Florida Ruling Favors Medical Malpractice Plaintiffs

By Brittany Golledge

Published on September 30, 2005

The ruling comes at the heels of several recent circuit court decisions that have bypassed the implementing statute, claiming it would negate the purpose of the new constitutional amendment, amendment 7, which was designed to allow medical malpractice plaintiffs to obtain physician discipline records and confidential hospital records.

The "right to know" amendment was launched in 2004 by plaintiff attorneys as part of a counterattack again Florida physicians, who had introduced an initiative to cap medical malpractice contingency fees. Voters eventually passed both initiatives. Amendment 7 gave patients the right to review hospital medical records and physician records for medical errors.

Following the ratification of amendment 7, the Florida legislature introduced an implementation law, SB 938, which was strongly criticized for narrowing the language of the amendment and making it virtually impossible for patients to access hospital records and use them in civil court.

Representatives from Florida hospitals have argued that the peer review process would be jeopardized if these confidential hospital records were released.

Several cases challenging the constitutionality of the implementing law are currently undergoing appellate review. The issue will likely be brought before the Florida State Supreme Court.

Comment on this article →