Florida health care providers would continue to receive legal liability protections against COVID-19-related lawsuits well into 2023 under legislation that just passed the state legislature.
The Florida House of Representatives last week passed Senate Bill 7014, which was drawn up by the Senate Judiciary Committee, by a vote of 87-31. Now the plan will go to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature.
Legislation passed by the legislature in 2021 provided health care providers with COVID-19 legal liability protections through the end of next month. The latest bill would extend those protections through June 1, 2023.
“The legislature determined that special civil liability protections against COVID-19-related claims were essential for the survival of individuals, businesses, health care providers and other organizations,” an analysis of SB 7014 by legislative staff states.
The liability protections raise the pleading requirements that plaintiffs must show in order to advance a COVID-19 claim against health care workers and facilities. Plaintiffs must show the care provider engaged in gross negligence or intentional misconduct in order to prevail in such litigation.
In addition, defendants can overcome such claims if they prove that they took reasonable precautions and followed the advice of government health agencies while giving care to patients during the pandemic.
The Florida Health Care Association (FHCA), a supporter of the bill, said the liability protections would allow long-term care centers to better hone their resources for resident care.
“The protections provided by SB 7014 are critical for our state’s nursing centers and assisted-living facilities, ensuring that our long-term care workers can remain safe from sue-and-settle lawsuit tactics while continuing to serve in a challenging pandemic environment,” the FHCA’s CEO, Emmett Reed, said in a statement emailed to the Florida Record.
The effects of the pandemic continue to be catastrophic for nursing centers and caregivers amid worker burnout and other workforce challenges, according to Reed.
“These liability protections reinforce support from our legislature and ensure that Florida's long-term care centers have the resources needed to continue providing high-quality care to Florida’s most vulnerable population,” he said.
The staff analysis of the bill said the financial effects of the new bill are uncertain.
“If the effect of the bill is to limit lawsuits that otherwise would have yielded recoveries for injured parties, the bill will have a positive fiscal impact on the health care industry and a corresponding negative fiscal impact on injured individuals,” the analysis says.