Miami medical malpractice lawyer

Surgeon Faces Hundreds of Florida Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

August 15, 2022 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A surgeon and the hospital where he worked are facing hundreds of Florida medical malpractice lawsuits alleging life-altering injuries to patients, who allege the doctor’s 2020 retirement due to a progressive neurological disorder came about four years too late. Florida medical malpractice surgery

By then, complaints of the doctor’s shaking hands, slurring speech, unsteady gait, mood swings, involuntary body twitches, and impaired judgment were well-established – both by patients and the doctor’s colleagues. But they were first documented back in 2016. Plaintiffs in the 348 Florida medical malpractice lawsuits filed so far allege the hospital should have intervened much sooner.

As West Palm Beach medical malpractice attorneys, we recognize that in many of these cases, liability often goes beyond the health care provider themselves.

Plaintiffs say the hospital not only should have known about the issue, but had actual knowledge. Specifically, numerous doctors, nurses, and patients specifically told the hospital – on numerous occasions – that they were concerned about the doctor’s condition and seeming impairment. In one instance, he was reportedly seen having difficulty keeping his eyes open during a surgery. In other instances, colleagues were allegedly having to prompt him during surgeries about what needed to be done. Instead of intervening, the hospital allegedly allowed the doctor to continue to become recredentialed and practice, but to schedule high-volume, high-risk surgeries – raking in millions in profit for the hospital.

The doctor resigned from the hospital voluntarily in 2020, shortly after being diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare brain condition adversely impacting neurological function and motor coordination. A year later, he forfeited his Florida medical license amid an investigation by the state board. We don’t know what official complaint specifically led to the Florida Board of Medicine’s intervention, but we know they have been piling up since then. Continue reading

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

Explaining Florida’s Three Strikes Rule for Medical Malpractice

February 10, 2022 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

As experienced Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyers, we’re closely familiar with the 2004 Florida law passed overwhelmingly by voters with the intention of preventing dangerous doctors from practicing medicine. It’s a “three strikes” rule for medical malpractice that seems fairly straightforward: A doctor with three “strikes” of medical malpractice will lose their license to practice. Unfortunately, we know all-too-well how ineffective it is, thanks to follow-up efforts by the state legislature, which made it nearly impossible for the state board to actually levy a strike. Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyer

The “Three Strikes Rule” was passed as an amendment to Chapters 458 and 459 of Florida Statutes. The law holds that if a physician has three or more incidents of medical malpractice (as established by a standard of clear and convincing evidence), they will be forbidden from the continued practice of medicine in Florida. A “strike” can be derived from a finding of medical malpractice by one of the following:

A final order by an administrative agency following a hearing.
A final order by a judge/jury in a civil case.
A binding arbitration decision.

It should be noted that medical malpractice isn’t as easy to prove as the typical negligence case. It’s not enough to show the absence of ordinary care. Rather, one must prove – via expert witness testimony from a similarly-situated professional – that the physician failed to abide the applicable standard of care, which depends on that doctor’s education, skill, specialty, and resources. But even with this higher standard and even with the three strikes law, doctors with checkered professional histories continue to practice.

Numerous journalistic deep-dives and scholarly studies in recent years – from NBC-5 in West Palm Beach to The Palm Beach Post – have highlighted this legal loophole. Yet as our medical malpractice lawyers can attest, the problem persists, with Florida doctors who’ve paid out 3+ medical malpractice claims continuing to practice, often with patients none-the-wiser. News outlets have reported there are hundreds of still-practicing doctors who have collectively paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in Florida medical malpractice lawsuits stemming from the deaths of more than 1,000 patients over 10 years. Continue reading

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit: Nurse High on Drugs Botched Child’s Care

March 6, 2018 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A baby admitted to the hospital with the flu left with severe and permanent brain damage as a result of Miami medical malpractice by a nurse who was high on drugs. That’s the plaintiff’s allegation in a recently-filed South Florida injury lawsuit. medical malpractice attorney

The Miami Herald reports the child now has a feeding tube in his stomach and is unable to speak, swallow solid foods or walk more than few steps unassisted. He was just 4-months-old when admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in November 2015. His doctors today say he will likely need intensive, around-the-clock nursing care for the rest of his life. His mother has had to quit her job in order to help attend his needs. He is undergoing a rigorous treatment of pediatric therapies.

According to the lawsuit, defendant nurse bathed the child and on accident removed the boy’s breathing tube for a period of approximately seven minutes. During his shift, colleagues observed he was sweating, shaking and had bloodshot eyes. Despite this, no one apparently raised a red flag about her continuing to provide care to the facilities youngest and most vulnerable patients. Although the child’s mother noted the nurse was “anxious,” she assumed that was “his personality,” and tried not to worry because none of the other doctors and nurses on staff commented on it.

Both the hospital and the defendant nurse (in a written statement to the newspaper) vehemently deny the accusations, despite the nurse having previously admitted his addiction to methamphetamine and other drugs one year prior to this incident. At that time, he was under investigation by the Florida Department of Health and underwent treatment for addiction services. He was still under monitoring at the time of the incident but quit just two months later, costing him both his job and his nursing license. Continue reading