By Richard B. Schwamm December 5, 2022 Hospitals have a responsibility to provide an adequate number of nurses and physicians on staff at all times in order to provide the appropriate level of care to a patient during their stay. Agencies like the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration, Department of Health, and accrediting organizations like the Joint Commission impose obligations on hospitals to ensure patient safety. As numerous media outlets have reported, hospitals in Florida and...

By Kenneth J. Miller November 2, 2022 In our prior two alerts, we discussed some of the difficulties, specifically in the State of Florida, to successfully prove a violation of the Standard of Care and Causation in medical malpractice cases. In this alert, we will discuss Damages, which some may say is the most challenging factor of every successful case. Because even if you prove a violation of the Standard of Care or Causation, none of...

By Kenneth J. Miller October 4, 2022 In our previous HPS Legal Alert, we discussed that when attorneys bring forth a medical malpractice claim, they need to prove that there was a violation of the Standard of Care. In this alert, we will discuss the second step to successfully proving liability in a medical malpractice claim, which is to establish Causation. Many articles discuss what negligence is and how to prove it, but Causation is...

By Kenneth J. Miller September 9, 2022 In every negligence case the elements are the same: duty, breach, causation, and damages. Medical malpractice cases are a specific type of negligence case. The difference is that when bringing a medical malpractice claim, instead of discussing the duty and breach, the legal discussions revolve around whether there was a violation of the Professional Standard of Care. What to Prove? The Florida legislature enacted Chapter 766 of the...

By James S. Haliczer August 2, 2022 The law requires a medical malpractice plaintiff to present the testimony of a qualified expert or face a directed verdict at the close of the case in chief.  While the testimony of a defendant doctor in a medical malpractice case is important, the plaintiff attorney’s expert’s testimony is of equal, if not greater, significance. Therefore, the initial expert selection process is a critical element to a successful case,...

By Debra P. Klauber July 8, 2022 The Florida Supreme Court, on its own motion, recently amended Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442, which governs the procedural aspects of proposals for settlement. The court explained that the changes were made in an effort to “align” the rule of procedure with the substantive portion of the Florida Statute (section 768.79) dealing with such settlement proposals. Because the statute does not specifically refer to any “nonmonetary” terms,...

By Richard L. Allen, Jr. June 7, 2022 There are approximately 6,800 prescription and numerous over-the-counter medications and supplements that people in the U.S. use to treat a variety of health problems. Even the best physician, nurse, pharmacist or technician cannot be familiar with all exact dose amounts, routes of administration, and the types of drug interactions that can occur. Unfortunately, in the U.S., this results in 7,000-9,000 people dying and thousands more suffering injuries...

April 4, 2022 By Michael M. Riedhammer, B.C.S.  An employee just fell while working! Will he or she receive workers’ compensation benefits? Do we know why the fall occurred? Or do we have no idea what caused the fall? What exactly was he or she doing when the fall took place? Was it something related to their job?  Valcourt-Williams is the Answer! Just short of three years ago we thought we had all the answers...