Petition Granted: Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal (Medical Malpractice)

Orlando Partner Michael D’Lugo D’Lugo recently prevailed in an appellate matter heard by the Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal.

We represented a Southwest Florida hospital in this case that involved a PA performing a vaginal exam on the Plaintiff. Plaintiff claimed the matter was a sexual assault case and filed it as such. Attorneys in our Sarasota office filed a Motion to Dismiss, arguing that it was a medical malpractice case and should be dismissed since the Plaintiff had not complied with the mandatory presuit period required by Florida statutes. The trial court denied our Motion to Dismiss.

Michael D’Lugo filed a Writ of Certiorari with the Florida Sixth DCA in August 2025, and in early April 2026 the Court quashed the trial court’s order, ruling that the case is a medical malpractice matter and must be filed and litigated as such, including the mandatory presuit investigation. The case will now go back to the trial court, where a final judgment will be entered because the statute of limitations has expired.

Congratulations Michael on this excellent result.