Orlando · Hospitals and their doctors
Who answers for a doctor at an Orlando hospital
An employer can answer for its staff: the Florida Supreme Court said in 2018 that an employer may be vicariously liable when its employee, a health care provider, negligently renders medical care (opens in a new tab). This page sets out when a hospital answers for a doctor it does not employ, and who holds an Orlando hospital’s licence.
The short answer
Is a hospital responsible for a doctor who is not its employee?
Generally not. For a doctor the hospital does not employ, a Florida appellate court said in 2022 that the hospital is generally not liable unless the physician is an actual or apparent agent of the hospital, a statute, regulation or contract creates a duty that cannot be delegated, or the hospital failed to exercise due care in selecting the physician (opens in a new tab). Whether an exception applies is decided in each case.
When does a hospital answer for a doctor it does not employ?
Agency does not turn on a contract’s label. The 2022 decision quoted above says that the right of control rather than the relationship between the parties (opens in a new tab) determines whether an agency relationship exists, and that a physician’s contracted status as an independent contractor does not preclude a finding of agency (opens in a new tab).
Apparent agency is decided case by case. A 2021 appellate decision requires a representation by the hospital, reliance on it by the patient, and a change in position (opens in a new tab), and says a hospital may still be liable where the patient had no choice of physician (opens in a new tab).
One question has divided the courts. Florida’s appellate districts have split on whether a hospital has a duty it cannot delegate for emergency room or anesthesia care by independent physicians, and one of them certified the conflict in 2019 (opens in a new tab).
One district said in 2012 that such a duty for emergency room services makes sense, because a patient in an emergency room generally has little, if any, control over who will be the treating physician (opens in a new tab). Another held in 2022 that the hospital licensing chapter of the Florida Statutes and its regulations do not impose a nondelegable duty of care upon hospitals to provide non-negligent services (opens in a new tab).
None of those decisions comes from the Sixth District Court of Appeal, which has heard appeals from Orange County since January 1, 2023 (opens in a new tab). How a court here would answer is for a lawyer to assess.
What do the hospital and the doctor each answer for?
A hospital also has its own statutory duty to assure the competence of its medical staff through careful selection and review (opens in a new tab). It is liable for a failure to exercise due care in that duty when such failure is a proximate cause of injury to a patient (opens in a new tab).
Fault is divided among the providers. A Florida court enters judgment against each liable party on the basis of that party’s percentage of fault (opens in a new tab), so a doctor, a practice group and a hospital each answer for their own share. Whether a hospital answers for its employee or agent is a separate question.
Florida law generally requires a physician to carry malpractice insurance or show another way to pay claims, but it lets a physician practice without insurance on conditions set by statute, which can include posting a sign or giving patients a written statement that the doctor has decided not to carry medical malpractice insurance (opens in a new tab).
Who holds the licence of an Orlando hospital?
The State’s Agency for Health Care Administration keeps a licence record for each hospital, in a locator that can be searched by facility type and county (opens in a new tab). A record names the licensee. It does not say who employed a particular doctor. The records below were read on October 13, 2026.
Orlando Health describes itself as a private, not-for-profit healthcare organization (opens in a new tab). The record for Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center names ORLANDO HEALTH INC as owner and licensee and gives a profit status of Not-For-Profit (opens in a new tab), and the records for Arnold Palmer Medical Center (opens in a new tab) and Orlando Health Dr P Phillips Hospital (opens in a new tab) show the same licensee and licence number. The record for Orlando Health - Health Central Hospital in Ocoee names ORLANDO HEALTH CENTRAL, INC., and lists ORLANDO HEALTH INC as its controlling interest (opens in a new tab).
AdventHealth describes itself as a not-for-profit connected network of care (opens in a new tab). The record for AdventHealth Orlando names ADVENTIST HEALTH SYSTEM/SUNBELT INC as owner and licensee and gives a profit status of Not-For-Profit (opens in a new tab). The same licensee and licence number are on the records for AdventHealth East Orlando (opens in a new tab), AdventHealth Winter Park (opens in a new tab), AdventHealth Apopka (opens in a new tab) and AdventHealth Winter Garden (opens in a new tab).
A free-standing emergency room is listed under a hospital’s record: AdventHealth Orlando’s lists AdventHealth Sand Lake ER and AdventHealth Millenia (opens in a new tab) among its hospital-based off-campus emergency departments.
Where is a case from here filed?
Orange County is part of Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit (opens in a new tab). The page on the Orange County courts covers the court, the clerk, the appeal and the rules for public and federal providers.
The doctor, a practice group and the hospital’s licensee can be separate defendants. When the defendants reside in different counties, the case may be brought in any county where one of them resides (opens in a new tab).
The steps before any lawsuit, among them a notice of intent served on each provider, are on the Florida law page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a not-for-profit hospital a public hospital?
Not-For-Profit on a licence record is the State agency’s term, and its glossary says any net earnings by a not-for-profit are used by the not-for-profit facility for the purposes of which it was established (opens in a new tab). It does not say whether a hospital is public or private.
How can I find out whether my doctor carries malpractice insurance?
The Department of Health must include in a physician’s practitioner profile a statement of how the practitioner has elected to comply with the financial responsibility requirements (opens in a new tab), which cover insurance.
How long do I have to bring a claim?
The lawsuit must be started within 2 years of the incident, or of when it was or should have been discovered, and in no event later than 4 years after the incident (opens in a new tab). The notice of intent must be served within those time limits (opens in a new tab). Where fraud or concealment prevented discovery of the injury, the period runs 2 years from when the injury was or should have been discovered, and in no event beyond 7 years from the incident (opens in a new tab). For a child, the statute says only that the 4-year and 7-year limits do not bar a claim brought on or before the child’s eighth birthday (opens in a new tab), and that clause does not mention the 2-year period.
What does it cost to have a case reviewed?
Nothing. The case evaluation is free, and there is no fee unless we win.
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