 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Northwest Medical Center11/30/2005
he remember giving her a NICA brochure which might have been in Spanish, if the hospital had them on hand, but the NICA consent form was not in Spanish. Nurses are not trained to answer questions regarding NICA and, therefore, do not do so. Instead they advise patients to call the 800 number on the brochure if they have questions about NICA.
The administrative law judge determined that although Mrs. Ortiz's admission on December 17, 2000 may have been considered an admission based upon an "emergency medical condition" where notice may not be required, Northwest had a reasonable opportunity to provide notice at the pre-registration, prior to her presentation to the hospital for delivery. Therefore it failed to comply with the notice provisions of the plan. Northwest and Dr. De Souza appeal this judgment.
The legislature passed NICA in order to help "stabiliz and reduc malpractice insurance premiums" faced by obstetricians. § 766.301(1)(c), Fla. Stat. (2000). The plan provides "compensation, irrespective of fault, for birth-related neurological injury claims." § 766.303(1), Fla. Stat. (2000). "The rights and remedies granted by plan . . . shall exclude all other rights and remedies . . . at common law or otherwise, against any person or entity directly involved with the labor, delivery, or immediate post-delivery resuscitation during which such injury occurs, arising out of or related to a medical malpractice claim with respect to such injury . . . ." § 766.303(2), Fla. Stat. (2000).
" s a condition precedent to invoking [NICA] as a patient's exclusive remedy, health care providers must, when practicable, give their obstetrical patients notice of their participation in the plan a reasonable time prior to delivery." Galen of Fla., Inc. v. Braniff, 696 So. 2d 308, 309 (Fla. 1997). Section 766.316, Florida Statutes (2000), states:
Each hospital with a participating physician on its staff and each participating physician, other than residents, assistant residents, and interns deemed to be participating physicians under s. 766.314(4)(c), under the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan shall provide notice to the obstetrical patients as to the limited no-fault alternative for birth-related neurological injuries. Such notice shall be provided on forms furnished by the association and shall include a clear and concise explanation of a patient's rights and limitations under the plan. The hospital or the participating physician may elect to have the patient sign a form acknowledging receipt of the notice form. Signature of the patient acknowledging receipt of the notice form raises a rebuttable presumption that the notice requirements of this section have been met. Notice need not be given to a patient when the patient has an emergency medical condition as defined in s. 395.002(9)(b) or when notice is not practicable.
The supreme court determined " his language makes clear that the purpose of the notice is to give an obstetrical patient an opportunity to make an informed choice between using a health care provider participating in the NICA plan or using a provider who is not a participant and thereby preserving her civil remedies." Braniff, 696 So. 2d at 309-10 (citing Turner v. Hubrich, 656 So. 2d 970, 971 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)).
Under our reading of the statute, in order to preserve their immune status, NICA participants who are in a position to notify their patients of their participation a reasonable time before delivery simply need to give the notice in a timely manner. In those cases where it is not practicable to notify the patient prior to delivery, pre-delivery notice will not be required.
Id. at 311. The c
Page 1 2 3 4 Florida Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|