Attorneys v. physicians.

Something is seriously wrong in the state of Florida when the top professions resort to a battle of constitutional amendments to protect their interests.

During the 2003 legislative session Florida physicians attempted to obtain a cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice awards as a means of limiting medical malpractice claims and reducing insurance costs. The Florida trial attorneys responded with two constitutional amendments designed to strip a surgeon or physician of their medical license if they have had three or more successful malpractice claims against them and to force all surgeons and physicians to charge their lowest charge for any service to all patients.

These amendments will have the effect of causing a number of physicians and surgeons caring for high-risk patients to be stripped of their medical licenses and many primary care physicians, who are barely making enough to survive, to close their practices. It will be difficult to attract replacement physicians in this legal environment.

In 2004, Florida physicians filed a constitutional amendment to limit the amount of contingency fees trial attorneys will be able to obtain in medical malpractice claims as a means of addressing their concern with malpractice issues. The Florida trial attorneys responded with a constitutional amendment to do away with peer review...