Got in Palm Beach County car accident and then got hurt by the doctor. What are your rights?

What happens if the injury I got from my car accident is aggravated by a treating health care provider?

Even though your injury may have been aggravated by the malpractice of some treating health provider, the initial tortfeasor (person that commits a civil wrong; in injury case this means the person that caused you injury) is still liable for those resulting injuries. Stuart v. Hertz Corp., 351 So.2d 703 (Fla. 1977). Florida courts have also prevented the initial tortfeasor from filing a third party complaint for indemnity against the health care provider but do allow the initial tortfeasor to file a separate action for subrogation against the health care provider that aggravated the injury. Underwriters at Lloyds v. City of Lauderdale Lakes, 382 So.2d 211 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993). In Florida, you are not allowed to consolidate two cases into one action when you have been injured by both the initial tortfeasor and a treating physician that commits malpractice. In instances where the plaintiff has suffered non-economic damages by the subsequent negligent conduct of a health care provider after their initial injury, the defendant must plead the non-party’s negligence as an affirmative defense; successfully identify the non party, and the wrongful conduct. The mere fact that the plaintiff is aware of the negligence of a non party does not excuse the pleading requirement of the defendant. Your Palm Beach County accident attorney should be aware to strike this defense when the defendant has not properly pled according to the above requirements. Where a plaintiff has suffered an indivisible injury (fault can’t be proved that one person caused it individually), the subsequent tortfeasor is not apportioned fault. Ultimately, the two tortfeasors are not considered joint tortfeasors, where you can apply joint and several liability, because they did not act in unison. Therefore, you cannot make them liable under the joint and several liability doctrine. Having an experienced Palm Beach County accident who knows how to handle these types of delicate issues will prove insurmountable for your case. However, in Gross, the court determined that when an injured party sues the first of two successive torfteasors and establishes liability, but the jury can’t apportion the injury between the two tortfeasors after the presentation of evidence, the first defendant will be liable for the “entire injury.” Gross v. Lyons, 763 So.2d 276 (Fla. 2000).