In a new law passed in April, Florida has repealed the decadesold doctrine of joint and several liability which required every defendant in a lawsuit to be completely responsible for a plaintiff's lost wages and medical costs regardless of his or her degree of fault.

Joint and several liability is based upon the common law principle that the act of one is the act of all, also referred to as "entire liability." Until recently, this doctrine had been the law in as many as 45 states, including Florida. Under the doctrine, no defendant's liability is extinguished until the plaintiff's judgment is completely satisfied. For example, under the current Florida law, a plaintiff alleging medical malpractice who sues a doctor, a nurse and a hospital could collect the entire economic award from the hospital – even if a jury decided the hospital was only found 20 percent at fault – if the other two defendants were unable to pay their share of the economic damages. Under the new law, the plaintiff would only be able to collect 20 percent of the award from the hospital. If the other defendants are unable to pay, the plaintiff would not be able to recover their share of the damages.

The new law will have no retroactive effect and will only apply to cases in which the injury occurs after the bill becomes law.