Florida Senate Amends, Passes CS/SB 1590 Relating to Medical Malpractice
May 3, 2011
Earlier today, the Florida Senate considered CS/SB 1590 Relating to Medical Malpractice by Senator Hays.
Senator Hays noted the provisions of the bill providing for the issuance of expert witness certificates to out of state physicians who seek to provide expert witness testimony in Florida.
Senator Hays then introduced two amendments to the bill.
Amendment 170844 provides that to ensure comprehensive risk management for diagnosis of disease, a health care facility, including a hospital or ambulatory surgical center, may use scientific diagnostic disease methodologies that use information regarding specific diseases in health care facilities that are adopted by the facility’s medical review committee. The amendment was ADOPTED.
Amendment 339318 extends the bill’s effective date from July 1, 2011 to October 1, 2011, and clarifies that the bill applies to causes of action accruing on or after the effective date, i.e., the bill is not retroactive. Senator Hays indicated that this amendment was presented at the request of the trial bar. The amendment was ADOPTED.
After adoption of the foregoing amendments, it was noted that the Senate had received the House’s medical malpractice bill, CS/CS/CS/CS HB 479 by Representative Horner. HB 479 was withdrawn from its committees of reference and substituted for SB 1590. Senator Hays noted that HB 479 was not identical to SB 1590, and amendments were introduced to conform HB 479 to the prior Senate version.
Amendment 911383 by Senator Hays, similar to Amendment 170844 discussed above, extends the effective date from July 1, 2011 to October 1, 2011 and provides that the bill applies to causes of action accruing on or after the effective date. The amendment was ADOPTED.
Amendment 855110 by Senator Hays removes the provisions of the bill implementing a clear and convincing evidence standard for claims alleging negligence resulting from the failure to order, perform or administer supplemental diagnostic tests. The amendment was ADOPTED.
Amendment 462134 by Senator Hays removes the provisions of the bill that would exempt hospitals from liability for acts or omissions committed by hospital-contracted providers (as opposed to hospital-employed providers). The amendment was ADOPTED.
Amendment 593896 by Senator Hays removes the provisions of the bill that would allow the defendant or the defendant’s representatives from conducting ex parte interviews of the claimant’s treating physician(s). The amendment was ADOPTED.
Amendment 512636 by Senator Hays, similar to Amendment 178844 discussed above, relating to comprehensive risk management for diagnosis of disease, was ADOPTED.
Amendment 963146 by Senator Garcia, Amendment 681822 by Senator Diaz de la Portilla, and Amendment 934938 by Senator Flores were all WITHDRAWN.
The bill, as amended was rolled to Third Reading and the floor was open for debate. No substantive debate was offered and the bill, as amended passed by a vote of 30-9. The bill now goes back to the House, where it is in returning messages.
Should you have any comments or questions, please contact Colodny Fass.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an email to bellis@cftlaw.com.