What Florida patients need to know—and how to protect themselves.
The end of the year should be a time to slow down, reconnect with family, and enjoy the holidays. But inside Florida hospitals and medical offices, November through January is often the busiest—and most dangerous—time of the year for patients.
Elective procedures spike as people rush to use insurance benefits or meet deductibles. Holiday travel leads to more ER visits. And healthcare workers, like everyone else, take well-deserved time off, leaving facilities short-staffed and stretched thin.
Unfortunately, this combination creates the perfect storm for preventable medical errors.
At Hoffman, Larin & Agnetti, we’ve represented victims of medical negligence across South Florida for more than 40 years. Each year, we see a rise in calls during the holiday season from patients who were harmed in rushed, understaffed, or poorly coordinated care settings. Here’s what you need to know.
Why Medical Errors Rise at the End of the Year
1. A Surge in Elective Procedures
Many patients schedule surgeries and procedures before December 31 to:
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Use remaining insurance benefits
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Take advantage of the met deductibles
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Fit procedures into holiday downtime from work
Hospitals struggle to fit in higher volumes, leading to:
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Rushed pre-op evaluations
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Shortened recovery oversight
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Limited post-surgical monitoring
2. Holiday Staffing Shortages
During the holidays, nurses, techs, and physicians often rotate through reduced schedules. As a result:
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Less experienced staff or temporary workers cover crucial shifts
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Fewer sets of eyes catch mistakes
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Communication between departments breaks down
Even small oversights—from a missed lab value to a misread chart—can cause significant harm.
3. Overcrowded Emergency Rooms
Accidents, travel injuries, alcohol-related incidents, and seasonal illnesses make ERs busier from Thanksgiving through New Year’s.
When ERs are overwhelmed:
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Triage errors increase
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Diagnostic delays become more common
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Patients may be discharged too early
Crowded ERs are one of the top risk factors for misdiagnosis during the holidays.
Common Medical Errors During the End-of-Year Rush
Medical mistakes are not always dramatic. Often, they’re simple oversights with serious consequences. During the holiday season, the most frequent errors include:
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Medication errors (incorrect doses or wrong prescriptions)
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Misdiagnosed strokes, infections, or cardiac events
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Surgical mistakes due to rushed teams or poor communication
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Labor and delivery complications tied to staffing shortages
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Inadequate monitoring of patients after surgery
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Errors in electronic health records caused by rushed updates
In understaffed environments, even routine care can become dangerous.
How Negligence Is Proven When Staff Are Overworked
A hospital isn’t excused from liability simply because it was short-staffed or overwhelmed. Under Florida law, healthcare professionals must still provide care that meets the accepted standard of care—the level of skill and judgment a reasonably careful provider would use in similar circumstances.
We prove negligence by showing:
1. The care was rushed, incomplete, or unsafe.
Examples:
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Failing to take a complete history
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Missing abnormal test results
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Not monitoring a patient post-surgery
2. Staffing or scheduling practices contributed to the error.
This may involve:
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Unsafe nurse-to-patient ratios
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Use of inadequately trained temporary staff
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Internal memos noting understaffing or high patient loads
3. The failure caused real, measurable harm.
This includes:
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Additional procedures
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Prolonged hospitalization
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Long-term disability
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Emotional and physical suffering
Our firm works with medical experts who review records, identify deviations from accepted standards, and help establish where and why the system broke down.
“After more than 40 years of handling medical malpractice cases in Florida, one pattern is impossible to ignore: when hospitals are understaffed and providers are rushed, patients pay the price. These errors are preventable, and families deserve answers when the system fails them.”— Martin Hoffman, Partner, Hoffman, Larin & Agnetti
How Patients Can Protect Themselves During the Holiday Season
While not all errors can be prevented, patients can take steps to reduce risk.
✅ Ask who will be providing your care.
Find out if your surgeon, anesthesiologist, or specialist will be physically present—or if a substitute or trainee will step in.
✅ Double-check your medications.
Confirm drug names, dosages, and timing. Speak up if anything looks different from what was expected.
✅ Have someone accompany you.
A friend or family member can monitor your condition, ask questions, and advocate when staff are stretched thin.
✅ Follow up immediately on delayed test results.
End-of-year backlogs are common. Don’t assume “no news is good news.”
✅ Document everything.
If something feels off—long waits, conflicting instructions, missing paperwork—write it down. This can be invaluable later.
When You Should Consider Calling a Lawyer
You should speak with an attorney if you have experienced:
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A misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
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Surgical complications that were not explained
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A medication or anesthesia mistake
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Severe infection after a procedure
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Unexplained worsening of your condition after routine care
Errors during the end-of-year rush can have long-term consequences. You deserve answers—and accountability.
Bringing a medical malpractice case in Florida is challenging due to the statute of limitations, the Sovereign Immunity that limits cases against state-funded hospitals and their physicians to a tort cap of $300,000, and the Free to Kill bill, which limits who can bring a medical malpractice claim in our state.
At Hoffman, Larin & Agnetti, we approach every case with compassion and deep medical-legal experience. If you believe a medical mistake has harmed you or a loved one, we’re here to help you understand your rights.
Final Thought
The holidays are stressful enough. Medical errors shouldn’t be part of the season. By understanding the risks and knowing your rights, you can protect yourself and your family—and hold negligent providers responsible when they fail to meet the standard of care.
If you or a loved one were harmed by a medical mistake, contact Hoffman, Larin & Agnetti for a confidential consultation.
