The Florida Senate

766.202  Definitions; ss. 766.201-766.212.--As used in ss. 766.201-766.212, the term:

(1)  "Claimant" means any person who has a cause of action arising from medical negligence.

(2)  "Collateral sources" means any payments made to the claimant, or made on his or her behalf, by or pursuant to:

(a)  The United States Social Security Act; any federal, state, or local income disability act; or any other public programs providing medical expenses, disability payments, or other similar benefits, except as prohibited by federal law.

(b)  Any health, sickness, or income disability insurance; automobile accident insurance that provides health benefits or income disability coverage; and any other similar insurance benefits, except life insurance benefits available to the claimant, whether purchased by him or her or provided by others.

(c)  Any contract or agreement of any group, organization, partnership, or corporation to provide, pay for, or reimburse the costs of hospital, medical, dental, or other health care services.

(d)  Any contractual or voluntary wage continuation plan provided by employers or by any other system intended to provide wages during a period of disability.

(3)  "Economic damages" means financial losses which would not have occurred but for the injury giving rise to the cause of action, including, but not limited to, past and future medical expenses and 80 percent of wage loss and loss of earning capacity.

(4)  "Investigation" means that an attorney has reviewed the case against each and every potential defendant and has consulted with a medical expert and has obtained a written opinion from said expert.

(5)  "Medical expert" means a person duly and regularly engaged in the practice of his or her profession who holds a health care professional degree from a university or college and has had special professional training and experience or one possessed of special health care knowledge or skill about the subject upon which he or she is called to testify or provide an opinion.

(6)  "Medical negligence" means medical malpractice, whether grounded in tort or in contract.

(7)  "Noneconomic damages" means nonfinancial losses which would not have occurred but for the injury giving rise to the cause of action, including pain and suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of capacity for enjoyment of life, and other nonfinancial losses.

(8)  "Periodic payment" means provision for the structuring of future economic damages payments, in whole or in part, over a period of time, as follows:

(a)  A specific finding of the dollar amount of periodic payments which will compensate for these future damages after offset for collateral sources shall be made. The total dollar amount of the periodic payments shall equal the dollar amount of all such future damages before any reduction to present value.

(b)  The defendant shall be required to post a bond or security or otherwise to assure full payment of these damages awarded. A bond is not adequate unless it is written by a company authorized to do business in this state and is rated A+ by Best's. If the defendant is unable to adequately assure full payment of the damages, all damages, reduced to present value, shall be paid to the claimant in a lump sum. No bond may be canceled or be subject to cancellation unless at least 60 days' advance written notice is filed with the court and the claimant. Upon termination of periodic payments, the security, or so much as remains, shall be returned to the defendant.

(c)  The provision for payment of future damages by periodic payments shall specify the recipient or recipients of the payments, the dollar amounts of the payments, the interval between payments, and the number of payments or the period of time over which payments shall be made.

History.--s. 49, ch. 88-1; s. 1153, ch. 97-102.