TALLAHASSEE – Testimony during a Senate committee Wednesday revealed there are at least 112 COVID-19-related lawsuits in the pipeline against nursing and assisted living facilities in Florida.
But legislation approved by the committee gets health care providers one step closer to being protected from COVID suits, as long as they followed the rules.
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Health care workers doing their best on the frontline of the COVID fight could soon be immune from lawsuits.
“We’ve had 1.8 million Floridians affected,” said Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-Fla.
Brandes is sponsoring the bill that would provide liability protections for health care workers. He said suits could only go forward when providers were grossly negligent or committed intentional misconduct.
“And we are asking in this piece of legislation that we protect our health care industry that has gone over and above the call of duty,” said Brandes.
Democrats on the committee offered four amendments to weaken the legislation.
All four failed.
As written, the legislation would protect health care facilities and all of their workers all the way back to the beginning of the pandemic in March.
Consumers told the committee the protections were too one-sided.
“The only people that this bill will protect are the owners, the corporate owners of nursing homes,” said Barbara Devane with the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans.
Trial lawyers argued the protections are already in law.
“I think it effectively bars virtually every claim -- every claim related to COVID,” said Steven Cain with the Florida Justice Association.
But nursing homes testified they were powerless to stop infections.
“Nursing homes were powerless to stop COVID carriers at the front door because over 50 percent of COVID spreaders are asymptomatic. Test kits? We didn’t get those from the federal government until August. Too late and too little,” said Kristen Ulman with the Florida Health Care Association.
The legislation is on the fast track with the full support of legislative leadership, which likely means few changes in the last two committees.
The legislation was approved on a 6-4 party line vote with Democrats voting no.
If it becomes law, any lawsuit would have to be filed within one year.