Five Florida hospitals sued The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization that publishes widely-cited hospital safety grades, alleging the group's rating system unfairly penalized their facilities. The plaintiff hospitals — Good Samaritan Medical Center, Delray Medical Center, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, St. Mary's Medical Center, and West Boca Medical Center — claimed Leapfrog's fall 2024, spring 2025, and fall 2025 safety grades violated Florida's consumer protection laws.
U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks found that Leapfrog's grading methodology violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The court specifically criticized Leapfrog's "punitive grading methodology assigning failing 'safety' scores in the absence of actual data," along with the organization's public representations about how it calculates safety grades. Judge Middlebrooks had previously ruled in favor of the hospitals following a bench trial in March.
The case proceeded to a bench trial after the parties disputed Leapfrog's hospital rating practices. The hospitals sought both damages and declaratory relief under Florida's consumer protection statute, with the court ultimately finding violations of the state's deceptive trade practices law.
The ruling could have broader implications for hospital rating organizations and their methodologies, particularly regarding transparency in scoring systems and the use of incomplete data. The court retained jurisdiction to address any disputes over attorneys' fees and costs, suggesting additional proceedings may follow to determine the financial impact on Leapfrog.