Defense prevails at trial and appellate level in medical malpractice action.

We prevailed at the trial court level and on appeal in a medical malpractice action filed against a Florida hospital and three of its trauma/critical care physicians. ​It was alleged that the patient was overmedicated with narcotics during her 64-day hospital stay, resulting in acute respiratory failure and other complications, which caused her death. The plaintiff’s sole expert on liability and causation was a retired internal medicine physician. On the eve of trial, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, finding the plaintiff’s expert lacked the requisite qualifications under Florida law to render opinions against the hospital and its three specialist physicians. The Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed the final judgment without an opinion and granted the defendants’ motion for appellate attorney’s fees.