In early July, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into law (HB 7015) a new standard for the admissibility of expert witness testimony in trials. Starting on July 1, Florida state courts will now utilize the federal Daubert standard for the admissibility of scientific and expert witness testimony. Previously, Florida followed the Frye standard which is a lower threshold, basically requiring underlying scientific principles to be “generally accepted” in a particular field.

 

The new law in Florida provides that a qualified witness may testify in the form of an opinion if the expert’s scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact understand evidence or determine a fact at issue. The expert’s testimony must be based upon sufficient facts or data and be the product of reliable principles and methods, and the expert has reliably applied those principles and methods to the facts of the case. The trial judge will be the “gatekeeper” and scrutinize the proferred testimony before it is admitted as evidence in a case. The judge will evaluate the testimony and any objections or challenges to the evidence, and make a preliminary evaluation as to whether the evidence or opinion satisfies the Daubert standard and should be presented to a jury.

 

This important reform should help to some degree to limit and/or prevent the filing or continuation of some frivolous claims against hospitals and other businesses. Now, contentions and opinions of so called “experts” cannot be based upon “generally accepted” principles or certainly novel theories of untested and unsubstantiated science. Judges will require opinion testimony to be based upon sound scientific or medical methods and principles. This significant change should be welcome news to hospitals and businesses in Florida.