Three cheers to Carlos Lopez Cantera, a Florida state representative and Republican majority leader, for his bold confrontation of the University of Miami School of Medicine. Last May, the University of Miami, a private entity, persuaded the Florida legislature to do something unprecedented (and probably unconstitutional!): It granted sovereign immunity to the University of Miami due to its relationship with the Public Health Trust. Already a recipient of sovereign immunity when its doctors were acting exclusively in their capacity as Public Health Trust agents, now the University has sovereign immunity even when it treats private patients for private dollars and is not engaged as an agent for the Trust. Representative Cantera states that the justification for the immunity was the University's promise that it would share the savings it realized from the newfound protection with the ailing Public Health Trust. Turns out, according to Representative Lopez Cantera, that the University of Miami has no such plan.
This goes to show you the duplicitous nature of the "tort reform" battles. Almost without exception, the insurance and corporate giants who seek legal protections from Tallahassee for their own negligence and malfeasance are out for one thing: lining their own pockets. The big money fight for tort reform and lawsuit limitations is not a fight for justice, or fairness, or liberty. It is a corporate mission to enhance corporate profits. For the Miami Herald article, click here.