Since it is often difficult to find physicians in Florida who are wiling to testify against other local doctors, most of our experts are from out of state.  As you can imagine, the cost of flying to California or New York to depose our experts can cost several thousand dollars per expert.  In some cases there are as many as ten experts in all.  As you can see, it is easy to spend many thousands of dollars, and in some cases, even hundreds of thousands of dollars, pursuing, a medical negligence claim.  For that reason, we are not in a position to consider taking a case unless the injuries and damages are extremely significant.

Another problem area which sometimes precludes us from inquiring into a case is a law called the statute of limitations.  If a doctor injures someone as a result of his negligent driving, then his victim has 4 years from the date of the accident within which to file suit.  If the same doctor injures someone as a result of negligence in his medical practice, then his patient is usually required to bring the claim within 2 years.  If an injured patient waits too long the claim may be time-barred.

Yet one more problem we need to consider is whether we can prove the negligent conduct of the doctor or nurse who caused the injuries complained of by the injured patient. Very few individuals consult physicians without some type of underlying medical problem, and in many cases it is difficult to distinguish between the original medical problem and the injury which was caused by the doctor's negligence.

Sometimes the medical opinions we receive are such that while the expert might believe that malpractice was committed, it would probably be very difficult or impossible to prove that the complication or injury was a result of something the doctor did or failed to do. We must decline cases of this nature, as well.  For example, in failure to diagnose cancer cases, there must be a fairly significant time delay before any expert will testify that the delay made any difference in the ultimate outcome.

For the above reasons, as well as others, we must regrettably decline the vast majority of the inquires we are asked to consider.  If we declined to undertake your representation, this does not mean that other attorneys will also do so. This merely means that your case does not meet the strict criteria we set for our firm.  We would always encourage you to obtain a second opinion from another firm.

If we have accepted you as a client

Once we have received and reviewed all of the pertinent records, and have located a qualified physician expert to testify against the negligent health care provider, you will be asked to sign a contingency fee agreement.  This agreement will govern the terms of our representation and

clearly set forth our fee schedule.  We cannot begin representing you until we receive the signed contingency fee contract and a signed statement of clients right.

Florida Statutes prohibit us from suing any health care provider without first sending notification by certified mail, return receipt requested, informing the defendant that we intend to pursue a claim.  In order to even send that letter, however, we need to include an affidavit from a similar health care provider stating they have reviewed all of the pertinent records, that there exists sufficient grounds to support a claim for medical negligence, and that the negligence either caused or contributed substantially to the injury.

We must then wait 90 days for the doctor or hospital's malpractice carrier to investigate and evaluate the claim.  During this time, we are required to cooperate fully with the insurer and provide them with virtually any information they request within reason.  You may be requested to give an unsworn statement which cannot be used later in court.  We will be calling you from time to time, requesting more information as the insurer requests it of us.

Within those 90 days, they are required to complete their investigation, and then do one of three things: 1) deny liability (in which case they are required to provide an affidavit from another doctor stating his/her review of the records does not support a claim for malpractice), 2) make an offer to settle, or 3) offer to admit liability and request the matter of damages be submitted to an arbitration panel rather than to a judge and jury.  It is rare for any offers to be made in pre-suit, and inevitably, most claims are denied and a law suit becomes necessary.

When a lawsuit becomes necessary

After the claim is denied by the doctor or hospital's insurer, the next step is the filing of a lawsuit.  This is accomplished by preparing a document called a Complaint and by filing the Complaint with the local clerk of the circuit court.  Once the Complaint is filed, a Summons is issued by the clerk, and this is then given to a deputy sheriff to serve upon the doctor or the hospital's resident agent.  The preparation, filing and service of the Complaint usually takes at least a month to accomplish.

Once the defendant has been served with the Complaint, their attorneys have 20 days within which to file pleadings directed to the Complaint. Sometimes the defendant's will file motions directed to the Complaint, and sometimes it can be several months before an answer to the complaint if actually filed.  The rules of procedure that govern the course of the lawsuit require that we cannot ask the judge to set the case for trial until the case is "at issue" which is the legal term that basically means a certain period of time has elapsed between filing an answer and the time of filing the "Notice at Issue" where in we request a trial date.  Once enough time has elapsed so that we may file a "Notice at Issue" and thereby request a trial, it usually takes anywhere from four to six months before the judge actually schedules our case for trial.

While we await the trial date, the discovery portion of the case proceeds.  We will be sending you discovery documents provided to us by the doctors' lawyers, called Interrogatories (which are merely written questions) and Requests for Production of Documents.  The interrogatories will merely ask you details about you, your history, your work, the names of other doctors seen, etc., and will usually be limited to 30 questions.  The Requests for Production will ask us to provide the defendants with documents such as medical records of other health care providers, medical bills, work information (if we are presenting a wage loss claim), income tax returns, and so forth.  The Rules of Civil Procedure require that the interrogatories be completed and returned to the defendant within 30 days, and the rules also provide that the materials in response to the request to produce must be produced within 30 days. It is important that these documents be answered and returned promptly.  Obviously, if you ever have any questions you should call us.

With regard to your current treating doctors, please do not discuss the legal aspect of your claim with them unless they make specific comments which you believe are critical to the defendant's care and treatment of you.   Most doctors do not want to get involved in medical malpractice lawsuits, and don't feel comfortable discussing such claims with the patient.  If they make any negative comments regarding the defendant, please contact our office immediately so that we may appropriately document your file.

If you are referred to another physician or testing facility by your treating doctor, please contact us immediately and discuss these recommendations with us.  While it is very important for you to seek further medical testing and treatment to try to improve your condition, it is also important to avoid the anti-­malpractice, anti-litigation health care providers who will do anything to help the defendant doctor.

There are many highly-qualified physicians who will render excellent care to you who are willing to be honest when it comes to testifying as to the significance of the injury caused by the negligence of another doctor.  Juries listen very closely to what subsequent treating physicians have to say about your medical condition, and you want to have a truly impartial doctor rendering an honest opinion about the extent of your injuries.

Evaluating your claim

"How much is my case worth?" This is a question frequently asked early in the case, and unfortunately, it is difficult to properly analyze the value of the case until we are significantly into the case.  Who the experts are and what they have to say plays a major role in medical malpractice litigation.

If our experts are very strong in their opinion that negligence caused the injuries and the defendant's experts have difficulty supporting the defendant's conduct, then the claim increases in value.  If our experts are not very strong in their opinion that negligence caused the injury, and the defendants experts are unwavering in their support, then the value obviously decreases.  How well our experts can separate the injuries caused by the malpractice versus the underlying injuries for which you sought medical care plays a role in the evaluation process, too.  The bottom line is that most of the time it is difficult to answer that question early in the litigation.

Make a checklist

This is designed to furnish us with information which is very important in the preparation of your case for both trial and settlement purposes.

1. Keep a diary of restrictions in your activities caused by your injuries, specific pains and frequency of the pain, what kind and how often you take medication, etc.