As I have stated numerous times in this column, maybe I am just naïve or simply don’t get it. However, I thought the Florida Chamber of Commerce was all about helping small businesses and encouraging the consumers of those businesses to patronize and spend their valuable money with said small businesses.
So, with that stated purpose in mind, why then is it that the Chamber continuously sticks it to the Florida consumer each and every Legislative session?
It happened last Friday again, when the Senate and the House passed CS/HB 7105, which will change the standards for expert witness testimony in Florida courtrooms. For years, Florida had followed the Frye standard, which allowed an expert’s testimony if it was based on generally accepted principles for that individual expert’s field of study or specialty. Daubert, which is the new standard, has been developed in the federal courts for the last twenty years. Under Daubert, if you put forth expert witness testimony in a case, then the Judge must make a preliminary determination that the expert’s methodology was scientifically valid and of whether or not that methodology can properly be applied to the facts at issue.
So what in practice does this mean? The federal courts have been very tough in their application of Daubert. The practical effect of the standard has been to allow defense attorneys, in civil or criminal proceedings, to put the Plaintiff or State’s experts on trial, before the real trial even commences. For instance, if you are bringing a car accident claim, the adverse insurance company could file a motion to strike your treating doctor’s testimony under the Daubert standard. This idea is ridiculous, given the fact that your doctors’ opinions are based on the medical care and treatment they provided you, and thus, there should not be concerns regarding their methodology. Any court should deny the motion. That is not the point, or even the goal of the exercise. The real goal is to force your attorney to have to bring all of your doctors, into court, before trial, just to testify to their treatment. This will add significant expense and delay to otherwise simple, clear-cut cases.
The effects will be even more profound on prosecutors. The Prosecuting Attorneys Association has estimated over $1 million dollars in additional costs will be incurred by the State for moving to the Daubert standard.
So why is this happening? Because this is the way the Florida Chamber of Commerce wants it to be. They lobbied for seven years for this law, and now it is the law of the land. Now, thanks to the Chamber, more criminal offenders will go free because the State simply cannot afford two trials just to uphold basic evidence. And that ladies and gentlemen is today’s Florida Chamber of Commerce. They will trade in justice for victims of crime in exchange for making sure you do not get to hold business and big insurance liable in civil court. Sounds like a bad deal to me, and this small business will not be a member of the Florida Chamber anytime soon.
Michael T. Gibson is an Auto Accident Lawyer in Orlando. The law firm of Michael T. Gibson can help you obtain compensation for medical treatment, loss of wages, pain and suffering, etc. that you have incurred as a result of a car accident. Call 407-422-4529 or visit the website at www.autojusticeattorney.com.
