R. BOTTO ROSSA, APPELLANT,
v.
EMANUEL SILLS, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF ROSE SILLS, APPELLEE
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The court held that the defendant doctor could be subjected to personal jurisdiction in Florida under the long-arm statute, as his conduct created a foreseeable risk of liability in the state.
[1] A foreign national physician may be subject to Florida's long-arm jurisdiction if their actions outside of Florida cause injury within the state and they engaged in solic…
[2] A defendant's conduct may subject them to potential liability in Florida if they could have reasonably foreseen being haled into court there, even if the physician-patien…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA cruise ship passenger was injured and later died after receiving treatment from the defendant doctor aboard the ship, which subsequently entered Flo…
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STONE, Judge.
The defendant appeals an order denying his motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.
The complaint alleges that Rose Sills was a cruise line passenger, who after a slip and fall on board, was initially treated on the day of the accident by the appellant-ship’s doctor. The following day the ship entered Florida waters. Mrs. Sills was assisted ashore and died a month later. The cruise line regularly operates out of Port Everglades. Section 48.193(1)(f)1, Florida Statutes (1985), subjects persons to jurisdiction in Florida who cause injury within this State arising out of acts or omissions committed outside of Florida, if the defendant was engaged in solicitation or service activities within the State.
The appellant, a foreign national who is not licensed to practice medicine in the United States, argues that no physician-patient relationship existed in Florida. There is a factual dispute whether his care of the defendant terminated immediately following his treatment of her, or whether it continued into this State. But, regardless of which factual account prevails, the defendant’s conduct was such that he should and could have reasonably foreseen being subjected to potential liability in Florida. See Rosenberg v. Coqui, Inc., 464 So. 2d 701 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). See also Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283 (1958).
We find DiBonaventure v. Home Lines, Inc., 536 F.Supp. 100 (E.D.Pa.1982), relied on by appellant, to be distinguishable. In that case a ship’s doctor was not subjected to jurisdiction in Pennsylvania. However, here, the ship not only entered Florida waters, it docked here on the day following the accident and was operated by a line with at least a ten year history of sailing out of Florida ports. Further, the statute relied on in the Pennsylvania case was not similar to the provision relied on by appel-lee in this case. Likewise, Schwilm v. Holbrook, 661 F. 2d 12 (3d Cir.1981), is distinguishable as there the issue was one of determining the convenient forum. Here, there is no more appropriate forum.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Darce Carlisle v. Carnival Corp., 864 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003)…t where treatment in Florida waters and there were multiple contacts with state); Elmlund v. Mottershead, 750 So. 2d 736 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)(no personal jurisdiction over non-resident ship’s doctor with insufficient Florida contacts); Rossa v. Sills, 493 So. 2d 1137 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)(sufficient contacts to support personal jurisdiction). Two years after this matter was filed the Carlisles had not been able to serve process on Dr. Neri. . As a result of our ruling it is unnecessary to address the issues raise…
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K. Rana, M.D. v. Flynn, 823 So. 2d 302 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002)…, asserting that his care was inadequate. Dr. Rana filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. The court denied the motion. Based on Athanassiadis v. National Car Rental Sys., 699 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997), and Rossa v. Sills, 493 So. 2d 1137 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986), the court properly determined, on this record, that personal jurisdiction under the long-arm statute was proper over a defendant who allegedly commits a tort within this state. § 48.193(l)(b), Fla. Stat. (2002). ‘Contrary to Ra…
Authorities Cited
- Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235 (U.S. 1958)
- Schwilm v. Holbrook, 661 F.2d 12 (3d Cir. 1981)
- Rosenberg v. Coqui, Inc., 464 So. 2d 701 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)