Florida Court declares caps on malpractice injury cases unconstitutional

In a much-anticipated decision, the Fourth DCA holds that statutory caps in medical malpractice cases imposed by §768.118, Fla. Stat. (2005) are unconstitutional in medical malpractice injury cases, even when there is only one plaintiff. The court found that the caps violate the equal protection provision of Art. I, §2, Fla. Const. The Florida Supreme Court had previously found damage caps in medical malpractice death cases to be unconstitutional. This is the first appellate court to address whether malpractice caps are constitutional in medical malpractice cases that result in injuries which do not cause the death of the patient. This decision is binding on all trial courts in Florida. North Broward Hosp. Dist. v. Kalitan, 2015 WL 3973075 (Fla. 4th DCA July 1, 2015).