The 5th DCA of Florida recently held that Florida law does not obligate the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan (“NICA”) to explain a patient’s potential civil remedies at common law to meet the statutory notice requirement to patients. NICA requires that participating hospitals and physicians give pre-delivery notice to obstetrical patients of their participation in the Plan. The purpose of the is to give a patient the opportunity to make an informed choice between using a health care provider who participates in NICA and one who does not. The plaintiffs in this case argued that the NICA brochure (Peace of Mind for an Unexpected Problem) provided by their doctor was insufficient in that it did not contain a clear and concise explanation of the rights and limitations under NICA as required by statute. Specifically, they argued that the brochure failed to inform the patient of what she might recover under NICA may be substantially less than what she might recover in a medical malpractice lawsuit and that some elements of damages available in a medical malpractice case are unavailable if the patient elects to receive services from a NICA provider. The 5th DCA disagreed and found that the NICA brochure at issue satisfied the legislative mandate of providing a clear and concise explanation of a patient’s rights and limitations.
To read the opinion, please click here: Dianderas v. Florida Birth Related Neurological
For more information on defending medical malpractice, nursing home and general liability matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at Citron & Associates, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.
