In this case the Florida Supreme Court was called upon to decide whether the statutory cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice claims violated the equal protection clause of the Florida constitution. The Florida Justice Reform Institute filed an amicus brief in support of upholding the statutory cap as constitutional under equal protection, which demands only a rational basis for the cap. Here, that rational basis was to address the medical malpractice insurance crisis based on findings that medical malpractice liability insurance premiums had skyrocketed as the result of increased payments to claimants in medical malpractice lawsuits. The Florida Supreme Court rephrased the question as whether the statutory cap on wrongful death noneconomic damages violates the right to equal protection, which the Court answered in the affirmative, concluding that no medical malpractice crisis exists to justify the differential treatment of medical malpractice plaintiffs.
FJRI represented by William W. Large.