medical malpractice attorney South Florida Tag Archives

Florida Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Bill Dies in Committee

August 5, 2022 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A bipartisan-supported state bill that would have allowed non-economic damage claims in Florida medical malpractice wrongful death cases to be brought by the parents of unmarried, childless adult children over age 25 has failed in the Senate Rules Committee.

The outcome was disappointing, but predictable, given the strength of the health care and insurance lobbies here in the Sunshine State. In effect, there will continue to be cases of Florida medical malpractice wrongful deaths for which there is no legal remedy – simply because the decedent had no spouse or minor children under the age of 25.

Proponents of HB 6011 say it would have closed the “free kill” loophole of Florida medical malpractice law. Specifically, the way the law is currently written, it limits financial recovery in medical malpractice wrongful death cases so that the only people who can sue are the decedent’s surviving spouse and/or children under 25. Backers of HB 6011 have argued that this oversight effectively creates an incentive for physicians to allow some patients to die, rather than save them. Specifically, if an unmarried adult patient with no under-25 kids survives injury or illness resulting from medical malpractice, they can sue the doctor in their own right. But if that patient dies, there would be no survivors under Florida law who could bring that claim. This is what patient advocates have been referring to as a “free kill.”

It’s certainly in stark contrast to general negligence wrongful death claims, wherein there is a broader net cast for who has the right to sue.

When a person’s death is the result of a wrongful act, negligence, or breach of contract, Florida law allows family members or the estate to bring claims for lost wages, benefits, and other earnings. Family members may also sue for support and services the deceased can no longer provide, as well as for the loss of guidance and companionship. The law also allows compensation for mental and emotional suffering (non-economic damages). Those who can pursue such claims include:

A surviving spouse.
A child 25 years or younger.
A child 25 years or older, if there is no surviving spouse.
Parents of a deceased child over the age of 25 with no surviving spouse or children.

But Florida treats medical malpractice wrongful death claims differently. Continue reading

Medical Malpractice Settlement for $2 Million After High School Senior’s Death

January 12, 2018 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Failure to diagnose is the No. 1 reason physicians face medical malpractice claims. One study in 2013 published in the journal BMJ Open analyzed claims against primary care physicians in the U.S., Australia, France and Canada and found that between 26 and 63 percent of all medical malpractice lawsuits stem from a missed diagnosis. The most commonly misdiagnosed conditions in adults were myocardial infarction (heart attack) and cancer, and meningitis in children. medical malpractice attorney

It was reportedly a failure to properly review a high school senior’s kidney ultrasound led to his death two months later on a class trip, according to a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by his parents two years ago. Now, probate court records show the hospital involved has settled the case for $2 million. Valley News in New Hampshire reports the teen suddenly collapsed and died while changing planes en route to a youth leadership conference. An autopsy showed he had a large cancerous tumor on one of his kidneys, which had partially dislodged, passed through blood vessels and into his lungs and heart.

At issue was the fact that doctors had known about a calcified cyst on the boy since he was just 7-years-old. It was a condition that required yearly checkups. In May 2014, at age 17, he experienced blood in his urine, was admitted to the hospital and physicians performed a kidney ultrasound. The doctors ascertained upon review the kidney was stable and his condition unchanged. There was no extensive work-up of ultrasound results and he was discharged from the hospital that same day. He died in late June 2014. Continue reading

Florida Medical Malpractice Records at Center of Ongoing Legislative Battle

December 13, 2017 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

More than 10 years ago, Florida voters soundly agreed that “adverse medical incident reports” should be public knowledge to patients. That measure was known as “Amendment 7.” However, there is now an effort underway to limit access to this information once again, driving concern that physicians and other health care providers will be able to more easily conceal wrongdoing. medical malpractice

A former general counsel to the governor, now a member of the state’s Constitution Revision Commission, has formally proposed an amendment to the Florida Constitution that would place limitations on the kinds of records that could be used in medical malpractice litigation against physicians, hospitals and other health care providers.

The reason these records are so important is because they allow the public – and medical malpractice claimants in particular – to slash through the red tape. Prior to the passage of Amendment 7 (which was done with an overwhelming majority), it was incredibly common for hospitals to make it difficult to obtain prior records of wrongs by a given physician or hospital, characterizing the data as privileged by risk management or peer review. Continue reading