As a part of our effort to give back to the Tallahassee community, our team at Pennington PA worked with Leon County School Board member, Laurie Cox, to provide much-needed supplies and materials to Springwood Elementary School. We look forward to collaborating with the incredible faculty and staff at Springwood in the future.

The 2024 Legislature is currently in Regular Session, which began January 9, 2024, and is scheduled to end on March 8, 2024. The first day of session, Senate Bill 248 was introduced by bill sponsor, Senate Judiciary Chairman Clay Yarborough, which includes medical malpractice damages caps. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to support the bill (8-2), with supporters arguing that caps are needed to combat rising medical malpractice insurance rates and help persuade doctors to practice in Florida. Opponents argue that the caps would shortchange people who were injured or died because of the negligence of healthcare providers. Under the proposed caps, a plaintiff in a medical malpractice matter could receive a maximum of $500,000.00 in “non-economic damages” from doctors or practitioners, regardless of the number of practitioners that are liable. The cap would be $750,000.00 in lawsuits against hospitals or other “nonpractitioners.” Further, lower caps would apply in lawsuits where emergency care was provided, or if the care and treatment involved a Medicaid patient. The caps in SB 248 would not be applied to “economic” damages. This is not the first time that the Florida Legislature has attempted to place caps on non-economic damages. In 2003, the Legislature held special sessions before passing several caps on non-economic damages. These caps, however, were struck down by the Florida Supreme Court in 2014 and 2017 rulings, which found the caps to be unconstitutional. According to Chairman Yarborough, the caps in SB 248 were designed with the Supreme Court’s concerns, including equal-protection concerns, that resulted in the 2003 version of caps being declared unconstitutional. It remains to be seen whether SB 248 will pass, but, even if it does, it is likely that the constitutionality of these newly proposed caps on “non-economic damages” will again face judicial review and scrutiny, much like the 2003 caps.