Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Lee County are served primarily by Lee Health — the county's public hospital system, which operates Lee Memorial Hospital, Cape Coral Hospital, Gulf Coast Medical Center, and Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida. These facilities deliver the majority of babies born in Lee County each year.

Lee Health is a public hospital district. As a government entity, it is subject to Florida's sovereign immunity statute (§768.28, Fla. Stat.), which caps damages against government entities at $200,000 per claimant / $300,000 per incident unless the Florida Legislature grants a claims bill for additional compensation. This sovereign immunity framework significantly affects how birth injury claims against Lee Health are pursued and what compensation families can initially recover.

When a birth injury results from preventable medical error at a Lee County hospital, Florida law gives families the right to seek justice. At Juan Cordero Lawyers, we represent Southwest Florida families in birth injury and HIE cases, with the experience and resources to navigate the sovereign immunity framework and pursue maximum compensation for injured children.

HIE is brain damage caused by oxygen and blood flow deprivation to the baby's brain around the time of birth. It is one of the most serious and most preventable birth injuries. Common causes include:

• Failure to recognize and respond to abnormal fetal heart rate patterns on electronic fetal monitoring
• Delayed emergency cesarean section when fetal distress is identified
• Umbilical cord prolapse or compression that is not promptly managed
• Placental abruption that is not recognized and treated in time
• Uterine rupture in VBAC deliveries
• Failure to diagnose and treat maternal infections (chorioamnionitis, GBS)

HIE can cause cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, epilepsy, vision and hearing impairment, and death. The severity of the outcome depends in part on how quickly the oxygen deprivation is recognized and treated — including whether therapeutic hypothermia (cooling therapy) is initiated within six hours of birth.

Cerebral palsy is a group of permanent movement disorders caused by brain damage before, during, or shortly after birth. Children with cerebral palsy may require lifelong physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, adaptive equipment, and personal care assistance. The lifetime cost of care for a child with severe cerebral palsy can exceed $10 million.

Brachial plexus injuries occur when the nerves controlling the arm and hand are stretched or torn during delivery, typically in shoulder dystocia cases. These injuries are often caused by excessive traction applied by the delivering physician.

Failure to screen for Group B streptococcus (GBS) and administer prophylactic antibiotics can result in neonatal sepsis and meningitis — serious infections that can cause brain damage, hearing loss, and death.

Lee Memorial Hospital is the flagship hospital of the Lee Health system and one of the primary delivery hospitals in Lee County. As a public hospital district, Lee Health is subject to sovereign immunity under §768.28. Families pursuing birth injury claims against Lee Memorial must serve a pre-suit notice on the hospital district and comply with the sovereign immunity claims process in addition to the medical malpractice pre-suit requirements.

Cape Coral Hospital is part of the Lee Health system and serves Cape Coral — one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. As part of Lee Health, Cape Coral Hospital is subject to sovereign immunity under §768.28.

Gulf Coast Medical Center is Lee Health's newest and largest hospital, located in the rapidly growing southern Fort Myers area. It is part of the Lee Health system and subject to sovereign immunity.

Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida, part of Lee Health, provides neonatal intensive care for critically ill newborns in Southwest Florida. Birth injury claims involving Golisano Children's often arise from NICU care failures — delayed diagnosis of HIE, failure to initiate cooling therapy within the required window, or errors in neonatal resuscitation.

Because Lee Health is a public hospital district, the initial cap on damages is $200,000 per claimant / $300,000 per incident. For families whose child has suffered severe HIE or cerebral palsy — with lifetime care costs that can exceed $10 million — this cap is grossly inadequate.

Florida law provides a mechanism for families to seek additional compensation beyond the sovereign immunity cap: a claims bill presented to the Florida Legislature. The claims bill process requires legislative approval and is complex and time-consuming, but it is the only path to full compensation in cases against public hospital systems. An experienced birth injury attorney can guide families through both the initial claim and the claims bill process.

Florida's medical malpractice statute (§766.106, Fla. Stat.) requires a mandatory pre-suit investigation before a birth injury lawsuit can be filed:

1. Notice of intent to initiate litigation — served on all prospective defendants
2. 90-day investigation period — during which the defendant's insurer investigates the claim
3. Verified written medical expert opinion — a qualified expert must review the records and provide a written opinion that the standard of care was breached

The pre-suit process must be initiated before the statute of limitations expires. For birth injuries to minors, the statute of limitations is tolled until the child's eighth birthday, but the absolute four-year cap from the date of the incident still applies in most cases.

Florida's NICA program (§766.301–766.316, Fla. Stat.) provides no-fault compensation for certain birth-related neurological injuries at participating hospitals. Lee Health is a NICA-participating hospital system. Whether a birth injury qualifies for NICA — and whether NICA is the exclusive remedy — is a complex legal question. In many cases, families have the right to pursue a civil lawsuit even when NICA is involved.

Therapeutic hypothermia (cooling therapy) is the standard of care for newborns with moderate to severe HIE. To be effective, cooling must be initiated within six hours of birth. Failure to initiate cooling therapy within the required window — or failure to maintain the correct temperature protocol — is a form of medical negligence that can worsen the outcome for a baby with HIE.

If your baby was diagnosed with HIE at a Lee County hospital and cooling therapy was delayed or not offered, contact an attorney immediately to evaluate whether the delay constitutes medical negligence.

Recoverable damages in birth injury cases include:

• Past and future medical expenses — NICU care, surgeries, therapies, medications, adaptive equipment
• Future care costs — personal care attendants, residential facility costs, lifetime medical management
• Lost earning capacity — the child's projected lifetime earnings
• Pain and suffering — the child's physical pain and emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Parental damages — in wrongful death cases, mental pain and suffering of the parents

In cases against Lee Health subject to sovereign immunity, the $200,000/$300,000 cap limits initial recovery. Families can petition the Florida Legislature for a claims bill to obtain additional compensation beyond the cap.

Juan Cordero Lawyers represents Fort Myers and Lee County families in birth injury and HIE cases on a contingency fee basis — you pay nothing unless we win. If your baby suffered a birth injury at a Lee County hospital, call 305-525-8957 for a free consultation.

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