766.101 Medical review committee, immunity from liability.— (1) As used in this section: (a) The term “medical review committee” or “committee” means: 1.a. A committee of a hospital or ambulatory surgical center licensed under chapter 395 or a health maintenance organization certificated under part I of chapter 641; b. A committee of a physician-hospital organization, a provider-sponsored organization, or an […]
766.1015 Civil immunity for members of or consultants to certain boards, committees, or other entities.— (1) Each member of, or health care professional consultant to, any committee, board, group, commission, or other entity shall be immune from civil liability for any act, decision, omission, or utterance done or made in performance of his or her duties while […]
766.1016 Patient safety data privilege.— (1) As used in this section, the term: (a) “Patient safety data” means reports made to patient safety organizations, including all health care data, interviews, memoranda, analyses, root cause analyses, products of quality assurance or quality improvement processes, corrective action plans, or information collected or created by a health care facility licensed under […]
766.102 Medical negligence; standards of recovery; expert witness.— (1) In any action for recovery of damages based on the death or personal injury of any person in which it is alleged that such death or injury resulted from the negligence of a health care provider as defined in s. 766.202(4), the claimant shall have the burden of […]
766.103 Florida Medical Consent Law.— (1) This section shall be known and cited as the “Florida Medical Consent Law.” (2) In any medical treatment activity not covered by s. 768.13, entitled the “Good Samaritan Act,” this act shall govern. (3) No recovery shall be allowed in any court in this state against any physician licensed under chapter 458, osteopathic […]
766.104 Medical negligence cases; reasonable investigation required before filing.— (1) No action shall be filed for personal injury or wrongful death arising out of medical negligence, whether in tort or in contract, unless the attorney filing the action has made a reasonable investigation as permitted by the circumstances to determine that there are grounds for a good […]
766.105 Florida Patient’s Compensation Fund.— (1) DEFINITIONS.—The following definitions apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this section: (a) The term “fund” means the Florida Patient’s Compensation Fund. The fund is not a state agency, board, or commission. However, for the purposes of s. 199.183(1) only, the fund shall be considered a political subdivision of this state. (b) The […]
766.106 Notice before filing action for medical negligence; presuit screening period; offers for admission of liability and for arbitration; informal discovery; review.— (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: (a) “Claim for medical negligence” or “claim for medical malpractice” means a claim, arising out of the rendering of, or the failure to render, medical care or services. […]
766.1065 Authorization for release of protected health information.— (1) Presuit notice of intent to initiate litigation for medical negligence under s. 766.106(2) must be accompanied by an authorization for release of protected health information in the form specified by this section, authorizing the disclosure of protected health information that is potentially relevant to the claim of personal […]
766.108 Mandatory mediation and mandatory settlement conference in medical negligence actions.— (1) Within 120 days after the suit is filed, unless such period is extended by mutual agreement of all parties, all parties shall attend in-person mandatory mediation in accordance with s. 44.102 if binding arbitration under s. 766.207 has not been agreed to by the parties. […]
766.110 Liability of health care facilities.— (1) All health care facilities, including hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, as defined in chapter 395, have a duty to assure comprehensive risk management and the competence of their medical staff and personnel through careful selection and review, and are liable for a failure to exercise due care in fulfilling these […]
766.111 Engaging in unnecessary diagnostic testing; penalties.— (1) No health care provider licensed pursuant to chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 460, chapter 461, or chapter 466 shall order, procure, provide, or administer unnecessary diagnostic tests, which are not reasonably calculated to assist the health care provider in arriving at a diagnosis and treatment of a patient’s condition. […]
766.1115 Health care providers; creation of agency relationship with governmental contractors.— (1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Access to Health Care Act.” (2) FINDINGS AND INTENT.—The Legislature finds that a significant proportion of the residents of this state who are uninsured or Medicaid recipients are unable to access needed health care because health care providers […]
766.1116 Health care practitioner; waiver of license renewal fees and continuing education requirements.— (1) As used in this section, the term “health care practitioner” means a physician or physician assistant licensed under chapter 458; an osteopathic physician or physician assistant licensed under chapter 459; a chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460; a podiatric physician licensed under chapter […]
766.112 Comparative fault.— (1) Notwithstanding anything in law to the contrary, in an action for damages for personal injury or wrongful death arising out of medical negligence, whether in contract or tort, when an apportionment of damages pursuant to this section is attributed to a teaching hospital as defined in s. 408.07, the court shall enter judgment […]
766.113 Settlement agreements; prohibition on restricting disclosure to Division of Medical Quality Assurance.— (1) Each final settlement agreement relating to medical negligence shall include the following statement: “The decision to settle a case may reflect the economic practicalities pertaining to the cost of litigation and is not, alone, an admission that the insured failed to meet the […]
766.118 Determination of noneconomic damages.— (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: (a) “Catastrophic injury” means a permanent impairment constituted by: 1. Spinal cord injury involving severe paralysis of an arm, a leg, or the trunk; 2. Amputation of an arm, a hand, a foot, or a leg involving the effective loss of use of that appendage; 3. Severe brain […]
766.1185 Bad faith actions.—In all actions for bad faith against a medical malpractice insurer relating to professional liability insurance coverage for medical negligence, and in determining whether the insurer could and should have settled the claim within the policy limits had it acted fairly and honestly towards its insured with due regard for her or his […]
766.201 Legislative findings and intent.— (1) The Legislature makes the following findings: (a) Medical malpractice liability insurance premiums have increased dramatically in recent years, resulting in increased medical care costs for most patients and functional unavailability of malpractice insurance for some physicians. (b) The primary cause of increased medical malpractice liability insurance premiums has been the substantial increase in […]
766.202 Definitions; ss. 766.201-766.212.—As used in ss. 766.201-766.212, the term: (1) “Claimant” means any person who has a cause of action for damages based on personal injury or wrongful death arising from medical negligence. (2) “Collateral sources” means any payments made to the claimant, or made on his or her behalf, by or pursuant to: (a) The United States […]
