• In Midtown Miami: NE 2nd Ave. and NE 36th Street • In West Kendall: SW 117th Ave. and Kendall Dr. • In Coconut Grove: S. Dixie Highway every intersection south of I-95 • In South Miami-Dade: SW 117th Ave. and SW 152nd St. • In Fort Lauderdale: A1A and Las Olas Blvd. • In Miami Beach: Alton Rd. and Dade Blvd. • In Doral: NW 87th St. and NW 36th St. • In Miami: Brickell Ave. Bridge • Pembroke Pines: Pines Blvd. and S. Flamingo Rd.
And remember, if you’re in an accident,
• Call 911 • Move your vehicle out of the flow of traffic if possible • Exchange driver’s information • Get yourself checked out • Take pictures
It started as a small cut. But the client was elderly, in her 80’s, and had pre-existing blood circulation problems. With the passage of time, the opening in the skin grew larger, and larger. And treating and dressing the wound became more and more difficult. The poor woman wound up with a 6-inch long and several inches wide opening in the flesh covering the top of her foot. The condition persisted and defied treatment for months, requiring highly specialized care.
An apparently minor accident on the job developed into a serious chronic injury for my client, who ultimately went on to recover–following a period of utter misery. Photos of the condition–which we will NOT publish here–provided compelling evidence which supported a confidential settlement with a major national supermarket chain, and the gratitude of a much relieved client.
If you’re a patient at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital, it could have made a big difference whether your physician is acting on behalf of the University or on behalf of the Hospital.
The University is a privately-owned, deep pocket institution, fully collectible, and entitled to no special treatment under law. Whereas Jackson Memorial is a county Hospital, a public institution, covered by Florida sovereign immunity law, which carries all kinds of restrictions and limitations on recovery.
Legally, the question has now been put to rest. If you’re treated by a University of Miami doctor while at Jackson Memorial Hospital, by law, that doctor is deemed to be an agent of the Hospital, not an agent of the University.
A 2011 amendment to Florida’s sovereign immunity law specifically states that physicians from a medical school are agents of the state and entitled to sovereign immunity when the medical school contracts to provide medical care in a teaching Hospital. In accord with that change, Jackson and the University have re-written their long-standing operating agreement to provide that all UM faculty members are covered by sovereign immunity, even when caring for private paying patients, not just indigents.
As a result, the University is “immune” from getting sued because by law, its doctors are legally deemed agents of the public hospital with sovereign immunity. This arrangement has gone far in discouraging malpractice claims at Jackson–to the benefit of the Hospital and University, but also to the detriment of those patients who may have experienced the consequences of malpractice.
Personal Injury Attorney Mark Wolin proudly serves Florida and South Florida communities in Miami-Dade County, Monroe County and Broward County including Aventura, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Biscayne Gardens, Biscayne Park, Davis Harbor, El Portal, Hallandale, Hallandale Beach, Hialeah, Hollywood, Hollywood Beach, Liberty City, Little Haiti, Little River, Miami, Miami’s Upper East Side, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Miami Shores, North Bay Village, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Opa Locka, Pembroke Pines, Pembroke Park, Sunny Isles Beach and Surfside, Florida. View our privacy policy here.
