PATRICIA MEDINA AND GABRIEL MEDINA, HER HUSBAND, APPELLANTS,
v.
THE PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST D/B/A JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, APPELLEE
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The Medinas appealed the dismissal of their medical malpractice complaint against Jackson Memorial Hospital, arguing that the hospital waived the statutory requirement for medical corroboration by failing to timely produce Patricia Medina's medical records. The Third District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that a defendant's failure to provide medical records within the statutory ten-day deadline operates as a waiver of the corroborating affidavit requirement.
The court held that under section 766.204(2), Florida Statutes (1997), a party's failure to provide copies of medical records within ten days of request automatically waives the requirement of written medical corroboration. Because the hospital far exceeded the ten-day deadline in producing the records, it waived the corroborating affidavit requirement, and the plaintiffs' Notice of Intent properly characterized this waiver.
[1] A defendant waives the requirement of written medical corroboration in a medical malpractice action when the defendant fails to produce requested medical records within t…
[2] A party seeking to initiate a medical malpractice lawsuit may assert the defendant's failure to comply with medical records production obligations as a waiver of the corr…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Section 766.204(2), Florida Statutes (1997), provides that failure to provide copies of medical records within 10 days 'shall waive the requirement of written medical corroboration' by the party requesting the copies.”
Establishes the statutory basis for automatic waiver of the corroboration requirement upon the defendant's failure to timely produce records.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePatricia Medina was admitted to Jackson Memorial Hospital for elective neck surgery and was discharged more than three months later with both feet amp…
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SHEVIN, Judge.
Plaintiffs Patricia and Gabriel Medina appeal an order dismissing their medical malpractice complaint for failure to comply with statutory pre-suit requirements.
We reverse. Patricia Medina was admitted to Jackson Memorial Hospital for elective neck surgery. She was discharged more than three months later with both feet amputated. The Law Offices of Sheldon J. Schlesinger, P.A., requested Medina’s medical records. Schlesinger readily agreed to pay the copy charges. Schlesinger received the x-rays approximately one month after the request, and he received copies of the medical records more than two months later. Medina mailed Notices of Intent to Initiate Medical Malpractice Litigation to The Public Health Trust d/b/a Jackson Memorial Hospital and to the University of Miami School of Medicine, as required by section 766.203, Florida Statutes (1997).
The Notices asserted that because of defendants’ failure “to comply with their obligations to produce the pertinent medical records as required by section 766.204, prospective defendants had waived the requirement of written medical corroboration.... ” The University agreed to arbitration, eventually settling with the plaintiffs. Medina sued the hospital. The hospital did not raise Medina’s failure to attach a corroborating medical affidavit to her notice of intent until its second amended answer, eight months after the complaint was filed. Finding that the hospital had not waived the corroboration requirement, the trial court dismissed the complaint.
Section 766.204(2), Florida Statutes (1997), provides that failure to provide copies of medical records within 10 days “shall waive the requirement of written medical corroboration” by the party requesting the copies. As the hospital far exceeded the section 766.204(1) ten-day deadline in providing Schlesinger with the requested records, under section 766.204(2) the hospital waived the corroborating affidavit requirement. See Escobar v. Olortegui, 662 So. 2d 1361 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995).
See also Otto v. Rodriguez, 710 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 4th DCA)(failure to comply with records request waives corroborating opinion requirement), review denied, 718 So. 2d 170 (Fla.1998); Watson v. Beckman, 695 So. 2d 436 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)(same).
Medina’s Notice properly characterized the waiver, and the trial court erred in finding otherwise.
Based on the foregoing, we reverse the dismissal and remand for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
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Martin Mem'l Med. Ctr., Inc. v. Herber, 984 So. 2d 661 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)…We previously held that the failure to provide medical records as required under section 766.204(1) obviates the necessity of providing a corroborating affidavit under section (2). Escobar, 662 So. 2d at 1364; see also Medina v. Jackson Mem’l Hosp., 743 So. 2d 541 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999). Martin Memorial, by its own admission received the request for records on January 17, 2005 and mailed the records on February 1, 2005; thirteen business days elapsed in the interim. Because Martin Memorial did not provide the rec…
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Anderson v. Wagner, 955 So. 2d 586 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)…roboration of his claim. Section 766.204(2) states that the “failure to provide copies of medical records within 10 days ‘shall waive the requirement of written medical corroboration’ by the party requesting the copies.” Medina v. Pub. Health Trust, 743 So. 2d 541, 542 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999). Mr. Anderson asserts that Dr. Wagner waived his right to a medical expert opinion by failing to supply him with his medical records within ten business days of his request. Mr. Anderson failed to properly preserve this issu…
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Yocom v. Wuesthoff Health Sys., Inc., 880 So. 2d 787 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004)…ny event. If the story ended here, we might say that Wuesthoff failed to comply with section 766.204, and that the requirement of written medical corroboration was waived pursuant to subsection (2) of that statute. See Medina v. Public Health Trust, 743 So. 2d 541 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999); Watson v. Beckman, 695 So. 2d 436 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997); Escobar v. Olortegui, 662 So. 2d 1361 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). But there is more. Apparently, Dr. Yocom never got the letter from Wuesthoff, but six months later some how found o…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Serrano v. State, 662 So. 2d 1361 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)
- Hamilton v. State, 695 So. 2d 436 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)
- Shelby and Thomas Watson v. Nathan Beckman, D.D.S., 695 So. 2d 436 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)
- Marci Smith v. Morgan Carratt & O'Conner, P.A., 710 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)
- Otto v. J.J. Rodriguez, M.D., 710 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)