Lawsuit Abuse Reform

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News

• EDITORIAL
  Aug 25, 2010 — The Orlando Sentinel
  Health System found that by apologizing to patients for medical mistakes, and offering compensation upfront, lawsuits plummeted -- and saved the hospital system a bundle. Though many doctors, and the lawyers who advise them, worry that admitting errors will open them up to litigation, the study concluded the reality is not as punishing, and that honesty may actually help in the struggle to contain malpractice lawsuits, and the pressure they put on doctors' insurance premiums. ...
• Florida Senate District 8 race puts the well-rooted against a rookie
  Aug 18, 2010 — The Florida Times-Union
  He instantly became one of the Senate's most powerful leaders -- and most controversial. Gov. Charlie Crist handed Thrasher a stinging political defeat when he vetoed Senate Bill 6, an education bill Thrasher had pushed during the spring session that was criticized by school systems and the teachers' union.
• Florida's nursing home staffing regulations come under criticism
  Jun 15, 2010 — The Florida Times-Union
  Under current law, nursing homes are required each day to provide a minimum of 2.7 hours of care per patient by a certified nursing assistant and another hour by a licensed nurse. Certified nursing assistants, CNAs, generally provide personal care, such as feeding or dressing, while licensed nurses are more focused on medical care. Patients would still receive an average of 3.9 hours of care a day, but only 2.7 hours would have to come from a CNA.
• EDITORIAL: Defensive medicine
  May 5, 2010 — The Florida Times-Union
  ...physician makes a mistake that leads to a bad outcome. And the worse the mistake or outcome, the bigger the judgment. But while malpractice laws do some good, there also are some undesirable side effects. For example, 73 percent of doctors polled by Gallup admitted that, sometime in the past year, they had practiced "defensive medicine" -- ordering tests or treatments not so much to help the patient as to build a defense in case of a lawsuit. Those physicians said they...
• Clinic gets candidate's support
  Mar 30, 2010 — Jackson County Floridan
  President Angela McFarland, as the major funding source for constructing a new health facility. If these were the only three things we fixed with Florida's health care, we would be doing a lot better," Thorpe said. "First, doctor-patient relationships. We need to rebuild that trust," Thorpe said. The second point was portability of health care.
• Florida's courts are cool to business, survey says
  Mar 24, 2010 — Tampa Tribune
  The states were given a grade from A to F on the 10 factors. The three states with the least-friendly court systems are West Virginia, Louisiana and Mississippi. The chamber surveyed 1,482 corporate lawyers or executives from October through January. The survey had a sampling error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. Not everyone agrees with the survey.
• Florida courts unfriendly to business, group says
  Mar 23, 2010 — Tampa Tribune
  The states were given a grade from A to F on the 10 factors. Fifty-one percent of respondents gave Florida an A or B on that measure. Overall, the three friendliest states for business, in order, are Delaware, North Dakota and Nebraska. The three states with the least friendly court systems are West Virginia, Louisiana and Mississippi. The chamber surveyed 1,482 corporate attorneys or executives from October through January.
• State officials weigh in on historic health legislation
  Mar 23, 2010 — Ocala Star-Banner
  That's why I voted for health care reform. Those companies make money by denying people the care they need. For too long, health care has been a privilege, not a right in America.
• NFIB outlines legislative priorities for 2010
  Mar 8, 2010 — The Orlando Sentinel
  Billed as an American-Idol-meets-Apprentice-type event, the competition lets women business owners pitch their companies for a chance to win business services to help build a million-dollar-a-year enterprise. Sanford businesswoman Chrystin Bullock, owner of the Florida Autism Center, finished in the top 20. Save the date ... Hoping to reach global markets?