The National Deaf Academy, LLC v. Townes
Resolving conflict between the Fifth and First Districts, the Florida Supreme Court held that a negligence claim sounds in medical malpractice only when the act from which the claim arises is directly related to medical care or services requiring the use of professional judgment or skill — a test keyed to whether proof of the claim requires qualified medical expert testimony on the prevailing professional standard of care. Claims arising from a residential facility's negligent administration of a physical restraint (TACT hold) performed for safety and taught to non-medical staff sound in ordinary negligence, so chapter 766 presuit requirements and the two-year limitations period do not apply. The Court approved Townes and disapproved Shands, which had found a claim based on an employee leaving her keys and badge accessible to a psychiatric patient to be medical malpractice.
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Key facts
- The National Deaf Academy, a residential facility, allegedly negligently administered a physical restraint technique (TACT hold) to resident Townes for safety purposes, resulting in injury.
- Townes filed a negligence claim; the defendant argued the claim was medical malpractice subject to chapter 766 presuit requirements and a two-year statute of limitations.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This is the controlling Florida Supreme Court test for the recurring ordinary-negligence vs. medical-malpractice dividing line, and it expressly rejects the broad Shands approach that had let defendants funnel… — full analysis with a trial
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