medical malpractice lawyers in florida
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Statute of Limitations vs. Repose

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The Statute of Limitations legal definition: A type of federal or state law that restricts the time within which legal proceedings may be brought. When civil lawsuits are filed in Florida the state’s statute of limitations provides the deadline for when a potential plaintiff who has suffered harm must file their claim. The statute varies from state to state and by case type. In Florida, the statute of limitation is typically around 2 years from the initial incident.  Not every case is easy to identify when or if the limitations have started. Many states use a so-called “discovery rule”, which essentially...

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Where to buy medical malpractice insurance

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There are many places to buy medical malpractice insurance in Florida.  One way to proceed is to contact each of the major malpractice companies in Florida and simply ask what they need in order to buy coverage with them and what it would cost.  The leading medical malpractice insurance companies in Florida currently are: Medical Protective https://www.medpro.com/ PPro-Assurance https://www.proassurance.com/ The Doctors Company http://www.thedoctors.com/ Mag Mutual https://www.magmutual.com/ If you do not want to deal directly with the insurance companies, you may find your coverage through an insurance agency that represents multiple medical malpractice carriers.  Two of the leading medical malpractice insurance carriers for Florida are: Arthur...

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Appeals court upholds NICA weight distinction

Appeals court holds NICA distinction between minimum weights for single births and multiple gestations does not violate federal equal protection laws.     The NICA program, which provides compensation for certain severe injuries to babies that occur during labor and delivery, will not provide benefits for an infant whose birth weight is under 2500 grams (about 5.5 pounds).   However, for multiple gestation pregnancies (twins, triplets, etc.), babies can get NICA benefits as long as their birth weight is at least 2000 grams (about 4.4 pounds).   In this case, a baby suffered severe injuries at birth but was denied benefits because it was...

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Appeals court ruling on patient fall cases

Medical Malpractice may cover Patient Falls

Appeals court finds that if an unstable patient falls while being escorted to receive medical treatment, it may or may not be medical malpractice.    The distinction between a medical malpractice case and a general personal injury case is very important because malpractice cases are subject to many more onerous procedural rules that must be followed to avoid having the case thrown out.   In this case, a 99-year-old patient was being treated for skin cancer by a mobile radiation van that would come to her residence periodically.  On all but one occasion, an employee of the van’s corporate owner would bring...

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Appeals court invalidates release form the surgeon made a patient sign BEFORE surgery

Surgeon's Face

 Before performing spinal fusion surgery, the surgeon had the patient sign a release form stating the following: As of January 1, 2013, [the doctor] will not carry any medical malpractice insurance.  Being of sound mind and sound body, I hereby acknowledge this fact and agree not to sue [the doctor] for any reason.  My reason for doing this is that I realize that [the doctor] and his staff will do the very best to take care of me according to community medical standards. During the surgery, the patient’s ureter was allegedly cut, causing significant injury.  The patient sued the surgeon, and the...

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Jury verdict for patient overturned on appeal because the patient’s expert gave surprise testimony at trial

A patient died of meningitis caused by an ear infection, and his widow sued for medical malpractice.  Up until trial, there was no allegation in the pleadings or by the patient’s experts during their pre-trial depositions that the defendant doctor had been negligent by giving the patient samples of Levaquin, an antibiotic. However, during the trial, two of the patient’s expert witnesses testified for the first time that they believed that the doctor had been negligent by giving Levaquin.  The package insert from Levaquin was also admitted into evidence over the defendants’ objection, and the plaintiff reemphasized the Levaquin issue...

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Appeals court holds that a claim brought against a hospital

Appeals court holds that a claim brought against a hospital alleging failure to properly screen its staff members, one of whom then sexually assaulted the patient, is a medical malpractice case and must follow all of the medical malpractice procedural rules.    The patient’s lawsuit had two parts.  The first part claimed that the hospital was negligent and failed to exercise reasonable care for her safety.  A second part of the lawsuit was based on §766.110, Florida Statutes, titled “Liability of Healthcare Facilities.”  §766.110 is a law that says there is a duty on the part of hospitals “to … assure...

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Court order reinstating medical malpractice complaint after dismissal

Appeals court quashes trial court order reinstating medical malpractice complaint after dismissal based on failure to comply with presuit expert “same specialty” requirement.   There is a statute in Florida that says that in a medical malpractice case, the parties can only bring in expert witnesses to testify about the appropriate standard of care who are in the exact same medical specialty as the defendant health care provider who is being sued.   So, for example, even though neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons may both perform an identical type of spine surgery, the law would prohibit a neurosurgeon from testifying an orthopedist did...

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