Florida Malpractice Insurance: Patient Advocates for Higher Requirements

Patient's Experience with Inadequate Coverage

• 📌 Cindy Shepard, a Hillsborough County woman, suffered complications after a hand surgery due to a wrong bone removal.
• 🤕 Despite multiple surgeries to correct the issue, she continues to experience pain and numbness, impacting her daily life and work.
• 💔 Her surgeon carried only the $250,000 minimum malpractice insurance required by Florida law, which is insufficient to cover her ongoing medical bills and other damages.

Inadequacy of Current Malpractice Insurance Minimums

• ⚖️ Attorney Webb Brennan explains that the cost of litigation alone can consume a significant portion of the $250,000 minimum, leaving little for the injured patient.
• 📉 The $250,000 minimum was set in 1989 and has not been adjusted for inflation, despite significant increases in healthcare costs.
• 📈 If adjusted for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index for physician services, the minimum coverage would need to be over $1.75 million today.

Call for Legislative Action

• 🚗 The current malpractice insurance minimum is contrasted with the $1 million liability coverage required for rideshare services like Uber and Lyft.
• 📢 Cindy Shepard is actively contacting lawmakers to advocate for an increase in the mandatory medical malpractice insurance requirements.
• 🗣️ She emphasizes the need to make something positive out of her negative experience by raising awareness and pushing for legislative change.