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Florida judge rules in favor of medical staff in bylaws case

Physician Practice Advisor, April 19, 2006

In a ruling that the American Medical Association (AMA) called a landmark victory for physicians and patients, a Florida Circuit Court judge has overturned a law that allowed Lawnwood Regional Medical Center's board of trustees to rewrite the medical staff's bylaws.

The law applied only to hospitals of one county and was enacted after intense lobbying by Lawnwood, according to an AMA press release. The judge wrote that the hospital board's argument for holding authority over the bylaws "cannot support the constitutionality of a law that rewrites the Medical Staff Bylaws for the sole purpose of taking away powers that the Medical Staff currently possesses."

The AMA Organized Medical Staff Section attempted to mediate the dispute during the process, and the AMA Litigation Center contributed financially to the medical staff's legal expenses.

Click here to read the AMA's press release.

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