Citing malpractice anxiety, FMA chief suspends practice
By ALISA ULFERTS
Published May 20, 2003
TALLAHASSEE - The president of the Florida Medical Association announced Monday that he will suspend his medical practice because lawmakers failed to cap jury awards for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases.
Robert Cline, 64, a Fort Lauderdale cardiac and thoracic surgeon, said he isn't on strike. He needed to suspend his practice next week, he said, so he could decide whether to retire early or move to another state.
Cline said he will continue to see patients with emergencies but will not accept new patients or make routine appointments. Suspending his practice won't reduce his insurance premium but will lessen the threat of a lawsuit. His $1-million insurance policy cost more than $100,000 and is set to double this year, he said.
A spokeswoman for the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers accused Cline of abandoning his patients and engaging in scare tactics.
"If the FMA, Dr. Cline, and the other doctors who have abandoned their patients truly cared for the well-being of all Floridians, they would go on strike against their insurers, the real culprits behind higher premiums, instead of taking out their frustrations on their patients," said academy spokeswoman Jacqui Sisto. "The people of Florida cannot afford to give in to those scare tactics organized by the insurance industry."
Doctors have been complaining of skyrocketing insurance costs in recent years, but lawyers have said the proposed cap would only hurt the elderly and others who don't earn much money.
Gov. Jeb Bush plans to call lawmakers back for another special session to pass a medical malpractice bill, probably sometime next month.
Senate President Jim King and House Speaker Johnnie Byrd recently talked of a compromise in which caps would be tiered according to the severity of the medical error and its effect on the patient.
But Cline said Monday the FMA will accept nothing less than a flat $250,000 cap on pain-and-suffering awards.
