Doctors rallied at Broward County Courthouse in Florida, protesting the high cost of medical malpractice insurance and rising claims that they say are forcing physicians to limit their practices.
According to the Florida Sun Sentinal, the doctors want legislation limiting the amount of awards for pain and suffering that plaintiffs can collect in malpractice lawsuits.
The medical profession and insurers contend that costs from lawsuit awards and a growing number of baseless lawsuits have risen 30 percent in Florida over the past year or so and have doubled or more than doubled for some specialties.
The Sentinal Sun cited the case of a Fort Lauderdale gynecologist and obstetrician who was forced to give up delivering babies after her medical malpractice premium jumped to $105,000, triple the amount she paid two years ago. The premium dropped to $28,000 after she stopped her delivery practice.
About a dozen people whose families had been hurt by medical mistakes attended the rally along with the approximately 500 doctors and nurses. The consumer group, which opposes limiting medical malpractice awards, held a media conference the day before contending that increasing number of lawsuits reflect escalating instances of medical mistakes. They claim insurers have hiked rates to create a crisis.
Doctors are expected to push for tort reform during the Florida 2003 Legislative session.
Topics Florida
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