Disclaimer

The information on this website is presented as a service for our clients and Internet users and is not intended to be legal advice, nor should you consider it as such. Although we welcome your inquiries, please keep in mind that merely contacting us will not establish an attorney-client relationship between us. Consequently, you should not convey any confidential information to us until a formal attorney-client relationship has been established. Please remember that electronic correspondence on the internet is not secure and that you should not include sensitive or confidential information in messages. With that in mind, we look forward to hearing from you.

 Skip to Content

New Decision on Statutory Limitations on Noneconomic Damages in Medical Negligence Actions
March 08, 2010
On March 3, 2010, the Third District Court of Appeal released: Weingrad v. Miles, No. 3D08-1592, 2010 WL 711801 (Fla. 3d DCA March 3, 2010) (Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing), holding non-economic damages limits in section 766.118, Florida Statutes (2003) may be applied to medical malpractice claims arising out of negligence that took place before the statute's effective date but for which the notice of intent to initiate litigation was not filed until after the statute's effective date.

The appellate court stated, "The Legislature unambiguously provided that section 766.18 was to operate retrospectively and apply 'to any incident for which a notice of intent to initiate litigation' was mailed on or after September 15, 2003, as long as the application would not be prohibited by the state or federal constitutions." The plaintiffs had not filed a notice of intent, filed a complaint, or obtained a judgment before the statute became effective, and the court held that, under those circumstances, the plaintiffs did not have a vested right to a particular damage award. The court concluded that applying the statutory cap to the plaintiffs' claims would not violate due process.
Related Practices
Appellate & Trial Support Health Care
Related Industries
Health Care
©2024 Carlton Fields, P.A. Carlton Fields practices law in California through Carlton Fields, LLP. Carlton Fields publications should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information and educational purposes only, and should not be relied on as if it were advice about a particular fact situation. The distribution of this publication is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship with Carlton Fields. This publication may not be quoted or referred to in any other publication or proceeding without the prior written consent of the firm, to be given or withheld at our discretion. To request reprint permission for any of our publications, please use our Contact Us form via the link below. The views set forth herein are the personal views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the firm. This site may contain hypertext links to information created and maintained by other entities. Carlton Fields does not control or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this outside information, nor is the inclusion of a link to be intended as an endorsement of those outside sites.