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Florida High Court Strikes Down Medical Malpractice Cap in Wrongful Death Cases

Case:
Estate of McCall v. United States
Florida Supreme Court
134 So. 3d 894 (Fla. 3/13/ 2014)

Michelle McCall received prenatal care at a United States Air Force clinic. McCall died from severe blood loss following the birth of her child. Plaintiffs filed an action against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The trial court found the United States liable under the FTCA. The court calculated Plaintiffs’ economic damages at $980,462, and Plaintiffs’ noneconomic damages totaled $2 million. However, the trial court, applying Florida’s medical malpractice cap, limited Plaintiffs’ recovery of wrongful death noneconomic damages to $1 million.

Plaintiffs appealed the reduction in damages, challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s medical malpractice cap. On a certified question from the federal Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Florida Supreme Court held the statutory cap on wrongful death noneconomic damages found in Florida Statutes Section 766.118 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Florida Constitution. The ruling is expressly limited to wrongful death cases.

In contrast, in Oliver v. Magnolia Clinic, 11-2132 (La. 3/13/12), 85 So.3d 39, the Louisiana Supreme Court en banc upheld Louisiana’s medical malpractice caps, codified in Louisiana Revised Statute 40:1299.42(B), on equal protection grounds. Claims against “Qualified Healthcare Providers” in Louisiana are capped at $500,000, plus past and future medical expenses. This $500,000 cap applies not only to all non-economic damages like pain and suffering but also to claims for lost wages. Time will tell whether the success in McCall will embolden the Plaintiffs’ bar and lead to new constitutional challenges to damages caps in other states.

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