West Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyers Tag Archives

What is the Florida Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations?

April 30, 2023 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

The injuries one sustains as a result of South Florida medical malpractice may last forever – but the time window in which you must initiate legal action does not. West Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyer

As our Palm Beach medical malpractice attorneys can explain, there is generally a two-year statute of limitations for Florida medical malpractice claims. Generally, if you do not file your lawsuit within this window, your claim may be time-barred. These limits are set forth in F.S. 95.11(4)(b).

Although it’s true that often these cases are resolved through settlement negotiation, they are more complex than other types of personal injury claims. They require expert witnesses, extensive evidence, and a great deal of preparation. It’s often necessary to file a lawsuit just to preserve the claim so that we can continue negotiations. Settlements can often be beneficial to claimants because they can lead to faster resolutions and save the time/expense/emotional toll of a trial. Still, it’s important when hiring a Florida medical malpractice lawyer that you choose one with extensive experience, a track record of success in similar cases, and who is unafraid to take a case all the way to trial if necessary.

Note that the statute of limitations varies from state-to-state, so if you recently moved here from elsewhere, the time limits and requirements were probably different.

Are There Any Exceptions to the Two-Year Limit?

There are exceptions to the two-year statute of limitations for Florida medical malpractice claims, but they are limited in scope.

The clock starts ticking usually on the date of the incident. However, it might not start until the date you discovered or should have discovered the incident through the exercise of due diligence. So perhaps you were harmed by medical malpractice, but you didn’t know – and couldn’t have known – that was the cause right away. In those situations, the court will ask at what point you reasonably should have become aware there was an issue.

Despite this, there is a hard stop of four years from the date the incident occurred. This is referred to as the statute of repose. So let’s say you don’t discover your injuries or that the source of your injuries was medical malpractice until three years after it happened. In that situation, you would have just one year in which to file your claim.

To file any Florida medical malpractice case beyond four years, the fact pattern needs to reflect one of the following situations: Continue reading

The Four D’s of Florida Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

October 23, 2022 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Florida medical malpractice lawsuits are filed when patients harmed by poor quality medical care deviates from the prevailing standards for their practice, specialty, and region. F.S. 766.102 explains that plaintiffs in Florida medical malpractice cases bear the burden of proof to establish by the greater weight of evidence that the health care provider represented a breach of the prevailing standard of care for that health care provider. Florida medical malpractice lawyer

As experienced Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyers, we understand these cases are among the more complex torts one can pursue in Florida. Plaintiffs in medical malpractice claims:

Have a higher burden of proof.
Must present expert witness testimony from a similarly situated health care provider as the defendant.
Bring their claims in a shorter amount of time (2 years) than most other injury claimants (4 years).

To help current and potential clients better understand some of the legal complexities of these cases, we break it down by what we call “the four D’s” of Florida medical negligence. These are:

Duty.
Duty Breach.
Direct Cause.
Damages.

Let’s break them down one-by-one. Continue reading

Is a Florida Hospital Fall a Negligence or Medical Malpractice Claim?

May 30, 2022 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Is a claim involving a Florida hospital fall one of negligence – or medical malpractice? Florida medical malpractice lawyer

Our West Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyers recognize this as an important distinction because on the one hand, negligence cases have a four-year statute of limitations and a lower proof burden. Most medical malpractice claims, on the other hand, have a two-year statute of limitations and require expert witness testimony at the outset. These elements can make a major difference in whether a claim survives initial hurdles necessary to overcome summary judgment or outright dismissal. Failure at the outset of the case to correctly determine which category the claim falls into can result in its being tossed on procedural grounds before it really gets started, as opposed to being decided on its merits.

That’s precisely what happened in Gorham v. Martin Memorial Health System, a recent case before Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal.

According to court records, the case involves an elderly woman who died of a fall while she was a patient at a hospital in Martin County, FL. Her adult children brought her to the facility because she was ill. When she arrived at the hospital, she brought her walker, a walking frame device that provides additional support to maintain balance or stability while walking. It’s a common mobility device for the elderly. The complaint indicates hospital staffers refused to allow her to use her own walker. On more than one occasion, she and her children told the nursing staff that she needed a walker for mobility purposes. Yet time and again, she was told either that one would be provided or that it would be “taken care of.” One nurse also assured her children that if she tried to get off the bed, an alarm would sound, summoning care staff.

The night after she was first admitted, the patient fell while attempting to get out of bed to use the restroom. Nursing staff contacted her daughter, informing her of the fall and telling them she had suffered a “slight fracture.”

Several weeks later, an orthopedic surgeon discovered the patient had actually sustained three serious fractures to her pelvis. Shortly thereafter, plaintiff died. Her family, as representatives of her estate, filed a subsequent claim alleging the injuries sustained from her fall were a substantial cause of her death.

Pre-Suit Requirements for Florida Medical Malpractice Claims

Florida law – specifically F.S. 766.104(1) – holds that no action should be filed for personal injury or wrongful death arising out of medical negligence unless the plaintiff’s attorney makes a reasonable investigation (circumstances permitting) and determines there is grounds for a good faith belief of negligent treatment. Continue reading

How Settlement Negotiations Work in West Palm Beach Medical Malpractice Cases

October 15, 2021 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Many people considering a Florida medical malpractice claim envision dramatic courtroom scenes of emotional testimony under a relentless media spotlight. The reality is the vast majority of these claims never even make it to a trial. West Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyer

Medical malpractice claims that prevail beyond the early stages of summary judgment motions will most likely be settled during negotiations between your attorney and insurers for the doctors, hospital, or other health care providers involved. It is imperative that you are working with a dedicated West Palm Beach medical malpractice attorney with extensive experience in insurer negotiations.

Here are some key things to know about South Florida medical malpractice settlement negotiations.

Florida Medical Malpractice Law

Medical malpractice claims in Florida are a unique type of personal injury case. State law requires attorneys to investigate these claims carefully before pursuing them. We must acquire expert witness testimony to assert the standard of care was breached by the health care professional, and we have to provide ample notice to the defendants of the claim.

Whereas most Florida personal injury cases have a four-year statute of limitations in which to file a claim, the time window for medical malpractice claims is just two years. Depending on whether there is a government defendant involved, notice requirements may be even shorter than that. There are very few exceptions, so it’s important to act quickly if you have the slightest inkling you may have a claim. Continue reading

Florida Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Law Challenged by Family

April 27, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Florida medical malpractice law needs to change. That’s the stance of the surviving family of a U.S. Marine veteran who died after allegedly receiving negligent medical care following a South Florida motorcycle accident. Despite this, the man’s survivors haven’t been able to file a medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit because of a provision of Florida statute that prevents such claims from being brought by anyone accept for a spouse, minor children or parents of an adult under the age of 25. West Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyer

The specific law in question (which our West Palm Beach wrongful death lawyers can explain has been in place for nearly three decades) is F.S. 768.21. Its effect is that if a person dies as a result of suspected medical malpractice, there will be no recourse if the patient was unmarried, over the age of 25 or had no minor children. It is a law ripe for challenge considering the very same acts of negligence that would underlie a medical malpractice injury lawsuit would be grounds for litigation – if the person lives. There are no available avenues for accountability, however, if that same individual dies as a result of medical negligence.

NBC-5 in West Palm Beach reports the patient in question was a 32-year-old man from Port St. Lucie, a veteran with a fiancee who was helping to raise her 3-year-old daughter, whom he planned to adopt. He was involved in a Florida motorcycle accident. He reportedly hit a deep pothole, swerved to avoid striking a friend’s motorcycle and in so doing put his leg down when he crashed, resulting in a broken leg. Continue reading