Medical boards rarely discipline negligent Florida doctors who are sued for malpractice, according to a story in the South Florida SunSentinal. The law requires the state Department of Health to review every Florida malpractice lawsuit in order to track dangerous doctors. But the newspaper’s investigation found that regulators disciplined only 128 doctors in ten years of reviewing almost 24,000 cases. The SunSentinal maintains a database of Florida doctors who have been sued for negligence or malpractice.
The story featured the case of Dr. Pachavit Kasemsap, a surgeon who has practiced throughout Florida. The law mandating a review of malpractice lawsuits against doctors specifically requires the health department to investigate doctors who have three court judgments or settlements within a five year period. The state did not investigate Dr. Kasemap even though he had paid a $600,000 judgment and settled four malpractice lawsuits in five years. The doctor settled with the estate of one patient for $1 million, a woman who died weeks after the doctor severed her aorta during gallbladder surgery. The doctor paid $600,000 to a patient after cutting her artery during liver surgery.
Florida Doctor Negligence
An analysis by Health News Florida found that 29 doctors had paid more than six Florida medical malpractice lawsuit claims, and 14 doctors had paid 10 or more claims. Twenty-five of these doctors are surgeons, including a dozen orthopedic surgeons and two OB-GYNs. Only three of the doctors faced disciplinary action.
Many injured patients file a complaint against a doctor after a malpractice injury. But the odds for getting any action are quite slim. In one recent year, the authorities received more than 6,700 complaints against negligent doctors. Out of those, the department took action against only 188 physicians.
If doctor negligence, hospital error, or any other form of medical malpractice has damaged your quality of life, contact the Florida malpractice lawyers at Martinez Manglardi. Call 407-846-2240 for a free consultation.