Attorney Profile
Megan J. Nelson
Areas of Practice
Contact Info
Overview
Megan devotes her practice to representing hospitals, physicians, nurses, long-term care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, and other healthcare providers in the defense of medical malpractice and negligence claims, along with premises and general liability claims.
Megan also represents nurses and other medical providers who are facing administrative or regulatory discipline by their governing medical licensing boards.
In addition to health care defense, Megan assists hospitals, long-term care facilities, and skilled nursing facilities with the initiation of petitions for determination of incapacity and the appointment of plenary guardians for patients who are unable to make their own medical and financial decisions. Megan also assists hospitals, long-term care facilities, and skilled nursing facilities with patients and family who "stay against medical advice."
Megan began her career as a firefighter for her hometown volunteer fire department and has utilized her knowledge as a firefighter to represent fire academies in lawsuits.
Megan has been a Registered Nurse since 2010. Before becoming a lawyer, she worked as a neonatal and pediatric critical care nurse in various settings, including the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, pediatric cardiac intensive care unit, and pediatric emergency room. She received The Daisy Award For Extraordinary Nurses in August 2013. Her experience also included patients on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and cardiac bypass. Megan's background in nursing helps to bridge the gap between medicine and the law.
Megan is a frequent lecturer on medical and nursing topics, including incident reporting, guardianships, and AI (artificial intelligence). She is a member of the Florida State Guardianship Association, Central Florida Medical Malpractice Claims Council, and the Orange County Bar Association.
Megan graduated from Del Mar College with an Associate's Degree in Nursing and Texas A&M University Corpus Christi with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Megan graduated cum laude from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law with a Juris Doctor.
When she is not working, Megan volunteers her time at The Sanctuary at Lakota Farms, where she helps care for horses that have been rescued.
Florida Nursing License
Results
Was successful in having a Florida Rule 5.900 Petition for Expedited Judicial Intervention Concerning Medical Treatment Procedure granted. The alleged incapacitated person had been medically cleared for discharge to a skilled nursing facility. However, his brother, who had been appointed as the health care surrogate and power of attorney, had refused to consent to his brother's transfer to any skilled nursing facility. After numerous unsuccessful attempts by the hospital case management team to transfer the patient, Megan was retained to file a Florida Rule 5.900 Petition for Expedited Judicial Intervention Concerning Medical Treatment Procedures. After the emergency evidentiary hearing, the court granted the petition and ordered the brother to consent to the transfer of the patient to a skilled nursing facility.
Thought Leadership
The Latest on Medical AI Innovation, Legal Liability and Claims, Florida Society for Healthcare Risk Management & Patient Safety Annual Meeting & Education Conference, Orlando, FL, August 14, 2025
Tort Reform: Where Do We Go From Here?, Florida Society for Healthcare Risk Management & Patient Safety Annual Meeting & Education Conference, Orlando, FL, August 16, 2024
Adversity in the World of Adverse Incident Reporting: A Panel Discussion on Reporting Requirements and Addressing Related Discovery, Florida Society for Healthcare Risk Management & Patient Safety Annual Meeting & Education Conference, Orlando, FL, August 13, 2021
"Am I Getting Fired? How to Handle Meetings With Your Facility's Attorney," Orlando Medical News (page 12), September 2021
“COVID-19 and Florida’s Health Care Provider Liability Protection,” Defense Digest, June 2021, Vol. 27, No. 3