Florida Malpractice Accident Lawyer

By Lorne Kaiser, Esq. (Fla. Bar No. 0568491) & Steven Romanello, Esq. (Fla. Bar No. 557277), Kaiser Romanello, P.A. | Florida personal injury attorneys since 2002 | Serving all of Florida

What Counts as Medical Malpractice in Florida

Not every bad medical outcome is malpractice. Medicine involves risk, and even careful providers cannot guarantee results. A viable Florida medical-malpractice claim requires proof of four things:

• A provider-patient relationship — the provider owed you a duty of care.
• A breach of the standard of care — the provider did something (or failed to do something) that a reasonably careful provider in the same specialty would not have done under similar circumstances.
• Causation — that breach, not the underlying illness or injury, caused you harm.
• Damages — you suffered real losses: additional medical bills, lost income, permanent injury, or death.

The "standard of care" is the heart of every case, and it is proven through the testimony of a qualified medical expert in the same or a similar specialty. This is why documentation and the right experts matter so much from the very beginning.

Types of Medical Malpractice We Handle

We represent patients and families across the full range of medical-negligence claims in Florida:

Serious medical negligence often produces catastrophic, lifelong harm. Where a case involves brain or spinal injury, we draw on our catastrophic and traumatic brain injury experience to document the full lifetime cost of care.

How Florida Medical Malpractice Law Works

Florida med-mal is governed by a specialized set of rules that make these cases very different from an ordinary injury claim. Understanding them is essential — missing a single step can end a valid case.

The Chapter 766 Pre-Suit Process

Before a lawsuit can be filed, Florida Statute Chapter 766 requires a formal pre-suit process. Your attorney must first conduct a reasonable investigation, then serve each prospective defendant with a Notice of Intent to Initiate Litigation accompanied by a corroborating affidavit from a qualified medical expert confirming the claim has merit. A 90-day pre-suit period follows, during which the parties investigate and the provider's insurer may accept, reject, or attempt to settle the claim. This requirement exists in no ordinary injury case and is one of the biggest reasons med-mal claims need experienced counsel.

The Deadline: Two Years From Discovery, With a Four-Year Outer Limit

Under Florida Statute §95.11(4)(b), a medical-malpractice claim generally must be brought within two years from the time the incident was discovered, or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence — but no more than four years from the date of the incident itself (the statute of repose). Narrow exceptions apply: fraud, concealment, or intentional misrepresentation can extend the period (up to seven years), and there is a separate rule protecting injured children. Because the "discovery" trigger is fact-specific and easy to get wrong, confirm your deadline with an attorney as early as possible.

Damages: No Cap on Non-Economic Damages

For years, Florida law capped non-economic damages (pain and suffering) in medical-malpractice cases. The Florida Supreme Court struck those caps down as unconstitutional — in wrongful-death med-mal cases in Estate of McCall v. United States (2014) and in personal-injury med-mal cases in North Broward Hospital District v. Kalitan (2017). Today, there is no statutory cap on non-economic damages in a Florida medical-malpractice case. Recoverable damages can include past and future medical expenses, lost income and lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, disability, and, in fatal cases, wrongful-death damages for surviving family members.

Why Insurers Fight Medical Malpractice Claims

Medical-malpractice insurers defend aggressively, because the stakes are high and the rules are technical. Common tactics include:

• Blaming the underlying condition — arguing your harm came from the disease or injury, not the provider's care.
• Defending the standard of care — producing their own experts to say the provider acted reasonably.
• Attacking causation — conceding a mistake but arguing it did not change the outcome.
• Early, low settlement offers — made before the full extent of future care and lost income is known.

Countering these requires early evidence preservation, the right specialists, and a firm prepared to litigate. We build every case to be tried, not just settled.

What to Do If You Suspect Medical Malpractice

1. Get appropriate medical care from a new, independent provider to address the harm and document your condition.
2. Request your complete medical records — you have a right to them, and they are the core evidence in any claim.
3. Write down what happened while it's fresh: dates, names, what was said, and what went wrong.
4. Don't sign anything or accept a settlement from a provider or its insurer before speaking with an attorney.
5. Talk to a medical-malpractice lawyer promptly — the Chapter 766 pre-suit steps take time, and the clock is running.

How Kaiser Romanello Helps

We handle Florida medical-malpractice cases from the initial records review through the Chapter 766 pre-suit process and, when necessary, trial. That means obtaining and analyzing the complete medical record, retaining qualified same-specialty experts to establish the standard of care and causation, documenting the full lifetime cost of the harm, and dealing with the insurer so you can focus on recovery. Consultations are free and confidential, and there is no fee unless we recover for you. In Broward County, start with our Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice lawyer team, or see our full range of practice areas on the accident services hub.

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Frequently Asked Questions

This information is for general educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Every case is unique, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Florida medical-malpractice law is highly procedural and fact-specific; deadlines and eligibility vary. For guidance on your situation, contact a Florida medical malpractice attorney at Kaiser Romanello, P.A. Contact us at (844) 877-8679. Kaiser Romanello, P.A., 11555 Heron Bay Blvd., Suite 200, Parkland, FL 33076.