Medical Malpractice Lawyer

In most cases, we must first request all your medical records and bills related to your potential case. Under Florida Statute 766.204, targeted medical providers are given ten business days to provide a medical malpractice claimant or their attorney with the claimant’s medical records. Non-targeted treaters, usually subsequent medical providers are given thirty days to provide the claimant or their attorney with the claimant’s medical records.

Once the client’s complete medical chart is received by our office, your attorney will review your medical records. This process may take weeks depending on how voluminous your medical chart is in relation to the medical malpractice.

Once your attorney reviews your medical chart, the attorney shall, as required by Florida Statute, send your medical chart to a medical expert in the same medical specialty as the target physician to review your medical records.

Upon completion of review by the medical expert and his/her determination that medical malpractice occurred, the expert will sign a corroborating medical expert witness affidavit outlining the reasons why the target physician’s actions fell below the prevailing standard of care leading to your negligent injury.

Once your lawyer has the expert’s executed corroborating medical expert witness affidavit, the entire medical chart, affidavit and expert’s curriculum vitae are sent certified to the target defendants with a letter called Notice of Intent to Initiate Litigation for Medical Malpractice.

Upon confirmation that the Notice of Intent package was received by the target defendants, a statutorily mandated ninety-day presuit period begins in which the parties conduct a “good faith investigation” into the allegations and merits of the potential case. This period also tolls the applicable statute of limitations on your case for ninety days.

During this ninety-day presuit period, the parties exchange information and documents and may also take unsworn statements, mini depositions without a court reporter. Your unsworn statement may be taken during this period and your attorney will prepare you for this proceeding in advance if the request is made.

Typically, medical malpractice cases do not settle during the presuit period as the legislature intended in their construction of Florida’s medical malpractice framework and a lawsuit will likely be filed before the applicable statute of limitations.

Once a claimant has sent the Notice of Intent to Initiate a Medical Malpractice action and the ninety-day presuit investigation is completed, that plaintiff has sixty days or the remainder of the statute of limitations period, whichever is greater, in which to bring the medical malpractice suit.

Your attorney will discuss the prospect of economic recovery through litigation with you before filing a lawsuit on your behalf.

The most important thing that you can do during the medical malpractice presuit period is recover from your injuries and determine with your medical team whether future medical treatment is needed to help you recover.