By Kenneth J. Miller. 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 Florida Statutes in...

By James S. Haliczer. 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, especially a medical...

By Debra P. Klauber. 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, the court specifically...

  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 per year, all because of health care...

By Richard B. Schwamm. The annual check-up is the time when patients can see their physician and discuss the need preventative care services such as screening tests, x-rays, and other tests that may detect early signs of serious illness. The “failure of preventative care” occurs when routine or well-known standards of practice are not followed because the physician misunderstands the patient’s risk factors, fails to recommend necessary treatment or fails to order the right tests....

By Debra P. Klauber and Trisha Widowfield. Perhaps the question is rhetorical, but “are men and women treated the same in medical research, diagnosis and treatment?”* In our view, the answer is a resounding “no” and some of the statistics are shocking. Women are not offered the same treatment as men in many common conditions such as coronary artery disease, Parkinson’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, neck pain, and arthritis. Most adverse events related to prescription...

By James S. Haliczer and Kenneth J. Miller. Emergency Room staff are tasked with addressing a wide variety of ailments, in a fast-paced environment. Because of these factors, emergency rooms have higher error rates than many other areas and these errors can result in serious and tragic consequences. Some ailments that are commonly missed in the Emergency Room include: Heart attacks Blood clots Strokes Infections Complications from bone fractures There are two common situations when...

By Debra P. Klauber. As the judicial system begins to emerge from the pandemic, one of the most pressing issues for the court system will be the ability to empanel juries. Some recent figures suggest that a mere fraction of those called for jury duty will actually appear. In July 2020, a study found that 46% of jurors said they would actively attempt to avoid jury duty all together. Confronting COVID-19 Jury Biases in Medical...