A report has found that Southwest Florida doctors’ offices have paid among the highest claims for malpractice, specifically between 2000 and 2016.

The report, published by Health News Florida, was based on data from the Florida Office of Insurance regulation and Department of Health. Notably, physicians who work in hospitals are not included in the report.

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“Patients’ lives are at risk from bad apples,” Carlos Cavenago, an attorney at Parvey and Frankel Attorneys, P.A., told Fox 4 Now.

“When a radiologist is reading a report, there’s no room for making a mistake. If they make a mistake, they miss cancer. They miss something that can kill you.”

Fox 4 Now recounted the cases of Dr. Philip Regala and Dr. Myles Samotin – Board Certified orthopedic surgeons in the Naples and Bonita Springs area – who had at least eight paid claims between them worth a combined total of $3.5 million dollars. Dr. Regala faced disciplinary action from the state for incorrectly performing an incision on a patient’s right hip when it was supposed to be the left in 2005. Dr. Samotin also faced disciplinary action for failing to diagnose a patient’s Reflexive Sympathetic Dystrophy in 2003.

Although the report may suggest that doctors’ offices in the region are prone to malpractice, malpractice claims do not necessarily mean physicians are always at fault it was noted.

“Every time someone gets cut open, there are known risks,” Cavenago explained.

“Make sure your physician is board certified, check him or her out, Google him on the internet, see if they’ve ever been arrested before. Ask your neighbor, ask people you trust, ask patients,” he added.


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