Boyle v. Samotin, M.D.
Resolving certified conflict, the Florida Supreme Court held that under section 766.106(4) and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.650, the medical negligence statute of limitations is tolled upon the claimant's timely mailing of the presuit notice of intent, not upon the prospective defendant's receipt of it. The claimant mailed the notice one day before the limitations period expired but the defendants signed the return receipt four days later; the trial court and Second District (following Bove) held the suit untimely. The Supreme Court quashed the Second District's decision, rejected Bove's analysis and Coffaro's misreading of Boyd, and approved Zacker and Baxter.
Key facts
- Claimant mailed a presuit notice of intent to initiate medical negligence litigation one day before the statute of limitations expired, but the defendants did not sign the return receipt until four days after the limitations period had ended.
- The trial court and Second District Court of Appeal held the subsequent medical negligence suit untimely because the defendants had not received the presuit notice before the limitations period expired.
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Why it matters
This decision definitively resolves a long-standing district split on a deadline-critical issue in every medical malpractice case, protecting claimants who mail presuit notices near the end of the limitations period… — full analysis with a trial
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