Florida Senate Panel Approves Legislation Capping Damages in Lawsuits Against Nursing Homes
The Florida Senate Judiciary Committee on April 10 voted 10-1 to approve legislation (SB 1202) that would "impose strict caps" on punitive damage awards in lawsuits against nursing homes, handing the state's nursing home industry a "major legislative victory," the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports (Hollis, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 4/11). Under the bill, sponsored by state Sen. Ginny Brown-Waite (R), plaintiffs would have to prove that nursing home owners knew about violations before receiving punitive damages. In addition, the legislation would cap punitive damages at three times compensatory damages or $1 million -- "whichever is greater" (Twiddy, Tallahassee Democrat, 4/11). However, in cases where nursing home owners have "specific knowledge of ... wrongdoing" committed for "unreasonable financial gain," plaintiffs could receive punitive damages of four times compensatory damages or $4 million (South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 4/11). Nursing home industry officials, who maintain that "greedy attorneys" have "exploit[ed]" Florida law and "rocked" them with lawsuits, applauded the legislation, but trial lawyers and advocates for seniors said that the bill would "mak[e] it too difficult to press suits" against an industry that puts "profits above care too often."
Legislative Wrangling
According to Brown-Waite, the state must pass legislation to "protect the troubled" nursing home industry from a "flood" of lawsuits, "or else there will be nothing left to sue." She said, "My mama used to say, 'You can't get blood from a stone.' And if we are in a situation where the nursing homes ... are virtually bankrupt then there will be no recovery" (Hallifax, AP/Florida Times-Union, 4/10). Still, state Sen. Skip Campbell (D), the lone dissenting vote on the committee, criticized the nursing home officials for blaming trial lawyers for their financial woes. "Do you think the greedy trial lawyers are the ones who caused the subcutaneous skin ulcers to go to the bone?" he asked, citing a "common" injury of neglected patients (Tallahassee Democrat, 4/11). "This is wrong. ... We're trying to fix a problem so people don't die, and they're dying" in nursing homes, Campbell added (Saunders,
Florida Times-Union, 4/11). In addition to placing caps on punitive damages in lawsuits against nursing homes, the bill would:
- Eliminate "add-on" attorney fees in cases involving abuse or neglect;
- Impose a five-year ban on nursing home construction to allow the state to "steer" additional Medicaid funding into community-based programs and home-based care;
- Establish a state-run Joint Underwriting Association that would offer high-priced insurance to nursing homes that "can't get it on the commercial market";
- "Gradually" increase requirements on nursing home staffing over five years from a minimum of two hours of care per day per resident to 2.9 hours;
- Impose "strict" new fines for "false charting" of patient records (South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 4/11).
