Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Florida treats medical negligence differently from other injury claims. The process starts months before a lawsuit is filed, and the fault rules are different from those for car crashes and falls.

What is Florida's pre-suit process for malpractice claims?

Before filing a lawsuit, the patient must investigate the claim, send a notice of intent to each provider, and include a verified written opinion from a qualified medical expert supporting the claim.

Once the notice is sent, a 90-day investigation period begins. During that time, the providers and their insurers review the claim, and both sides must exchange certain information, including medical records. The provider may reject the claim, make a settlement offer, or offer to admit liability and arbitrate damages. The deadline is generally tolled during the 90-day period, but the rules on how much time remains afterward are technical. Starting early avoids being squeezed by the process.

Florida also allows informal discovery during the pre-suit period, such as unsworn statements from the parties and requests for documents. That early exchange can reveal how strong the defense is before any lawsuit is filed. A provider that fails to cooperate in good faith can face consequences, and so can a claimant who fails to provide records. Careful preparation of the notice package, including a complete set of records and a clear expert opinion, sets the tone for the rest of the case and often influences whether a fair offer arrives during the 90 days.

How long do you have to bring a Florida malpractice claim?

Generally two years from when the injury and the possibility of negligence were discovered or should have been discovered. Most claims also have a four-year outer limit from the date of the error, regardless of discovery.

Longer outer limits can apply in narrow situations, such as fraud or concealment by the provider, and special rules apply to some young children. Because the pre-suit process takes months, the practical deadline to start work is much earlier than the legal deadline. A patient who discovers an error near the two-year mark may have little time to gather records and secure an expert opinion.

Why does fault work differently in Florida malpractice cases?

The 2023 reform adopted modified comparative fault for most negligence claims, but medical negligence claims were left under pure comparative fault. A patient's recovery is reduced by their share of fault but is not barred, even above 50%.

Consider a patient who ignored instructions to return for worsening abdominal pain, while the emergency physician had failed to order imaging that would have revealed appendicitis. A jury values the harm at $500,000.

• Patient 30% at fault: recovery of $350,000.
• Patient 60% at fault: recovery of $200,000.

In a car crash case, that 60% finding would mean no recovery at all. In a medical negligence case, the patient still recovers 40%.

Are damages capped in Florida malpractice cases?

Florida's statutory caps on noneconomic damages in malpractice cases were struck down by the Florida Supreme Court, so those limits are not currently enforced.

Without enforceable caps, the evidence drives value. We work with treating doctors, life care planners and economists to document future care and lost earnings. The 2023 reform also changed how medical expenses are proven at trial, so the amounts actually paid and still owed must be documented carefully. If a patient died, special rules affect which family members can recover certain damages; see our Florida wrongful death page.

What kinds of malpractice cases do we handle in Florida?

We review cases where a provider's failure to meet the standard of care caused serious harm. Florida's health care system includes large hospital networks, academic medical centers, surgery centers and many clinics serving a large retiree population.

• Delayed diagnosis of cancer, stroke, heart attack and sepsis.
• Surgical errors, including outpatient and cosmetic surgery complications.
• Medication and anesthesia errors.
• Birth injuries from poor monitoring or delayed delivery; see our birth injury practice.
• Neglect and preventable injuries in nursing homes and assisted living; see our nursing home abuse practice.

How should you begin a Florida malpractice case?

Request records and get a legal review early, because the pre-suit process takes time.

1. Request complete medical records, including imaging and nursing notes.
2. Write a timeline of symptoms, appointments and when you learned of the error.
3. Keep notes from later doctors who identified the problem.
4. Do not sign releases or settlement papers without advice.
5. Contact our team for a free case review. Our medical malpractice practice and Florida injury overview have more detail.