Tough Challenges in 2003 => Winter 2002

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Tough Challenges in 2003: Winter 2002

Spurgeon W. McWilliams, M.D.

Now that the elections are over, our first order of business is to congratulate Governor Jeb Bush on his victory, allowing him four more years of service as our state’s leader. We also want to thank him for his recent appointment of an academic Task Force, to analyze the liability crisis, and make recommendations to the legislature for tort reform. We expect some tort reform measure to come from upcoming legislative session. I would thus encourage our members to consider waiting until after the session to make major practice decisions precipitated by liability concerns. Of course, there are no guarantees. As encouraged as we are, we must remember that the present crisis came about under current leadership. We must therefore be as aggressive and effective as representatives of the legal profession and the insurance industry are at presenting views, concerns and proposals regarding tort reform to our elected officials throughout this legislative season. In that light, I strongly encourage your very best effort as regards your FOGS and FMA PAC contributions and your personal contacts with your local delegates.

Meanwhile your board and staff remain hard at work on your behalf. We are putting the final touches on our annual meeting at Sawgrass in August. Our staff, under the direction of Chris Seymour, is working on two liability related projects. The first in collaboration with FPIC has to do with claims analysis and identifying areas of risk. The second has to do with asset protection. I’ll report on both projects in the next newsletter issue.

Our FOGS Task Force Chairman, Dr. Bob Yelverton, has represented us with the Governor’s Task Force. Dr. Karen Harris continues to coordinate our efforts with FMA. And our lobbyist, Amy Young, is busy preparing for our biggest legislative session in a decade. I very much appreciate their support and yours and take this opportunity to wish all of you a blessed holiday and a better 2003.