Outside of insurance lawyers, plaintiffs’ attorneys, and some doctors, few people in Florida may be familiar with what is known as a letter of protection.
But critics say the means by which doctors agree to take part in judgment in injury lawsuits can significantly inflate some of the medical costs often paid by liability and auto insurance companies. It is said that it is.
And now, thanks to the tort reform bill filed Wednesday, those letters must be disclosed by plaintiffs.
This is just one of the so-called “monumental” legislative changes proposed by the United States. House Bill 837Florida Rep. Tommy Gregory, submitted by R-Lakewood Ranch.
After the Florida legislature approved sweeping legislation in December, few people spoke publicly this year about new reforms to keep insurers’ legal costs down. But after quietly gathering in recent weeks with the governor of Florida, the newly sworn Republican leaders of the House and Senate, and some of Florida’s biggest business and legal reform groups, Gregory ticks the rest of the boxes. drafted the bill. This is what property and casualty insurance companies and other companies have been asking for.
“This has been an important priority for the business community,” said George Feijou, a former Florida insurance regulator and now a government affairs consultant at Florida Partners. And the Senate, and the Speaker, it’s a perfect partnership.”
Some plaintiffs’ attorneys were caught off guard by the bill.
“This came out of nowhere,” said West Palm Beach attorney Gina Clausen Rozier, president of Windstorm Insurance Network. “They really try to tie up all the loose ends.”
Some of the main provisions of the bill are listed below.
There is no more attorney-client privilege to treat doctors for plaintiffs. In Worley vs. Central Florida YMCA, in 2017, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that if a plaintiff’s attorney refers an injured client to a physician for treatment, the financial relationship between the attorney and the physician must be disclosed. I decided not. Without it, juries cannot fairly determine whether doctors have an incentive to inflate medical costs, according to the Florida Justice Reform Institute, which has been lobbying for tort reform. Director William Large said.
Worley’s decision has captured the attention of the insurance industry for years, as it is believed that amounts paid by insurers to their own medical expert witnesses can be discovered in litigation. HB 837 puts an end to the perceived double standards. The bill reads, “There is no attorney-client privilege under this section if the communication relates to the attorney’s conduct of referring the client for treatment by a health care provider.” increase.
50% failure means no recovery. Florida law allows a jury to assign liability for an accident or negligent act that caused the damage. has stated that it cannot recover damages.
The policy limitation is the same as the damage limitation. If two or more third-party claimants have competing claims for a single event that together exceed the policy limit, the insurer cannot be held liable beyond the policy limit, the bill states. says. Complainants are entitled to receive their pro rata shares as determined by a court or arbitrator.
Medical expenses must be actual expenses. The bill requires that evidence provided by a plaintiff in a claim for damages must be limited to “the amount actually paid, regardless of the source of the payment.” This means that if an injured person has medical insurance, they should explain what the insurance will pay and not compensate for damages based on unsubstantiated medical presumptions.
If the claimant bypassed health insurance and signed a letter of care provider and protection, the plaintiff’s claim must be guided by what health insurance would have paid. If not, you’ll need to consider Medicare reimbursement rates.
letter of protection. The letter is a big reason medical costs and damages in injury verdicts often appear higher than what health insurance companies typically pay for treatment, critics say. Justice Reform Institute’s 2019 White Paper The paper notes that even if the injured person has health insurance, plaintiffs’ attorneys generally use LOP to avoid damages based on the negotiated lower rates that health insurers pay health care providers. I argued that I might recommend it.
Additionally, some healthcare providers sell LOPs to healthcare lien buying companies or factoring companies. These companies can pay you less than what your doctor charges, but still pay more than your health insurance company will pay.
Under HB 837, all letters of protection, along with the amount the third-party factoring company has agreed to pay the doctor, will be revealed in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit proceeding. Physician bills should be itemized and include procedure codes where possible.
No more multipliers. What Senate Bill 2D did in property insurance cases, HB 837 would do in automobile and liability insurance claims cases. Thanks in part to his 2017 separate opinion by the Florida Supreme Court, courts often ask plaintiffs’ attorneys to use multipliers in addition to the “Lodestar” factor to charge higher fees if they win the case. allowed to calculate The idea is that the fee multiplier helps ensure that a qualified law firm will take on difficult cases, or travel far if no other attorney can be found.
Gregory’s bill only allows Lodestar fees, except in rare circumstances where the evidence shows that a competent attorney cannot be hired.Lodestar established a formula for determining reasonable attorney fees. It is the name of a federal court decision and is widely upheld in federal lawsuits.
malicious claimWhile SB 2A in December raised the bar for malicious claims against property and casualty insurers, HB 837 extends it to auto and liability insurance claims. Mere negligence by insurers is not enough to sustain malicious behavior, the bill notes. Also, the judge or jury must consider whether the insured and the insured’s attorney acted in good faith, and may mitigate the damages accordingly.
For years, insurers have complained that Florida law encourages unjustified third-party malicious claims by law firms seeking damages that exceed policy limits. The reform bill would provide a “safe harbor” forbidding litigation if the insurer pays damages or cures the violation within 60 days of being notified.
One-way attorney fees. Many insurers believe that at the heart of Florida’s property insurance crisis is Florida’s statutes and courts’ rulings that allowed large amounts of legal fees, even if the insured won only a small amount in court. said to be a verdict.Gregory’s bill simply repeals Florida law 627.428 and 626.9373, approved the fee structure. While SB 2A ended one-way charges for property and casualty insurers, HB 873 effectively ends charges for claims against other types of insurers, including surplus lines.
The bill would also affect other sections of state law. Section 627.428 provides for uninsured motorist insurance companies pursuant to this section unless there is a dispute as to whether a policy provides coverage to an uninsured motorist who is proven responsible for the accident. It does not apply to lawsuits brought under ”
In two special sessions of the 2022 Florida Legislature, insurance bills created by the governor and legislative leaders passed through both houses virtually unchanged. But things could be a little different for his regular 60-day session starting March 7, Tallahassee insiders and lobbyists suggest. As legislators have more time to consider and more corporate interests are involved, some provisions of HB 837 may be amended before the bill becomes final.
But probably not so much.
After hearing the cries of the business community, DeSantis “will face the court case in a dramatic way, leading Florida into a more predictable legal environment,” said Raj of the Institute for Justice Reform. “And he’s ready to make it happen.”
