The Florida Supreme Court recently ruled that Amendment 7, the “Patients Right to Know About Adverse Medical Incidents” that was passed by the state's voters in 2004, eliminates protections for hospital peer review records, including records that pre-date passage of the amendment. The ruling has significant implications for the state's hospitals and doctors, as it mandates that records of incidents that were previously protected from discovery and litigation must now be made available to any patient who requests the information. In essence, the veil that shrouded hospitals' dirty little secrets has been lifted.

The use of waivers by physicians to require patients to accept binding arbitration in order to receive medical care is rapidly growing. I have refused requests to sign such waivers and, in one case, changed doctors as a result.

The firm's Marisol Gomez has been named as a circuit representative of The Florida Bar's Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors for the Eleventh Circuit. The group oversees the work of the bar's Young Lawyers Division, which offers professional development opportunities for the organization's members. Gomez's term runs through 2009.