Cordero v. Martin Memorial Medical Center, Inc.
The Fourth District affirmed dismissal of a medical malpractice action against a hospital and its nursing staff for failure to satisfy the presuit corroborating-expert requirement of section 766.203(2). The plaintiffs' expert affidavits stated only that the nurses breached the standard of care by 'failing to appropriately assess, monitor, recognize, and respond' to the patient's condition; the court held such boilerplate, conclusory 'ipse dixit' language supplies no additional facts and therefore corroborates nothing, and dismissal under section 766.206 was mandatory.
Key facts
- Plaintiffs sued a hospital and its nursing staff for medical malpractice, alleging that nurses breached the standard of care by failing to appropriately assess, monitor, recognize, and respond to the patient's condition.
- The trial court dismissed the action for failure to comply with the presuit corroborating-expert requirement of section 766.203(2), finding that the plaintiffs' expert affidavits contained only boilerplate, conclusory language without additional or supplemental facts.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This is a forceful restatement of the substantive bite of section 766.203(2) and a useful weapon for medical-malpractice defense counsel: generic 'failed to assess, monitor, recognize and respond' expert language is per… — full analysis with a trial
🔒 Read the full opinion, holding & search the library
The full opinion PDF, the rules the court applied, our significance analysis, the background facts, and full-text search across every tracked Florida decision are available to members. Start a free 30-day trial — no credit card.
Not ready to sign up? Get the free Friday digest — the week's key Florida decisions by email, no login required.
Florida Court Tracker provides summaries of publicly available court opinions for informational and research purposes only. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Always verify holdings against the official opinion.