| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to expert witnesses; creating ss. 458.3175 |
| 3 | and 459.0066, F.S.; requiring the Board of Medicine and |
| 4 | the Board of Osteopathic Medicine, respectively, to issue |
| 5 | expert witness certificates to certain licensed physicians |
| 6 | under certain circumstances; providing requirements for |
| 7 | certification; providing a limitation; requiring the |
| 8 | boards to implement rules and set fees; amending ss. |
| 9 | 458.331 and 459.015, F.S.; providing that certain |
| 10 | fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading expert witness |
| 11 | testimony is grounds for disciplinary action; providing |
| 12 | penalties; amending s. 766.102, F.S.; providing that |
| 13 | certain medical expert testimony is not admissible unless |
| 14 | the expert witness meets certain requirements; providing |
| 15 | an effective date. |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Section 1. Section 458.3175, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 20 | to read: |
| 21 | 458.3175 Expert witness certificate.-- |
| 22 | (1) Any physician who is licensed to practice allopathic |
| 23 | medicine in any other state or in Canada, whose license is |
| 24 | currently active and valid, who completes a registration form |
| 25 | prescribed by the board, who pays the application fee, and who |
| 26 | has not had a previous expert witness certificate revoked by the |
| 27 | board shall be issued a certificate to provide expert testimony. |
| 28 | (2) A physician possessing an expert witness certificate |
| 29 | may use the certificate solely to give a verified written medical |
| 30 | expert opinion as provided in s. 766.203 and to provide expert |
| 31 | testimony concerning the prevailing professional standard of care |
| 32 | in connection with any medical negligence litigation pending in |
| 33 | this state against a physician licensed under this chapter or |
| 34 | chapter 459. The possession of an expert witness certificate |
| 35 | alone does not entitle the physician to engage in the practice of |
| 36 | medicine as defined in s. 458.305(3). |
| 37 | (3) Every application for an expert witness certificate |
| 38 | shall be approved or denied within 5 business days after receipt |
| 39 | of a completed application. Any application for a certificate |
| 40 | that is not approved or denied within the required time period is |
| 41 | considered approved. Any applicant for an expert witness |
| 42 | certificate seeking to claim certification by default shall |
| 43 | notify the board, in writing, of the intent to rely on the |
| 44 | default certification provision of this subsection. |
| 45 | (4) All licensure fees other than the initial application |
| 46 | fee, including neurological injury compensation assessments, |
| 47 | shall be waived for those persons obtaining an expert witness |
| 48 | certificate but not otherwise allowed to practice medicine in |
| 49 | this state. |
| 50 | (5) The board shall adopt rules to implement this section, |
| 51 | including rules setting the amount of the expert witness |
| 52 | certificate application fee. The application fee for the expert |
| 53 | witness certificate may not exceed $50. An expert witness |
| 54 | certificate shall expire 2 years after the date of issuance. |
| 55 | Section 2. Paragraph (oo) is added to subsection (1) of |
| 56 | section 458.331, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 57 | 458.331 Grounds for disciplinary action; action by the |
| 58 | board and department.-- |
| 59 | (1) The following acts constitute grounds for denial of a |
| 60 | license or disciplinary action, as specified in s. 456.072(2): |
| 61 | (oo) Providing misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent expert |
| 62 | witness testimony related to the practice of medicine. |
| 63 | Section 3. Section 459.0066, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 64 | to read: |
| 65 | 459.0066 Expert witness certificate.-- |
| 66 | (1) Any physician who is licensed to practice osteopathic |
| 67 | medicine in any other state or in Canada, whose license is |
| 68 | currently active and valid, who completes a registration form |
| 69 | prescribed by the board, who pays the application fee, and who |
| 70 | has not had a previous expert witness certificate revoked by the |
| 71 | board shall be issued a certificate to provide expert testimony. |
| 72 | (2) A physician possessing an expert witness certificate |
| 73 | may use the certificate solely to give a verified written medical |
| 74 | expert opinion as provided in s. 766.203 and to provide expert |
| 75 | testimony concerning the prevailing professional standard of care |
| 76 | in connection with any medical negligence litigation pending in |
| 77 | this state against a physician licensed under this chapter or |
| 78 | chapter 458. The possession of an expert witness certificate |
| 79 | alone does not entitle the physician to engage in the practice of |
| 80 | medicine as defined in s. 458.305(3). |
| 81 | (3) Every application for an expert witness certificate |
| 82 | shall be approved or denied within 5 business days after receipt |
| 83 | of a completed application. Any application for a certificate |
| 84 | that is not approved or denied within the required time period is |
| 85 | considered approved. Any applicant for an expert witness |
| 86 | certificate seeking to claim certification by default shall |
| 87 | notify the board, in writing, of the intent to rely on the |
| 88 | default certification provision of this subsection. |
| 89 | (4) All licensure fees other than the initial application |
| 90 | fee, including neurological injury compensation assessments, |
| 91 | shall be waived for those persons obtaining an expert witness |
| 92 | certificate but not otherwise allowed to practice medicine in |
| 93 | this state. |
| 94 | (5) The board shall adopt rules to implement this section, |
| 95 | including rules setting the amount of the expert witness |
| 96 | certificate application fee. The application fee for the expert |
| 97 | witness certificate may not exceed $50. An expert witness |
| 98 | certificate shall expire 2 years after the date of issuance. |
| 99 | Section 4. Paragraph (qq) is added to subsection (1) of |
| 100 | section 459.015, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 101 | 459.015 Grounds for disciplinary action; action by the |
| 102 | board and department.-- |
| 103 | (1) The following acts constitute grounds for denial of a |
| 104 | license or disciplinary action, as specified in s. 456.072(2): |
| 105 | (qq) Providing misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent expert |
| 106 | witness testimony related to the practice of medicine. |
| 107 | Section 5. Subsection (12) of section 766.102, Florida |
| 108 | Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (13), and a new subsection |
| 109 | (12) is added to that section to read: |
| 110 | 766.102 Medical negligence; standards of recovery; expert |
| 111 | witness.-- |
| 112 | (12) If the party against whom or on whose behalf the |
| 113 | expert testimony concerning the prevailing professional standard |
| 114 | of care is offered is a physician licensed under chapter 458 or |
| 115 | chapter 459, the expert witness must be licensed in this state |
| 116 | under chapter 458 or chapter 459 or possess an expert witness |
| 117 | certificate as provided in s. 458.3175 or s. 459.0066. Expert |
| 118 | testimony is not admissible unless the expert providing such |
| 119 | testimony is licensed by this state or possesses an expert |
| 120 | witness certificate. |
| 121 | Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |