions Under F.S. §766.118

It’s important to understand how final judgments are calculated in legal cases, especially when it involves medical malpractice. In Florida, there have been changes to the laws to limit the amount of money that can be awarded for non-physical damages in these cases, with the goal of lowering insurance costs for healthcare providers. These changes have made it more complicated to figure out how much money defendants owe in these cases, and courts and lawyers will have to adjust how they calculate judgments in medical malpractice lawsuits. The first step in the analysis is to determine if each defendant is a “practitioner” or a “nonpractitioner.” If a health care provider falls within the definition of “practitioner,” the limitations on noneconomic damages are lower. If not, the limitations are higher. The definition of “practitioner” includes licensed health care providers and their employees. “Nonpractitioners” are generally those not vicariously liable for a “practitioner,” but could also include those found to be vicariously liable, if that is not the sole basis of their liability. If a medical mistake causes someone to die or be in a vegetative state, the most money they can get from all the doctors involved is $1 million, and from other people involved is $1.5 million. If the injury is really bad, they can ask for more money, up to $1 million from doctors and $1.5 million from others, if the court thinks it’s really unfair for them not to get more. If it’s an emergency, the most money they can get from a doctor is $150,000, and from others is $750,000. If there’s only one person at fault, the most they can get from a doctor is $300,000, and from others is $1.5 million. In many medical malpractice cases, there are multiple people being sued. Some of them may have already settled with the person suing before the case goes to trial. The law has rules for how to handle this situation. First, any reduction in the amount of money owed is based on how much each person being sued is at fault. Then, if the amount of money for pain and suffering (noneconomic damages) is more than the legal limit, the court will reduce the amount each defendant has to pay. If a defendant has already settled with the person suing, that amount will also be taken into account. The court has to do all of this before figuring out if there is a limit on how much money the person suing can get for pain and suffering. If there are multiple defendants in a lawsuit and the plaintiff has already received money from one of them, the court has to figure out how much of that money should be counted towards the cap on the total amount the plaintiff can receive for intangible damages. This involves splitting up the settlement money between tangible and intangible damages, and then using that split to calculate how much each defendant is responsible for. This is all done to make sure that the total amount of money the plaintiff gets for intangible damages doesn’t go over the legal limit. Section 766.118(6) has a unique rule that limits the amount of money that can be paid for pain and suffering in a medical malpractice case. This means that if a person has already received money from one doctor or healthcare provider, that amount will be subtracted from the total amount they can get for pain and suffering. This is different from a previous ruling, and it can impact how much money a person can receive from any other doctors or healthcare providers involved in their case. Once the court figures out how much money the person has already received, they can then determine how much the remaining doctors or healthcare providers are responsible for paying towards the person’s pain and suffering. In most cases, the court can reduce the amount of money a person gets for things like pain and suffering based on the jury’s decision about who is at fault for the injury. The exact way the money is divided between people or companies who are at fault is up to the court to decide. This is because the law limits the amount of money a person can get, and the court needs to make sure it’s fair. The law tries to balance fairness with the need to limit the overall amount of money that can be paid for injuries, in order to make the cost of insurance for doctors more predictable. In 2003, Florida passed a law that changed the definition of “health care provider” for certain purposes. It also set a limit on how much money individual practitioners, like doctors, can be sued for in certain cases. The law also says that nurses can only be sued for the same amount as their employers. The law defines a “catastrophic injury” as a very serious and permanent injury. It also sets a limit on how much money can be awarded for emergency medical care. If a judge or jury awards too much money, the defendant can ask to have the amount reduced. The text discusses the use of statutory caps on damages in legal cases. It also talks about how to calculate the amount of damages that can be awarded to a plaintiff. It mentions specific laws and court cases related to this topic. Gail Leverett Parenti, a lawyer, is mentioned as the author of the text. This text is submitted on behalf of a section of lawyers who focus on appellate practice and advocacy.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/a-new-prescription-for-an-old-headache-calculating-judgments-in-medical-malpractice-actions-under-f-s-766-118-2003/