Every medical malpractice page should begin with an honest sentence, so here is mine: most bad medical outcomes are not malpractice. Medicine involves risk, and Florida law protects doctors and hospitals from liability for outcomes that competent care could not have prevented. I don’t think that’s entirely wrong.
What the law does not protect is carelessness: the missed diagnosis that a reasonable physician would have caught, the surgical error, the medication mistake, the discharge that shouldn’t have happened, the warning sign that was charted and ignored. When that carelessness causes catastrophic and lasting harm, the patient and the family deserve to know what happened and to be compensated for it. That is the work I do.
What I take
- Failure to diagnose or delayed diagnosis of cancer, stroke, heart attack, infection, and other conditions where time mattered
- Surgical and anesthesia errors
- Birth injuries to mother or child
- Medication and pharmacy errors
- Emergency room and hospital negligence, including failures to monitor, escalate, or communicate
- Nursing home and rehabilitation facility neglect
- Wrongful death caused by medical negligence
Because these cases are expensive to build and heavily defended, I take them only where the injury is severe and the negligence can be proved through the records and qualified experts. I will tell you within a short time whether your situation meets that bar, and if it doesn’t, I’ll explain why in plain terms.
How these cases work in Florida
Florida has built a procedural gauntlet around medical malpractice claims that most other injury cases never face. Knowing it — and the mistakes people make inside it — is half the job.
The records. Before anything else, I obtain and review the complete medical record, often thousands of pages. Patterns emerge in the chart that a family never sees: a lab value nobody acted on, a note that contradicts what you were told. The first task is turning a fragmented chart into a reliable timeline, because in these cases the timeline usually is the case.
Expert review. Florida requires that a qualified medical expert review the case and swear that there are reasonable grounds to believe malpractice occurred before a claim can even be noticed. The credential alone isn’t enough — the expert has to know the specialty, the standard, and the causation question, and be able to explain all three clearly.
Presuit. Before filing, the law requires a formal notice to each prospective defendant and a ninety-day investigation period with informal discovery. The defendants use this window to evaluate — and sometimes to resolve — the claim. Missing a requirement here can end a case before it starts.
Litigation. If presuit doesn’t resolve the matter, suit follows: depositions of treating providers, competing experts, motions, mediation, and, if necessary, trial. Hospitals and their insurers defend these cases with experienced counsel and substantial budgets. They should expect the same from me.
Causation is usually the real fight
Even when the defense concedes an error, it will argue the error changed nothing — that the outcome was coming anyway. A viable case needs expert support not just for the mistake but for the difference it made. I test that question early and honestly, because the worst outcome in a malpractice case is discovering the causation problem after two years of litigation instead of two months of investigation.
A signed consent form is not immunity
Consent forms list the known risks of proper care. They do not authorize careless care. The questions that matter are whether the complication was a recognized risk despite competent treatment, whether the provider actually acted reasonably, and whether you were told what the law required. The form can create a presumption that you were properly informed, but it is rarely the answer.
The deadlines are unforgiving
In general, a Florida malpractice claim must be brought within two years of when the injury was or should have been discovered, and in most cases no later than four years from the negligent act regardless of discovery, with limited exceptions for fraud, concealment, and young children. The investigation the law requires before notice uses up part of that time. If you suspect something went wrong, the worst decision is to wait for the hospital to explain.
What the law allows you to recover
Compensation can include medical expenses and the cost of future care, lost income and earning capacity, and the human losses of pain, disability, and diminished life. In death cases, Florida law restricts which family members may recover certain damages in a malpractice claim — a rule that has been the subject of repeated legislative debate and that I will explain candidly as it applies to your family, because it sometimes means a wrong that cannot be fully remedied through the courts.
Why me for this
Malpractice cases are won on preparation: mastery of the records, credible experts, and the ability to make a complex medical story clear and human to a jury. My background is in exactly that kind of preparation — years defending institutions at a major international firm; service as a law clerk to three federal judges, where I saw how they actually rule on expert and evidentiary disputes; and a trial practice since then focused on serious-harm cases. I take few cases so that each one gets that level of work.
Medical Malpractice FAQs
How do I know if I have a case?
You usually can’t know without the records and a qualified expert’s review — a complication can be unavoidable, or negligently caused, or properly caused and then negligently managed, and the outcome alone doesn’t say which. What you can do is note the timeline, gather discharge papers and bills, and contact a lawyer promptly. A reputable malpractice lawyer will tell you early and directly whether the case is viable.
The doctor apologized. Does that prove my case?
No, and don’t treat it that way. Sympathy, explanation, and admission are three different things, and the law treats them differently. Write down exactly what was said, when, and who heard it — and let me evaluate what it’s worth.
The chart says something different from what I remember. Now what?
Tell me precisely what you remember, without rounding it up. Records matter but they are not infallible: entries get copied forward, written late, or written to protect. Timestamps, audit trails, other providers’ notes, and witnesses can all test a chart against reality.
Will you sue my doctor personally?
Only if the records support it and the law allows it. Claims are typically brought against the providers and the entities responsible for the care, such as a hospital, a practice group, or a facility. Most are defended by insurers, though some Florida physicians lawfully carry no malpractice insurance. Claims against public hospitals are subject to damage limits set by statute, and employees of public hospitals generally cannot be sued personally. Naming the right parties is a legal judgment I make after reviewing the records; naming everyone “just in case” is not investigation.
What does it cost?
I handle malpractice cases on a contingency fee: there’s no attorney’s fee unless there’s a recovery. You will not owe me for case costs I advance if there is no recovery. Malpractice cases require significant expense for records, experts, and litigation, and Florida has specific rules on contingency fees in malpractice cases, including constitutional provisions affecting the percentage.
One more thing worth knowing before you start: a party who loses a lawsuit can generally be ordered to pay the other side’s court costs. I’ll explain how that risk applies to your case when I evaluate it.
The hospital offered to “review” what happened. Should I participate?
Speak with a lawyer first. Internal reviews are designed to protect the institution, and anything you say may be used later.
Can I get my own medical records?
Yes. Florida law gives patients the right to their records, and I recommend requesting the complete chart — not a summary — as soon as possible. Know that “complete” for a patient request still may not include everything litigation can reach. Audit trails, native electronic data, internal policies, and records of other adverse incidents usually come later, through separate requests and discovery. Peer-review and credentialing files are generally protected by statute, but the Florida Constitution gives patients access to records of adverse medical incidents, including incidents those committees reviewed.
How long does a malpractice case take?
Presuit alone takes several months, and a contested case can take years. Anyone promising a quick resolution is not being candid.
Why would a lawyer decline my case when the harm was so serious?
Because serious harm and provable malpractice are not the same thing. The standard of care, causation, the deadlines, the available defendants, and the cost of proof all constrain what can be brought. A declination is not a verdict on you or a blessing of the care — and if I decline, I’ll tell you why.
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