-
Editorials
- Bradenton Herald
- Daytona Beach News-Journal
- Florida Times-Union
- Florida Today
- Ft. Myers News-Press
- Gainesville Sun
- Lakeland Ledger
- Miami Herald
- Naples Daily News
- NWF Daily News
- Ocala Star-Banner
- Orlando Sentinel
- Palm Beach Post
- Pensacola News Journal
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune
- TCPalm
- Sun-Sentinel
- Tallahassee Democrat
- Tampa Bay Times
- Columnists
- Cartoons
-
Press Releases
- Sayfie Review
- Jose Oliva
- Nikki Fried
- Bill Galvano
- Ron DeSantis
- Marco Rubio
- Ashley Moody
- Rick Scott
- Jimmy Patronis
- Congressional Delegation ≻
- Matt Gaetz
- Neal Dunn
- Kat Cammack
- Aaron Bean
- John Rutherford
- Michael Waltz
- Cory Mills
- Bill Posey
- Darren Soto
- Maxwell Frost
- Daniel Webster
- Gus Bilirakis
- Anna Paulina Luna
- Kathy Castor
- Laurel Lee
- Vern Buchanan
- Greg Steube
- Scott Franklin
- Byron Donalds
- Sheila Cherfilus McCormick
- Brian Mast
- Lois Frankel
- Jared Moskowitz
- Frederica Wilson
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- Mario Diaz-Balart
- Maria Elvira Salazar
- Carlos Gimenez
- Political Links
-
News Links
- Drudge Report
- NewsMax.com
- AP Florida News
- ABC News' The Note
- NBC News' First Read
- Florida Channel
- Florida TV Stations
- Florida Radio Stations
- Capitol Update
- Florida Newspapers
- Florida Trend
- South Florida Business Journal
- Tampa Bay Business Journal
- Orlando Business Journal
- Jacksonville Business Journal
- News Service of Florida
- Politico Playbook
- Washington Post The Daily 202
-
Research
- Florida Fiscal Portal
- Search Florida Laws
- Search House Bills
- Search Senate Bills
- Search County, City Laws
- Search County Clerks' Records
- Cabinet Agendas, Transcripts
- Search Executive Orders
- Search Atty. General Opinions
- Search Supreme Court Docket
- Florida Supreme Court Rulings
- Search Florida Corporations
- Search Administrative Rules
- Proposed Administrative Rules
- View Advertised Contracts
- Refdesk.com
- Government Services Guide
- Electoral Vote Map
-
Reference
- Florida House
- Florida Senate
- Find Your Congressman
- Find Your State Legislator
- Find Your Local Officials
- Find Government Phone #'s
- Florida Agencies
- Florida Cities
- Florida Counties
- Florida Universities
- County Tax Collectors
- County Property Appraisers
- County Clerks of Court
- County Elections Supervisors
- MyFlorida.com
- OPPAGA
- Advertise with us
Herald: Underline is more than a park. It's just what Miami needs | Opinion
Sun-Sentinel: The high cost of playing politics with sheriff's jobs | Editorial
Times: Pinellas County schools' sensible policy on cellphones in classrooms | Editorial
Times: A Swiftie named Jonathan would have something to say about USF's Taylored course | Letters
Herald: Shoot-out doesn't mean Doral is the next South Beach. But it's time to take action | Opinion
Sun-Sentinel: Restoring runoff may loosen extremists' grip | Editorial
Tampa Bay Times: Joe Biden is coming to Tampa today. Here's what you need to know.
Times: Either you think these Florida kids deserve help, or you don't
Supreme Court ponders medical malpractice in patient suicide
By JIM SAUNDERS
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, September 2, 2015.......... In a medical-malpractice lawsuit stemming from the death of a woman who hanged herself, the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday weighed whether her doctor could be found negligent in the suicide.
The case, brought by the husband of Sarasota County woman Jacqueline Granicz after her 2008 death, raises issues about physician Joseph Chirillo's "duty" of care. The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled last year that the lawsuit against Chirillo could move forward, overturning a circuit judge's ruling in the doctor's favor.
Scott Cole, an attorney for Chirillo, told the Supreme Court that Granicz, 55, had never indicated she might commit suicide and that the hanging death was "not foreseeable."
"In this particular case, this was a suicide,'' he said. "This was not a standard medical-negligence case."
But Justice R. Fred Lewis pointed to scientific advances that have led to greater knowledge about the human mind and psychiatric conditions. He questioned the idea that a suicide cannot be foreseeable.
"Why is that (suicide) such a reserved area?" Lewis asked.
Granicz suffered from depression and called the doctor's office on Oct. 8, 2008, reporting that she was under mental strain, crying easily and having other problems, according to last year's appeals-court ruling. After learning about the call from an assistant, Chirillo decided to change Granicz's medication and refer her to a gastroenterologist for gastrointestinal issues.
The woman's body was found the next day. The lawsuit alleged that Chirillo breached a duty of care, but a circuit judge granted summary judgment in favor of the doctor.
The appeals court reversed that decision, allowing the lawsuit to move forward and prompting Chirillo to take the issue to the Supreme Court. After hearing oral arguments, justices typically take months to rule in such cases.
Lewis and other justices repeatedly questioned Cole about distinctions he drew related to the ability of doctors to predict suicides. James Tilghman, an attorney for Granicz's husband, Robert, argued the lawsuit against Chirillo should be allowed to move forward.
"This is a, 'You've got to treat your patient according to the standard of care' (case),'' Tilghman said.
But Cole said Chirillo could not have predicted the suicide.
"There was never an indication that this patient had anything other than distress and stomach issues,'' he said.