Haliczer Pettis & Schwamm (HPS), a leading Florida medical malpractice law firm, is pleased to announce that five attorneys have been recognized as Florida Super Lawyers for 2025.  Eugene Pettis, Richard Schwamm, James Haliczer, and Trisha Widowfield are all listed in the “Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff” area. Debra Klauber is listed in the “Appellate” area. Each of these attorneys has been featured by Super Lawyers in previous years. Only the top 5% of the lawyers in Florida are selected by Super...

We’re halfway through 2025, and several healthcare trends in the U.S., in the areas of hospital-acquired infections, obstetrical care, and emergency room technologies, are emerging. Here are some highlights. Hospital-Acquired Infections A 2025 study by the University of Utah found that clostridium difficile infections, one of the most common hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) found within Intensive Care Units, spreads three times faster than previously thought. This type of infection may cause serious patient complications or even...

This post was originally published February 15, 2024. Post updated June 12, 2025. Imagine that your only child, an unmarried, childless, daughter aged 26, has died due to medical malpractice. Or turn that around and imagine that you, a widow, have died due to medical malpractice, leaving behind your 26-year-old daughter. Did you know that due to a current Florida law, neither one of you would have legal recourse against the doctor who caused harm?...

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider, such as a doctor, nurse, or medical technician, fails to meet the standard of care that is required. The standard of care is defined as an appropriate level of care that is recognized as acceptable by similar healthcare providers. This failure can happen in many ways. It can be a misdiagnosis, a medication error, or a surgical error. Medical malpractice can also happen when a patient is improperly...

According to a report by the Institute of Medicine, more than 98,000 people die each year from medical errors. Further, medication errors are one of the most common types of medical errors and will continue to be so as more and more medications become available for patient use.  Medication errors can potentially cause significant damage to a patient’s body, leading to additional treatments, surgeries, or even death. Doctors, nurses, pharmacists or other healthcare officials can...

Urgent care is now a key part of the U.S. healthcare landscape, and it comes in many forms. It can be part of a retail operation, such as an urgent care facility housed inside of a national pharmacy like CVS or Walgreens. Or it can be a stand-alone facility owned privately by a single doctor or a consortium of doctors. Some hospitals also have urgent care facilities, either inside the hospital or as separate brick-and-mortar...

Most of us have been through this scenario at some point in our lives: we’re in a meeting where it’s important to focus and pay attention to what’s being told to us. This could be, for example, a meeting with our boss, our banker, or our child’s teacher. And out of the blue, we’re given some unexpected information that’s hard to process and wrap our heads around. It’s no different when you’re meeting with your...

A delayed diagnosis involves a situation where a patient seeks medical assistance for symptoms that they are experiencing, but the medical condition that is causing those symptoms is not diagnosed within a reasonable amount of time.  Sadly, in some cases, a delayed diagnosis relating to cancer is the result of negligence by a medical professional. When there is this type of delay, by the time a patient learns about the actual diagnosis, there is a...