5D02-1053 Florida Hosp. v. Stoll

State: Florida

Court: Florida Fifth District Court

Docket No: 5D02-1053

Case Date: 09/29/2003

Preview:IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FIFTH DISTRICT JULY TERM 2003

FLORIDA HOSPITAL WATERMAN, Petitioner, v. THERESA STOLL and RONALD STOLL, Respondents. ___________________________________/ Opinion October 3, 2003 Petition for Certiorari Review of Order from the Circuit Court for Lake County, Mark J. Hill, Judge. Larry D. Hall and Brian D. Equi of Hill, Adams, Hall & Schieffelin, P.A., Winter Park, for Petitioner. Brent C. Miller and Thomas D. Hippelheuser of the Law Office of Brent C. Miller, P.A., Leesburg, for Respondents. CASE NO. 5D02-1053

ON PETITIONER'S MOTIONS FOR REHEARING, CLARIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION

SHARP, W., J. We deny the motions for rehearing, clarification, and certification filed by petitioner Florida Hospital Waterman. Nevertheless, we withdraw our November 8, 2002 opinion and substitute the following

opinion, which more fully explains our reasons for denying Florida Hospital Waterman's request for certiorari review. In this medicalmalpractice case, petitioner Florida Hospital Waterman, the defendant below, seeks a writ of certiorari from this court to overturn the trial court's order which in essence rejected its claim that the statute of limitations had expired before the respondent Theresa Stoll, the plaintiff below, provided a verified written medical expert opinion as mandated by the pre-suit screening statute.1 We conclude the Hospital failed to timely raise this issue and thus waived the statute of limitations defense. The chronology of this case, as established by the record, is essential to our analysis. Theresa Stoll was a patient at the Hospital, which is located in Lake County, Florida, from March 6 through March 10,1998. On March 9,1998, fluid from an IV line infiltrated her arm beyond the blood vessels and allegedly caused her personal injuries. Stoll contacted an attorney who had her request a copy of her medical records from the Hospital on April 17, 1998. In August 1999, Stoll's attorney sent a letter to the Hospital stating he was willing to resolve the matter without litigation for 2.5 million dollars. The Hospital responded by stating it intended to avail itself of the protections afforded under the Medical Malpractice Reform Act and specifically the 90-day presuit discovery period. On June 2, 2000, Stoll's attorney sent the Hospital a notice of intent to sue for medical malpractice:

Please be advised that Theresa Stoll intends to commence litigation against you for injuries sustained in relation to her March 1998

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