House Bill 1407

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1407

        By Representatives Lawson, Boyd and Turnbull






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to Leon County; providing for

  3         liens in favor of operators of hospitals in

  4         Leon County upon causes of actions, suits,

  5         claims, counterclaims, and demands accruing to

  6         patients in such hospitals, or their legal

  7         representatives, and upon judgments,

  8         settlements, and settlement agreements, on

  9         account of illness or injury of such patients,

10         for all reasonable charges for hospital care,

11         treatment, and maintenance necessitated by such

12         illness or injury; providing for a method of

13         perfecting and enforcing such liens; providing

14         duties of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of

15         Leon County; requiring claims for lien to be

16         recorded and fees for recording; providing for

17         validity of a release or satisfaction of an

18         action, suit, claim, counterclaim, demand,

19         judgment, settlement, or settlement agreement

20         against a lien under certain circumstances;

21         specifying actions constituting impairment of a

22         lien; entitling lienholders to actions for

23         damages for such impairment; specifying actions

24         in satisfaction of a lien; providing for

25         recovery of attorney's fees and expenses under

26         certain circumstances; prohibiting recovery of

27         damages for hospital care, treatment, and

28         maintenance unless a claimant has paid certain

29         costs; providing an exception;  providing for

30         intervention by a lienholder and verdict and

31         judgment in favor of a lienholder in certain

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1407

    113-278A-99






  1         cases; providing an exemption from matters

  2         within purview of the Workers' Compensation Law

  3         of this state; providing an effective date.

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  5  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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  7         Section 1.  Every individual, partnership, firm,

  8  association, corporation, institution, and governmental unit,

  9  and every combination of any of the foregoing, operating a

10  hospital licensed under chapter 395, Florida Statutes, in Leon

11  County shall have a lien for all reasonable charges for such

12  hospital care, treatment, and maintenance of all ill or

13  injured persons upon any and all causes of action, suits,

14  claims, counterclaims, and demands accruing to the persons to

15  whom such care, treatment, or maintenance are furnished, or

16  accruing to the legal representative of such persons, and upon

17  all judgments, settlements, and settlement agreements rendered

18  or entered into by virtue thereof, on account of illness or

19  injury giving rise to such causes of actions, suits, claims,

20  counterclaims, demands, judgments, settlements, or settlement

21  agreements, which necessitated or shall have necessitated such

22  hospital care, treatment, and maintenance.

23         Section 2.  In order to perfect such lien, the

24  executive officer or duly appointed agent of a hospital or

25  responsible governmental officer shall, before or within 180

26  calendar days after any such person shall have been discharged

27  from the hospital, file in the office of the Clerk of the

28  Circuit Court in Leon County a verified claim in writing

29  setting forth the name and address of the patient as it

30  appears on the records of the hospital, the name and location

31  of the hospital, the name and address of the executive officer

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1407

    113-278A-99






  1  or agent of the hospital, the dates of admission to and

  2  discharge of the patient therefrom, the amount claimed to be

  3  due for the hospital care, treatment, and maintenance, and, to

  4  the best knowledge of the person signing such claim, the names

  5  and addresses of all persons, firms, or corporations claimed

  6  by such ill or injured person, or by the legal representative

  7  of such person, to be liable on account of such illness or

  8  injury.  The lienholder shall also, within 7 business days

  9  after the filing of such claim or lien, mail a copy thereof to

10  each person, firm, or corporation claimed to be liable on

11  account of such illness or injury, at the address set forth in

12  the verified claim. The filing of the claim shall be notice

13  thereof to all persons, firms, or corporations who may be

14  liable on account of such illness or injury, whether or not

15  they are named in the claim or lien, and whether or not a copy

16  of the claim shall have been received by them.

17         Section 3.  The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Leon

18  County shall endorse on the claim the date and hour of filing

19  and shall record the claim in the official records of Leon

20  County.  The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Leon County shall

21  be paid by the lienholder, for the filing and recording of

22  each claim, the same fee as provided for filing and recording

23  other instruments under the recording laws.

24         Section 4.  No release or satisfaction of any action,

25  suit, claim, counterclaim, demand, judgment, settlement, or

26  settlement agreement, or of any of them, shall be valid or

27  effectual against such lien unless the lienholder shall join

28  therein or execute a release of the lien.  Any acceptance of a

29  release or satisfaction of any cause of action, suit, claim,

30  counterclaim, demand, or judgment and any settlement of any of

31  the foregoing in the absence of a release or satisfaction of

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1407

    113-278A-99






  1  lien referred to in this act shall prima facie constitute an

  2  impairment of the lien, and the lienholder shall be entitled

  3  to an action at law for damages on account of such impairment,

  4  and in such action may recover from the one accepting the

  5  release or satisfaction or making the settlement the

  6  reasonable costs of the hospital care, treatment, and

  7  maintenance.  Satisfaction of any judgment rendered in favor

  8  of the lienholder in any such action shall operate as a

  9  satisfaction of the lien.  Any action by the lienholder shall

10  be brought in the court having jurisdiction in the amount of

11  the lienholder's claims and may be brought and maintained in

12  Leon County.  If the lienholder shall prevail in such action,

13  the lienholder shall be entitled to recover from the

14  defendant, in addition to costs otherwise allowed by law, all

15  reasonable attorney's fees and expenses incident to the

16  matter.

17         Section 5.  No person shall be entitled to recover or

18  receive damages on account of hospital care, treatment, and

19  maintenance provided by any individual, partnership, firm,

20  association, corporation, institution, or governmental unit or

21  any combination of any of the foregoing operating a hospital

22  unless that person shall affirmatively show that he or she has

23  paid the costs thereof.  However, in any action, suit, or

24  counterclaim brought on account of illness or injury, the

25  plaintiff or counterclaimant may include as an item of damages

26  the cost of such hospital care, treatment, and maintenance, if

27  prior to the trial of the action the plaintiff or

28  counterclaimant shall have notified the lienholder referred to

29  in this act of the pendency of such action or counterclaim;

30  whereupon the lienholder shall have the right, without leave

31  of court, to intervene in the case and prove the reasonable

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1407

    113-278A-99






  1  costs of such hospital care, treatment, and maintenance.  Any

  2  verdict that may be rendered in favor of the plaintiff or

  3  counterclaimant shall set forth the amount the jury finds to

  4  be due the lienholder for such hospital care, treatment, and

  5  maintenance, and the name of such lienholder.  Any judgment

  6  rendered in the case in favor of the plaintiff or

  7  counterclaimant shall also be in favor of the lienholder in

  8  the amount set forth by the jury's verdict.

  9         Section 6.  The provisions of this act shall not be

10  applicable to incidents or injuries within the purview of the

11  Workers' Compensation Law within this state.

12         Section 7.  If any section, paragraph, sentence,

13  clause, phrase, or other part of this act is declared

14  unconstitutional, or if this act should be declared

15  inapplicable in any case, such declaration shall not affect

16  the remainder of this act nor the applicability thereof in any

17  other case.

18         Section 8.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

19  law.

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