Can I Sue for Medical Malpractice in Florida if Wrongful Death can’t be Proven?

Question:

My father was in an Assisted Living Facility under the care of a Nurse Practitioner in Florida who acted as a physician and worked for a company (apparently) under the supervision of a real physician. She gave him a combination of drugs which likely killed my father, but we had his body cremated before we saw his medication list and realized what had happened, so no autopsy was performed and the death certificate says death by natural causes. The anti-clotting drug Plavix carries an FDA Black Box Warning that it is absolutely not to be used with certain proton pump inhibitors, but the Nurse Practitioner had my dad on Plavix and TWO of the proton pump inhibitors listed in the Black Box Warning. To me this seems to clearly be malpractice, but is it a case that has any chance of winning in a Florida court?

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Answer:

A nurse practitioner or ARNP must always be supervised by a physician who signs off on his or her scope of duties.  Unfortunately, as the plaintiff we must prove that any interaction of drugs caused your father’s death.  Here – there is no evidence that any interaction significantly contributed to causing the same.  I am very sorry for your loss.  Even if the erroneous prescribing could be proved- there is no way to relate that error to any damages.

This legal question was provided by Avvo and answered by Betsey Herd an experienced Tampa Medical Malpractice Lawyer.  This does not consent an attorney client relationship.