Safety

Florida bill would shield emergency workers from lawsuits

Emergency Management Alert, March 25, 2008

In an effort to get more physicians willing to take call at hospital emergency departments, a proposed bill in Florida would protect emergency healthcare workers and hospitals from large legal claims.

Emergency department physicians, hospitals, and health leaders hope to get the bill passed, reported the St. Petersburg Times. Opponents argue the bill would be unfair to injured patients and not work to encourage physicians to take emergency call duties.

State Rep. Ed Homan, who is an orthopedic surgeon and on staff at University Community Hospital in Tampa, is a co-sponsor of the bill, the Times reported. The bill would make healthcare workers "agents of the state" when they are treating emergencies and would limit lawsuits to $200,000 unless legislators pass a special bill to authorize more, the newspaper said. The bill would cover physicians, nurses, paramedics, and hospitals.

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