Doctors Walk Out in North Fla.

Doctors in northern Florida shut down their practices for the afternoon on Feb. 5 in protest of rising malpractice insurance rates. According to the Associated Press, the Florida doctors regard the situation as a “ticking time bomb.”

Some 300 doctors and health care workers gathered outside Flagler Hospital in north Florida as part of the protest. They generally favor a a $250,000 cap on non-economic malpractice awards, a limit called for by both President Bush and a Florida task force appointed by his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

An American Medical Association study identified 12 states in crises over medical malpractice: Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and West Virginia.