Medical Malpractice Survivors Making Themselves
Heard in Florida Med Mal Caps Debate
In Florida, as in many states, there is currently a debate raging around medical malpractice.
Insurance companies and doctors are calling for limited liability, even in cases where a patient
has been catastrophically injured. While the Senate just passed a three-tiered $500,000 cap on
“non-economic” damages for most medical malpractice cases, Governor Jeb Bush and the House
are urging more drastic reform. Governor Bush has called the legislature into special session, in
the hopes that the House and Senate will reach a compromise.
Patients’ rights activists in Florida, who opposse any caps, are voicing their concerns in the
debate, presenting another side to the legislature and media. Patti O’Regan, a Licensed Nurse
Practioner who lost her mother to medical malpractice, explained that Florida patients’
rights activists “are in a dog fight down here…with President Bush’s little brother,
Governor Jeb Bush promising he will deliver a $250,000 cap on damages for patients who go
to court to hold doctors accountable for their actions.” Activists first boarded a plane at the
Tampa airport to “go to the state capitol to educate our legislators, medical community, and
public about the value of life, imperative for patient safety and accountability, and the need to
protect the civil rights of patients and all citizens.” The patients’ rights group has already
received extensive coverage by all four major broadcasting stations.
Patti further explained that, “we received lead story attention on Monday all day
as we crashed the Tort Reform actors’ staged press conference, which included the health and human
services secretary, doctor, nurse, hospital, business group, and state and U.S. legislative
representatives outside the capitol. “The media covered us victims again Monday as we
had a sit-in at the President of the Senate's office for an hour and a half until the Senate
President agreed to come out of his cubby hole (office) to speak with us ( he is against $250,000
caps, but is in favor of higher limit caps and sovereign immunity); and tv reporters covered us
victims quite well again during the afternoon Senate hearings until 8 pm. When us victims got
our five minutes of time to speak, over half of the senators walked out.”
Time will tell if Florida lawmakers heed the concerns of patient advocates like Patti
O’Regan. In the meantime, these advocates are doing their best to be impossible to ignore. Great work, Patti!