Mediation Intelligence Brief: Closed Florida Medical-Malpractice Suits

Publication of Impleader · Page last updated 12 October 2026

A written, source-checked comparison of Florida medical-malpractice suits, prepared to answer a single factual question posed by counsel.

Each suit is identified by court case number, read from the complaint and docket, and matched to its record in the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation closed-claim database.¹ Every figure is cited to its record. A match that cannot be confirmed by case number is labeled probable and is not counted.

At a glance

Product: Mediation Intelligence Brief
Price: Quoted before work begins
Format: Written report, PDF
Delivery: Agreed before work begins
Scope: Florida circuit-court suits
Sources: Court file; OIR closed-claim data

Request a brief

Sample brief

Three Brevard County cases in which a spinal epidural abscess was missed in the emergency department. Built from the court complaints and the payments insurers reported to the State, with case summaries, payment records, selection method and sources.

View sample brief Sample S-002

Questions a brief can answer, for example:

When a physician and the physician's practice were sued together, did the practice pay separately, through which insurer, and at what stage?
In suits over a given procedure, how long did they run from filing to closing?
What defense and claim-handling cost did insurers report?

Example

Illustrative only. The question and the five suits below are invented to show the format. They are not real cases, amounts or insurers. For a sample built from real records, see the sample brief.

Question. In Florida suits over a delayed cancer diagnosis, when the physician and the employer (a hospital or a private practice) are both sued, who actually pays, how much, and how long did it take?

Short answer. The employer paid separately in three of five suits (A, C and E). In A the hospital, self-insured, paid $450,000, more than the physician’s $300,000. In C the practice and physician shared a carrier; in E the practice paid through a different one. In B and D no closed-claim record exists for the employer. Totals ran from $0 to $750,000.

Table 1. Five delayed-cancer-diagnosis suits, each naming a physician and an employer entity.
Case	Alleged error and injury	Reported payments, by insured	Time to resolution
AExample Miami v. Example HospitalMiami-Dade CountySued physician; hospital as employer (vicarious)	Abnormal chest imaging not followed up for 14 monthsInjury Lung cancer found at stage IV; death	Physician · Insurer 1$300,000 Hospital · self-insured$450,000 Total reported$750,000	4.2 yearsinjury to close
BExample Brevard v. Example HospitalBrevard CountySued physician; hospital as employer (vicarious)	Abnormal mammogram result not communicated for 11 monthsInjury Stage III breast cancer; mastectomy and chemotherapy	Physician · Insurer 2$425,000 Hospital · no record— Total reported$425,000	3.6 yearsinjury to close
CExample Seminole v. Example Private PracticeSeminole CountySued physician; practice P.A. (vicarious)	Positive stool test not acted on for two yearsInjury Colorectal cancer found at stage IV	Physician · Insurer 3$350,000 Practice · Insurer 3$200,000 Total reported$550,000	4.9 yearsinjury to close
DExample Hillsborough v. Example Private PracticeHillsborough CountySued physician; practice LLC (vicarious)	Skin-biopsy result not reviewed for nine monthsInjury Melanoma found after spread to lymph nodes	Physician · Insurer 4$0 Practice · no record— Total reported$0	2.9 yearsinjury to close
Probable match by name and injury date: one further $300,000 record that may belong to the practice in Case D. Shown for reference; excluded from all counts and totals.
EExample Duval v. Example Private PracticeDuval CountySued physician; practice (direct and vicarious)	Radiology recommendation for follow-up CT not relayed to the patientInjury Lung cancer found at stage III; lobectomy	Physician · Insurer 2$600,000 Practice · Insurer 5$150,000 Total reported$750,000	5.3 yearsinjury to close
Coverage: 5 suits compared · 8 verified closed-claim records · 7 with payment

In a real brief every suit is identified by court case number and every figure is cited to its record. Suits and closed-claim records are counted separately; a suit may have several records, one for each insured defendant. Allegations are as pleaded in the complaint, not findings. A defendant with “no record” has no closed-claim record that we could find.

Fields and their sources

Table 2. Fields reported for each comparable suit
Field	Source
Court, case number, filing date	Court docket
Defendants, as named in the complaint	Complaint
Insured party and insurer	Closed-claim record
Amount paid, and each defendant's share	Closed-claim record
Defense and claim-handling expense	Closed-claim record
Time from injury to resolution	Closed-claim record
Match basis (case number or probable)	Impleader, stated for each suit

Method

Counsel describes the matter briefly, using the request form or by email, and the question, scope and price are agreed before work begins.
Comparable suits are selected and read against the docket.
Each suit is matched to a closed-claim record by court case number.
The brief reports what the records show and where they are incomplete.

Glossary

Suit: A lawsuit, identified by its court case number.
Closed-claim record: An entry in the Office of Insurance Regulation closed-claim database. One suit may have several, one per insured defendant.
Verified: A suit matched to a closed-claim record by court case number.
Probable: A possible match on name and date alone. Shown in the brief, never counted.
Defense and claim-handling cost: The insurer's reported expense for handling the claim, apart from the amount paid to the claimant.

Limitations

A brief is a factual comparison. It contains no valuation and no suggested settlement figure, and does not predict an outcome. It is organized by case and does not profile individual providers. It is not legal advice. Closed-claim data omit some details, such as specialty and coverage terms,² and each brief states what is missing.

Ordering

Request a brief

Mediation Intelligence Briefs are delivered as a PDF. Price and delivery date are agreed before work begins.
Use the request form, or write to orders@medmalscout.com. We prepare a brief on each suit for one customer only, checked against past orders before we accept it.

Questions

Does the brief tell me what my case is worth?
No. It reports what comparable suits show. It does not suggest a value.

Can I ask about a particular physician?
No. Briefs are organized by case, not by provider.

Where do the records come from?
Public court dockets and complaints, and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation's public closed-claim data.

Will the other side get the same brief?
No. We prepare a brief on each suit for one customer only, and orders are checked against past orders before we accept them.

Are case-specific briefs available to mediators?
No. Briefs are prepared for counsel in a case.

Notes

Closed-claim records are reported by insurers to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Impleader reports them as filed.
Where a detail is not in the record, the brief says so rather than estimating it.