Recently, the Florida Supreme Court found, by a 5-2 vote, that caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases violated the Florida equal protection clause.

Caps were originally set, not only in Florida but in many other states, as a response to worries of a medical malpractice “crisis,” which includes insurance rates rising and doctors being forced to move their practices out of state.

What this Court found was that such a “crisis” was not supported by available data. This decision will not significantly affect access to health care, but will allow families to be rightfully compensated for the negligence of health care providers.

Read the article here:

[Florida Supreme Court Throws Out Statutory Caps on Wrongful Death Cases][1]

Fortunately, victims of malpractice in Washington are not faced with such caps on damages. Although every year there is some threat in the legislature to “reform” laws governing medical malpractice, victims of heath care errors have thus far been spared serious erosion of their rights.

[1]: http://www.natlawreview.com/article/florida-supreme-court-throws-out-statutory-caps-wrongful-death-cases “Florida Supreme Court Throws Out Statutory Caps on Wrongful Death Cases”