Medical Malpractice Blog

In the case of Plantation General Hospital v. Division of Administrative Hearings and Belzi, Case Number 4D16-2652 (Fla. 4th DCA April 4, 2018), the Florida Fourth DCA held that it was improper for a medical malpractice arbitration panel to award “economic damages” for...

In the case of Rodriguez v. Nicolitz, Case Number 1D16-4604, (Fla 1st DCA May 18, 2018), the First DCA held that a pre-suit affidavit from an “infectious disease” specialist did not comply with section 766.106, Fla. Stat. as the “same or similar specialty” as...

In the case of The National Deaf Academy, LLC v. Townes, Case Number SC16-1587 (April 26, 2018), the Florida Supreme Court held that a physical hold or restraint placed on a patient residing at the facility by an employee was not considered medical treatment, and therefore, could not...

In the case of Cantore v. West Boca Medical Center, Inc., Case Number SC15-1926, the Florida Supreme Court released a corrected opinion on April 26, 2018 providing clarity on when the “reckless disregard” standard applies in medical malpractice cases involving the...

The So-Called One Expert Per Specialty Rule The “one expert per specialty” rule was addressed in Gutierrez v. Vargas, SC15-1924 (March 22, 2018) by the Florida Supreme Court. What Happened in the Case Gutierrez (a minor child) brought a medical malpractice case against...

Florida’s Second DCA announced a new rule in Payas v. Adventist Health System/Sunbelt, Inc. d/b/a Florida Hospital Celebration, et. al, Case Number 2D16-3615 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018), where it was stated that hospitals in Florida have a nondelegable duty maintain surgical robots and...

History Of Florida’s Medical Malpractice Damage Caps Florida initially passed its statute capping noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases in 2003 during the so-called “medical malpractice crisis.” Since that time, medical malpractice has become less of a...

In Weaver v. Myers, (Case Number SC15-1538)(Fla. 2017), the Florida Supreme Court held that ex parte communications with a plaintiff’s treating physicians as part of the medical malpractice pre-suit process is unconstitutional. In addition, the Court held that a person does not...

The world of personal injury litigation is one of the most hotly contested areas of law and is a sore subject of political debate across the United States. There are some people who feel that the civil justice system is broken while others believe that the civil justice system,...

In Brooks v. Paul (Case No. 4D16-2538)(June 7, 2017), the Fourth DCA of Florida held that a medical malpractice waiver (pre-injury release of liability) was not enforceable. Facts Of The Case The plaintiff, Myra L. Brooks sued her neurosurgeon, Dr. Michael D. Paul, after her...

Statistics show that fewer lawsuits for car accidents, medical malpractice, and product liability claims are being filed in American courts. By The Numbers The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has indicated the following statistics: In 1993, 10 out of 1,000 Americans filed a...

A federal judge ruled section 766.118, Florida Statutes unconstitutional with regard to damages caps for Medicaid patients who file medical malpractice cases in Dixon v. U.S., (Case No.: 15-23502-Civ-Scola, S.D. Fla. April 17, 2017). $300,000 Damages Cap On Non-Economic Damages The...

The Florida First DCA in Bay County Board of Commissioners v. Eartha Seeley, Case Number 1D16-2829 (April 24, 2017) held that the applicable deadline to “serve” a medical provider with a pre-suit notice of intent to sue is that it must be “mailed” by the...

The case of Bove v. Naples HMA, LLC, et al, 2D-1680 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) decided a pivotal issue regarding the statute of limitations in Florida medical malpractice cases. The Second DCA decided that Florida law requires a notice of intent to sue a medical provider for medical...

The FDA requested that Endo Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Opana ER, remove the medication from the marketplace on June 8, 2017. Opana ER is an opioid pain reliever (oxymorphone hydrochloride) and was inteded to provide 24 hour pain relief to patients with moderate to...

The Florida Supreme Court holds that caps on damages in medical malpractice cases violates the equal protection clause of the Florida Constitution in North Broward Hospital District v. Kalitan, Case Number SC15-1858 (June 8, 2017). What Were The Damages Caps? Florida’s medical...

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on in-hospital care for sepsis (published May 21, 2017) found that every hour delayed in giving antibiotics or other key medical care resulted in an increase in chances of death by 4 percent. Sepsis Can Be Very Deadly If...

In the case of St. Joseph’s Hospital v. Doe (Case Number 2D16-2122), the Second DCA established that a claim brought under section 766.110, Fla. Stat., for an alleged deficiency in a hospital’s comprehensive risk management plan is considered a “medical...

In the case of Dockswell v. Bethesda Memorial Hospital, Inc. (SC15-2294), the Florida Supreme Court made it clear that when a foreign body is unintentionally left inside a patient, then the burden of proof automatically shifts to the defendant to prove that medical negligence was not...

Medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death in the United States according to a 2016 study done through Johns Hopkins University.  The study found that there were approximately 251,000 deaths on an annual basis due to medical errors.  Despite that evidence,...