Broward Health Medical Center Medical Malpractice
Written and edited by our team of expert legal content writers and reviewed and approved by Daniel Harwin
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Broward Health Medical Center is a public 716-bed acute care hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It has served adult and pediatric patients in Broward County for over 85 years. However, the hospital has a history of low patient satisfaction and poor reviews, rating lower than the national average for every care team metric, from communication with doctors and nurses to discharge information. Many reviewers allege serious and lasting issues following surgeries, mistreatment by staff, insensitivity, untimeliness, homophobia, uncleanliness, and more issues.
If you or a loved one has suffered from negligence at Broward Health Medical Center, you may have grounds to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. The medical malpractice attorneys at Freedland Harwin Valori Gander can determine whether you’re eligible to sue and pursue the justice you deserve.
Filing a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Against Broward Health
Broward Health Medical Center is part of the Broward Health public health system, one of the ten largest in the United States, and operates over 30 health care facilities. The hospital network has faced numerous lawsuits and malpractice claims in the past few decades, with some patients recovering millions of dollars for medical malpractice at hospitals in the Broward system.
If you or a loved one has been injured by medical negligence at Broward Health Medical Center, you may be eligible to file a medical malpractice suit. To prevail in a medical malpractice case in Florida, you must prove it was more likely than not that the medical provider failed to meet its duty of care and caused you harm. You must have another qualified medical professional verify that the health care provider failed to follow established medical protocols and that your injury resulted from that failure.
The statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice case is typically within two years of the incident date or when you discover the injury. However, the law includes a hard deadline of four years from the date of the incident, regardless of when you discover the injury.
Government entities in Florida have sovereign immunity, which provides some protection protection from lawsuits. This includes public hospitals like Broward Health Medical Center. Under Florida Statutes § 768.28, government entities have waived sovereign immunity for employees’ negligence. Thus, if you have suffered harm from medical malpractice by a hospital employee at Broward Health Medical Center, you would have the same right to sue as the patient of a private hospital.
In most medical malpractice cases, you can pursue damages for your financial and intangible losses without limits. In rare cases, you can also recover punitive damages from private health care providers. However, because of the facility’s sovereign immunity, you cannot pursue punitive damages against Broward Health Medical Center, and the total damages recoverable from the hospital are capped at $300,000.
Case Study: Routine Birth Gone Wrong
In one notable case, our client was a 34-year-old wife and mother of three who arrived at Broward Health Medical Center for the birth of her fourth child. Before and during delivery, the health care providers at Broward Health Medical Center were not prepared to manage an obvious complication. As a result, our client bled to death during childbirth.
Our client had a condition known as placenta accreta, which requires a specific plan before proceeding with a cesarean section. We alleged that such a plan was never put into place. When our client began bleeding shortly after her daughter was born, the physicians were unprepared to deal with it. She ultimately bled to death in front of her husband. Our office obtained a $24.5 million verdict for the family in Broward County.
Every hospital is entrusted with implementing policies and procedures to safeguard patients. However, in this instance, deviation from accepted standards of care and a lack of communication between health care providers tragically led to the death of a young mother following childbirth.
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Is Medical Malpractice Common at Broward Health Hospitals?
According to data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, there have been 144 medical professional liability claims filed against Broward Health Medical Center since 2001, with 21 of those cases resulting in the death of the patient. As for the other claims, 64 reported emotional injuries and trauma with no physical damage, 45 reported temporary injuries in varying degrees of severity, and 14 reported non-fatal permanent injuries.
The parties settled 127 of the medical professional liability claims. The indemnity payments reached as high as $300,000, with most of the highest settlements going to families whose loved ones died as a result of medical negligence at Broward Health Medical Center. Only two of the 144 cases resulted in no payout to the claimant.
Broward Health Lawsuits
Broward Health has faced numerous lawsuits related to medical malpractice, improper financial relationships with physicians, data breaches, and more. Some of the largest cases against the hospital district include the following:
Walecki v. North Broward Hospital District d/b/a/ Broward Health - 2022
A data breach class action lawsuit was filed against Broward Health in Florida Southern District Court, alleging that the personal and medical information of more than 1.35 million patients was compromised due to the facility’s negligence.
Former Broward Health Executive Pleads Guilty to Bribery Conspiracy - 2021
Brian Bravo, the former procurement director for Broward Health, pleaded guilty in federal district court in Fort Lauderdale to a federal conspiracy charge. Bravo admitted he accepted kickbacks from vendors and a consultant in exchange for awarding them lucrative government contracts.
Bravo accepted more than $400,000 in kickbacks from vendors for awarding them Broward Health goods and services contracts. He was sentenced to 42 months in prison.
North Broward Hospital District v. Kalitan - 2017
Former Broward patient Susan Kalitan was awarded $4.7 million in total damages after complications from a 2007 carpal tunnel surgery. She alleged that surgeons perforated her esophagus during surgery, leaving her with severe injuries.
Broward Health Pays Nearly $70 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations - 2015
North Broward Hospital District agreed to pay the federal government $69.5 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians.
The hospital district was accused of paying compensation to nine employed physicians that far exceeded the fair market value of their services. There was no determination of liability in the case, and Broward Health did not admit to any wrongdoing.
Contact Our Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyers
If you or a loved one was harmed by suspected medical malpractice at Broward Health Medical Center, you may be entitled to compensation.
At FHVG, our attorneys are passionate and aggressive and will employ all available resources to ethically pursue the maximum recovery. We’re dedicated to going to bat against major insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospital districts, and others to recover fair and just compensation for injured malpractice victims. We have a proven track record of record-breaking settlements and verdicts, recovering over $2.6 billion for our clients.
For more than two decades, FHVG has worked to protect the rights of victims of medical malpractice in Florida and across the country. We’re committed to seeking justice for our clients through the court system and fighting for just compensation. Get started on your case today with a free consultation by contacting us online or calling 954-467-6400.
