Compared with other kinds of civil cases, a Florida medical malpractice lawsuit can be pretty complicated. This is not just because of the web of medical and legal issues, which can require the introduction of extensive treatment records and the detailed testimony of expert witnesses. It's also because it can be difficult to determine which of the strict lawsuit-filing deadlines applies to your case, and there are a number of specific steps you must follow before you can even file your case in court. While your Florida medical malpractice attorney will have the experience and skills to navigate these rules, it helps to have an understanding of what's in store. Read on for a basic outline of the process.
Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations in Florida
If you think you have a medical malpractice claim against a healthcare provider in Florida, it's critical that you understand the statute of limitations and how it applies to your case.
First, a little background: A potential plaintiff’s right to file a lawsuit is subject to the statute of limitations, a law that sets a time limit (expressed in years) on the ability to have the court consider a civil case. The statute of limitations differs depending on the kind of case you want to file.
The Standard Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice Claims in Florida
Like most other states, Florida has a specific statute of limitations that applies to medical malpractice cases, at Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(c) (2025). In a nutshell, you must file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Florida within two years after:
- the malpractice allegedly happened, or
- you discovered the malpractice—or should have discovered it "with the exercise of due diligence."
So, once you learn that you’ve been injured by any kind of medical error or health care provider carelessness in Florida (or once the situation is such that you should have learned about it), the clock starts ticking on a two-year deadline to get your lawsuit filed in court.
Florida law also sets an outside four-year deadline for most medical malpractice lawsuits. This means that unless an exception applies (discussed below), the case is barred under the statute of limitations regardless of when the underlying malpractice was discovered, if it occurred more than four years before the lawsuit was filed.
It's important to note that complying with the statute of limitations only means getting the lawsuit started. You and your medical malpractice attorney don't need to have conducted a full investigation of your potential claim by the deadline. You might still be receiving medical treatment, and you might not have taken significant (or any) steps toward proving your medical malpractice case (although you'll need to have made a "reasonable investigation" into the merits of the case to comply with Florida law, as discussed below).
At this point you're probably wondering what happens if you miss the filing deadline set by the statute of limitations. In most situations, you lose your right to file a lawsuit over the alleged malpractice. That means you'll receive no medical malpractice settlement or court award. That's a pretty harsh consequence, especially for patients who have suffered significant harm as a result of a medical mistake.
When Can Florida's Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations Be Extended?
There are a few exceptions that could extend the time period for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in Florida:
- If you were prevented from learning about the malpractice because of fraud, concealment, or intentional misrepresentation of the facts in your situation, the time period is extended two years forward from when you ultimately discovered (or should've discovered) what happened, or an outside deadline of seven years after the malpractice, regardless of when you make that discovery.
- The four- and seven-year outside deadlines don't apply in a case brought on behalf of an infant or very young child, as long as the lawsuit is filed by the child's eighth birthday.
- Before the statute of limitations has expired, you can file a petition for an automatic 90-day extension of the deadline in order to allow your attorney to make a reasonable investigation for purposes of the legal requirement that when you file the lawsuit, your lawyer must attach a sworn certificate stating that such an investigation gave rise to a good-faith belief that a healthcare provider committed negligence in connection with your care or treatment.
- After your attorney has conducted the investigation, you must send the defendant health care provider (or providers) a notice that you intend to sue for medical malpractice. Once you've served that notice, the time period for filing your lawsuit is "tolled" (legalese for paused) during a 90-day period that allows the defendant to conduct its own investigation and potentially make a settlement offer.
Florida's Medical Malpractice Presuit Filing Requirements
In Florida, as in most states, the plaintiff (the person who is filing the lawsuit) needs to comply with a number of procedural requirements at the outset of the case. So here's a summary of the procedural hoops you'll have to jump through when filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in Florida. And remember that this is all in addition to drafting and filing the complaint, which is the initial document that lays out your claims against the health care provider.
Serving Notice of Claim
Under Fla. Stat. § 766.106 (2025), before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in the state's civil court system, the plaintiff is required to notify each prospective defendant (meaning the health care provider(s) the plaintiff is planning to sue) of the intent to file the lawsuit.
This notice must include, where available,
- a list of all health care providers that treated the plaintiff for the harm or injuries stemming from the alleged malpractice
- a list of all health care providers seen by the plaintiff in the two years prior to the alleged malpractice, and
- copies of all medical records relied on by the plaintiff's expert medical witness in signing the "affidavit of merit" that must accompany the lawsuit (more on this in the following section).
After sending this notice (via a "verifiable" method, as required by the statute; verifiable methods include certified mail, U.S. mail with a tracking number, and delivery by any person authorized by law to serve process), the plaintiff must wait at least 90 days before filing the lawsuit. During this 90-day period, the defendant health care provider(s) will conduct a "presuit investigation" into the claims. At the end of the 90-day period, each prospective defendant must either:
- reject the claim outright
- make a medical malpractice settlement offer to the claimant, or
- admit liability and make an offer to arbitrate the issue of the plaintiff's damages resulting from the malpractice.
The serving of this 90-day notice of claim also acts to pause (or "toll" in legalese) the running of the statute of limitations "clock." This gives the plaintiff and all health care providers more time to resolve the case via out-of-court settlement, perhaps before a lawsuit even needs to be filed.
Authorization for Release of Protected Health Information
Along with the "notice of intent to initiate litigation" outlined above, the plaintiff or his or her attorney must provide each named health care provider with an "authorization for release of protected health information," so that each provider can obtain the plaintiff's health records and investigate the allegations of malpractice. The format and wording for this authorization can be found at Fla. Stat. § 766.1065 (2025). If this authorization is not sent along with the presuit notice, the notice will be considered void.
Presuit Investigation and Affidavit of Expert
Before sending the "notice of intent to initiate litigation," Fla. Stat. § 766.203 (2025) requires the claimant to conduct an investigation to determine whether there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that the prospective defendant health care provider was negligent in treating the claimant, and that that negligence caused harm to the claimant.
Corroboration of these medical malpractice details and the "reasonable grounds" finding must be provided via a "verified written medical expert opinion" from a qualified expert, which must accompany the "notice of intent to initiate litigation" discussed above.
Florida's Medical Malpractice Damages Cap Held Unconstitutional
Florida had a law that limits ("caps") damages in medical malpractice cases. The law put a $500,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits against most health care providers, and a $1,000,000 cap on noneconomic damages if the malpractice resulted in death or a permanent vegetative state. Noneconomic damages are those that are intended to compensate for the more subjective losses caused by the malpractice and can include money for pain and suffering, mental anguish, and physical impairment. The law didn't cap economic damages, such as compensation for the cost of medical treatment, lost wages, and lost earning capacity.
Although this law is still on the books, in 2017 the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional. The Court reasoned that because the statute created arbitrary classes of medical malpractice victims, it violated the state constitution's equal protection clause.
More Information on Medical Malpractice in Florida
Florida's presuit process for medical malpractice lawsuits is much too detailed to fully explain here. And it can be complicated to sort out which filing deadline applies to your specific case. For a comprehensive explanation of the procedures relevant to your situation, talk to your Florida medical malpractice attorney or read the full text of the Florida statutes discussed above.