South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

Notice to Multiple Defendants in Florida Medical Malpractice Cases

Published on: January 10, 2014 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Medical malpractice cases in Florida can be complicated and it’s important to retain an attorney with experience to help make sure you meet all the requirements, including the notice requirement. In a recent case, a married couple challenged the trial court’s order granting summary judgment to a doctor and radiologist in their medical malpractice case. The case arose when the wife was taken to the hospital because of pain and vomiting.

In the ER, multiple tests were performed, including a CT scan. A doctor in Switzerland read the scan and prepared a report for the hospital indicating the scan was unremarkable. Nonetheless, the wife was admitted to the hospital and a magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) was performed.

The MRA results showed a filing defect in an artery. Emboli were suspected. Different personnel found problems on the CT scan not found by the Swiss doctor. An hour later, surgeons operated on the wife to remove a blood clot.

Privacy Concerns During the Discovery Phase

Published on: January 8, 2014 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

If you are thinking about filing a personal injury lawsuit in Florida, you may be wondering what happens after the complaint is filed. Unlike what happens in legal dramas seen on television, personal injury lawsuits can take a long time to be resolved.

During the course of the lawsuit, after a complaint is filed, the lawyers engage in a process called “discovery.” The discovery phase of the lawsuit allows both parties to ask each other questions, seeking out relevant information or information that could be relevant at trial to prove their case. Some forms of discovery are: interrogatories, requests for admission, requests for production, subpoenas, and depositions.

Interrogatories are questions one side asks the other. The answers must be signed under oath. If one party objects and fails to produce answers, the other party can file a motion to compel the answers. The court will determine whether the first party’s objections are appropriate.

Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations in Florida

Published on: January 3, 2014 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Under section 95.11(4)(b) of the Florida Statutes, a plaintiff must bring his or her action for medical malpractice within 2 years from the time of the incident that gave rise to the lawsuit or within 2 years from the time the incident was discovered if due diligence were exercised. In a recent case, a plaintiff appealed a final judgment in favor of a doctor and hospital. The court had granted summary judgment in their favor on the basis of a statute of limitations defense.

The doctor performed hip replacement surgery on the plaintiff in 2004. The next day the plaintiff told the doctor that his leg was numb and he had a foot drop. The doctor and staff told him these symptoms would go away after physical therapy. The plaintiff continued treatment with the doctor, but his symptoms didn’t improve.

In 2005, the plaintiff went to see a neurologist who advised him he had a permanent neurological deficit. In 2007, the plaintiff filed a notice of intent as required by statute and then the malpractice action.

Admissibility of Videotape in Florida Personal Injury Trials

Published on: December 27, 2013 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

The widespread use and inexpensive nature of technology offers evidence for trials today that would not have been available earlier in history. Videotape is one type of technology that has impacted personal injury trials. In a recent case, a plaintiff challenged a trial court’s judgment in favor of the defendant Geico Casualty Company on the basis of videotape evidence.

The plaintiff brought the case after his back was hurt while traveling on a bus that got into an accident. The plaintiff required treatment and multiple surgeries. He sued the driver of the other vehicle as well as Geico, his underinsured motorist carrier.

The plaintiff claimed a permanent physical injury plus $250,000 in past medical expenses. Because his injury was permanent, he argued he deserved future medical expenses. Geico countered that the plaintiff had a pre-existing degenerative condition and argued that he didn’t need all of his surgeries and procedures.

Is There Liability for Freak Accidents in Florida?

Published on: December 24, 2013 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

In a 2010 case, the appellate court considered whether summary judgment was proper in a wrongful death lawsuit. The case arose when a man drowned while a floating dock was being installed at property owned by Walt Disney World. He was employed by a water sports concession located at a Disney resort. His company contracted with a plumbing and heating company to install a floating dock system to facilitate personal watercraft rentals.

The water sports concession wasn’t familiar with assembly of a floating dock system. Accordingly, a plumbing company employee agreed to oversee the installation and show the water sports employees how to do it.

The man agreed to have delivery of certain sections to the resort. The entire dock could have been assembled on dry land, but not all of the pieces arrived at the same time. The plumbing supervisor and water sports employees assembled those parts that were available. A Disney ferry put it out on the lake. The plumbing supervisor’s plan was to add the two missing sections with a special tool that wouldn’t require anybody to go in the water.

Amending a Medical Negligence Complaint in Florida

Published on: December 20, 2013 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

In a recent case, a mother sued several medical professionals both on behalf of herself and her deceased 21-year-old daughter’s estate. She alleged that the medical professionals were negligent after her daughter died of MRSA lobular necrotizing pneumonia.

The defendants filed a motion asking the lower court to take judicial notice of a circuit court’s shelter orders in which there was found probable cause to remove the deceased’s children’s from her care. The shelter orders also found abuse of alcohol and drugs, failure to submit to drug testing and domestic violence. The mother objected on the grounds that the orders included inadmissible hearsay and character evidence.

The medical professionals argued that the daughter’s system had been affected by alcohol and hydrocodone that combined with the pneumonia to impair her breathing ability and resulted in death. At trial, its expert witness testified that she died of pneumonia complicated by aspiration and intoxication.

Statute of Repose in Florida Tobacco Personal Injury Cases

Published on: December 17, 2013 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

What is a “statute of repose?” In Florida, a statute of repose creates strict time limitations for a claimant to bring a claim against defendants. The right to bring that claim can be completely extinguished after a specific period based on the statute of repose. The limitation runs from the date of a discrete act by the defendant regardless of when the actual cause of action accrues. This is different than a statute of limitations period that starts to run only after a cause of action accrues.

Tobacco companies sued for concealment can use a statute of repose defense. This defense allows it to argue that a plaintiff’s claims are barred where the plaintiff has not relied upon statements made by the defendant after May 5, 1982. In any case that is considered the progeny of Engle, Florida’s 12-year statute of repose as to fraud-related claims is measured from the date of the original Engle complaint. Engle was a class action that was later decertified creating thousands of “progeny” cases. Plaintiffs in the progeny cases can use the Engle jury’s findings that tobacco companies lied about dangers of smoking.

In a recent reconsideration of an earlier ruling in an Engle progeny case, a Florida District Court of Appeals ruled on an appeal of a plaintiff verdict in a personal injury and wrongful death (smoking) claim against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

Medical Negligence on Cruise Ships That Depart From Florida

Published on: December 13, 2013 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Florida’s large tourism industry gives rise to interesting legal questions regarding personal jurisdiction over cruise line defendants who have been negligent. Personal jurisdiction refers to whether the court has power over the parties in a particular lawsuit. If a court does not have personal jurisdiction, its rulings and orders can’t be enforced upon that person or entity.

Can a defendant be held responsible in Florida courts if he or she simply works on a boat that departs from Florida? The answer to this question can impact ship doctors, as well as other ship personnel. A recent case illustrates the answer.

In the case, a couple took a seven-night cruise on a Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. She went to the ship’s doctor as the boat neared Haiti for treatment of serious abdominal pain. The ship’s nurse and doctor saw her. She was treated for gastritis, but she worsened. She got off the ship in Mexico and went to the hospital where she got an abdominal surgery. She was treated for sepsis and multiple organ failure. She also experienced a cerebral hemorrhage.

Injuries Arising From Bar Brawls in Florida

Published on: December 10, 2013 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

In a recent case, a woman sued a Florida cafe to recover compensation for personal injuries she suffered when she was attacked inside a popular restaurant and bar near the beach. On the night she was attacked, she had come to the restaurant to give her roommate (a bartender) a ride.

A family of Irish tourists had been drinking heavily. They were rowdy. A manager, the woman’s friend, and her roommate were also present. Before the fight the woman’s friend exchanged words with the tourists. The manager left the roommate to manage the altercation. She was shoved. The woman and her friend also started fighting. She was badly beaten by the time the police got there.

The tourists were arrested, but jumped bail and left the country. The woman sued the restaurant and bar on the grounds that it had notice that its patrons had a tendency to become violent and should have had better security.

Security Guard Negligence in Florida

Published on: December 6, 2013 | by Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A.

Interesting questions are presented in cases in which a security guard is negligent, leading to personal injuries or even death. Is the guard responsible for intentional misconduct by another person? In a recent case, a woman was murdered at her home in a gated community by a burglar. The community was a six-street neighborhood that was surrounded by a golf course and a lake. Guards were stationed there 24-hours a day. While one guard stayed at the guardhouse, the other moved around the property in a vehicle.

At the time of the murder, the patrolling guard was supposed to be continuously patrolling, checking into various checkpoints to show he was patrolling appropriately. The police caught the murderer. In his sworn confession, he said he had entered the community by bicycle on an open pedestrian path. He didn’t know the victim before that night. He saw there was a small open window and cut the screen from that window. Although the screen had security wires, the alarm company had improperly installed the alarm, so the alarm didn’t go off.

The murderer was stealing credit cards and other things, and ran into the victim. He strangled her. The estate and the alarm company settled. At trial, the estate proceeded against the security service. The estate’s expert testified that “continuously” meant that the guard should have been moving continually. The guard had failed to do that based on data from the checkpoints.