HERMAN AND HELEN HIRSCH, HUSBAND AND WIFE, PETITIONERS,
v.
STEVEN Z. KLEINMAN, M.D., MICHAEL SUNDAR, M.D., AND HATEM EISSA, M.D., RESPONDENTS

Fla. 4th DCA | 1979-10-03
No. 79-1002
CROSS, SPENCER C., and DAUKSCH, JAMES C., Jr., Associate Judges, concur.
375 So. 2d 362 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1979) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.


Holding

A preliminary hearing presenting hospital records, continued for another six months, does not constitute a 'hearing' within the meaning of the statute requiring commencement within six months.


Facts & Procedural History

Petitioners filed a medical mediation claim. A preliminary hearing was held before the six-month deadline, but it only involved presenting hospital re…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
BERANEK, Judge.

BERANEK, Judge.

This Court’s prior opinion issued June 29, 1979, is withdrawn. This is a petition for common law certiorari in a medical mediation matter. Petitioners were the plaintiffs in the mediation procedure and respondents were medical doctors accused of negligence. The judicial referee denied a motion by petitioners to terminate jurisdiction of the panel. The motion was based on the failure to begin a hearing within six months from the filing of the claim under Section 768.-44(3) Florida Statutes (1977).

The facts are that a “start-up” hearing was held shortly before the expiration of the six-month statutory period. This hearing occurred before the judicial referee and panel members but amounted to no more than plaintiffs’ presenting certain hospital records in evidence. The hearing was then continued for approximately another six-month period. In accordance with Hewitt v. Caffee, 368 So. 2d 1342 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), we hold this was not a hearing within the meaning of Section 768.44(3) and (6), Florida Statutes (1977). Hewitt has recently been followed in Wright v. Ratnesar, 373 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979).

Certiorari is, therefore, granted and the order refusing to terminate jurisdiction is quashed. The matter is remanded and the Clerk of the Circuit Court is ordered to send a notice of termination to all parties pursuant to Florida Rule of Medical Mediation Procedure 20.190(c).

CERTIORARI GRANTED.

CROSS, SPENCER C., and DAUKSCH, JAMES C., Jr., Associate Judges, concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Roberts v. Casey, 413 So. 2d 1226 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982)
    …t. .See Parker v. Knorr, 383 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980); Serrill v. Hilderbrand, 382 So. 2d 316 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979); Wright v. Ratnesar, 373 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979); Cohen v. Johnson, 373 So. 2d 389 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); Hirsch v. Kleinman, 375 So. 2d 362 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); Hewitt v. Caffee, 368 So. 2d 1342 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Diggett v. Conkling, 368 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); Shore v. Abbazia, 375 So. 2d 354 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Raedel v. Watson Clinic Foundation, Inc., 360 So. 2d 12 (Fla. 2d…
  • Parker v. Keith Knorr, M.D., 383 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)
    …cur. . We use the past tense because of the holding in Aldana. . Hewitt v. Caffee, 368 So. 2d 1342 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), where only medical records were introduced. See also: Wright v. Ratnesar, 373 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979); Hirsch v. Kleinman, 375 So. 2d 362 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); Shore v. Abbazia, 375 So. 2d 354 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979).…
  • Serrill v. Hilderbrand, 382 So. 2d 316 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979)
    …a.4th DCA 1978). When a “start-up” hearing is held shortly before expiration of the six-month statutory period and only hospital records are presented in evidence, this is not the hearing envisioned by Sections 768.44(3) and (6). Hirsch v. Kleinman, 375 So. 2d 362 (Fla.4th DCA 1979); Wright v. Ratnesar, supra. In the instant case, no evidence whatsoever was introduced. Respondent appears to argue that Hewitt v. Caffee, supra, stands for the proposition that one party may not employ dilatory tactics to avoid…

Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw