Megan J. Nelson

Megan devotes her practice to representing hospitals, physicians, nurses, long-term care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, and other healthcare providers in the defense of medical malpractice and negligence claims, along with premises and general liability claims.

Megan also represents nurses and other medical providers who are facing administrative or regulatory discipline by their governing medical licensing boards.

In addition to health care defense, Megan assists hospitals, long-term care facilities, and skilled nursing facilities with the initiation of petitions for determination of incapacity and the appointment of plenary guardians for patients who are unable to make their own medical and financial decisions. Megan also assists hospitals, long-term care facilities, and skilled nursing facilities with patients and family who 'stay against medical advice.'

Megan began her career as a firefighter for her hometown volunteer fire department and has utilized her knowledge as a firefighter to represent fire academies in lawsuits.

Megan has been a Registered Nurse since 2010. Before becoming a lawyer, she worked as a neonatal and pediatric critical care nurse in various settings, including the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, pediatric cardiac intensive care unit, and pediatric emergency room. She received The Daisy Award For Extraordinary Nurses in August 2013. Her experience also included patients on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and cardiac bypass. Megan's background in nursing helps to bridge the gap between medicine and the law.

Megan is a frequent lecturer on medical and nursing topics, including incident reporting, guardianships, and AI (artificial intelligence). She is a member of the Florida State Guardianship Association, Central Florida Medical Malpractice Claims Council, and the Orange County Bar Association.

Megan graduated from Del Mar College with an Associate's Degree in Nursing and Texas A&M University Corpus Christi with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Megan graduated cum laude from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law with a Juris Doctor.

When she is not working, Megan volunteers her time at The Sanctuary at Lakota Farms, where she helps care for horses that have been rescued.

Certifications

•Florida Nursing License

Classes/Seminars Taught

•The Latest on Medical AI Innovation, Legal Liability and Claims, Florida Society for Healthcare Risk Management & Patient Safety Annual Meeting & Education Conference, Orlando, FL, August 14, 2025
•Tort Reform: Where Do We Go From Here?, Florida Society for Healthcare Risk Management & Patient Safety Annual Meeting & Education Conference, Orlando, FL, August 16, 2024
•Adversity in the World of Adverse Incident Reporting: A Panel Discussion on Reporting Requirements and Addressing Related Discovery, Florida Society for Healthcare Risk Management & Patient Safety Annual Meeting & Education Conference, Orlando, FL, August 13, 2021

Published Works

•'Am I Getting Fired? How to Handle Meetings With Your Facility's Attorney,' Orlando Medical News (page 12), September 2021
•“COVID-19 and Florida’s Health Care Provider Liability Protection,” Defense Digest, June 2021, Vol. 27, No. 3

Results

Summary Judgment for Daycare Center in Wrongful Death Case.

We prevailed on a motion for summary judgment related to the duty owed to a minor business invitee in an alleged wrongful death. The plaintiff, the personal representative of the estate of a minor, filed a wrongful death claim alleging the defendant daycare center breached its duty to exercise the reasonable care owed to the minor while he was under the care and supervision of the center. The plaintiff alleged the defendant center’s employees failed to render aid when the minor collapsed, including failing to train its employees, and failing to notify emergency personnel in a timely manner. We successfully argued that the defendant did not breach its duty to exercise reasonable medical care as its employees were CPR certified and immediately responded when an employee witnessed the incident. The mother of the minor arrived immediately after the collapse and held onto him until EMS arrived. The call to the EMS team was made within three minutes of the collapse and the employees reassessed the minor while he was in the mother’s arms and determined the minor was breathing. The minor was breathing until EMS arrived. Sadly, the minor passed away of natural causes. After reviewing the defendant’s motion for summary judgment and hearing our argument, the judge granted the motion for summary judgment, and the case was dismissed.

Thought Leadership

Documentation Do’s and Don’ts: Know What Really Matters

January 1, 2026

“Document, document, document!” is the mantra of healthcare risk management. If it was not documented, did it really happen? If it was documented, was it documented properly? Knowing the right and wrong ways to document can make the difference when defending a malpractice claim or conducting a root cause investigation.

Case Law Alerts

Claims for a Hospital’s Negligent Credentialing Must Be Addressed With Sufficient Facts in a Corroborating Expert Affidavit During the Presuit Investigation Period

October 1, 2025

The Third District Court of Appeal affirmed a motion to dismiss related to a negligent credentialing claim on the basis that the presuit corroborating expert affidavit was deficient.After the plaintiff sustained a left ankle fracture, he was referred to a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon, Dimitry Sandler, DPM, who recommended undergoing a total ankle replacement surgery. The operation was performed at Mariners Hospital, Inc. Following the surgery, the plaintiff experienced loss of ankle function, wound dehiscence, osteomyelitis and chronic infections. The plaintiff served a notice of intent on Dr. Sandler and Mariners Hospital. Included with the notice of intent was the corroborating expert affidavit by a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon, Matthew Sorenson, DPM. Dr. Sorenson’s opinions related to Dr. Sandler’s negligence were listed in the affidavit. In addition, Dr. Sorenson opined that:Mariners Hospital, Inc. fell below applicable standards of care for credentialing surgeons in credentialing and authorizing Dr. Sandler to perform a total ankle replacement procedure. It is therefore my opinion within reasonable medical probability that Mariners Hospital, Inc. fell below applicable standards of care in their supervision and credentialing of Dr. Sandler and was therefore negligent, and that this negligence resulted in injury to Mr. Tomas as summarized above.A corroborating expert affidavit must sufficiently indicate the manner in which the defendant allegedly deviated from the standard of care and must provide adequate information for the defendant to evaluate the merits of the claim. In addition, Florida Statute 766.102(7) provides the requirements for expert witnesses testifying on the standard of care as to a hospital, health care facility or medical facility. An expert who provides opinions based on the standard of care as to administrative and other non-clinical issues must have substantial knowledge, through training and experience, concerning the standard of care for the type of facility the expert is providing opinions on. The Third District Court of Appeal determined that the corroborating expert affidavit was devoid of detail as to the administrative standard of care related to credentialing. The court affirmed the finding that the affidavit was deficient, stating: “To conclude otherwise would allow every plaintiff to automatically transform any individual medical malpractice claim against a physician with credentials or privileges into an administrative claim without complying with the safeguards of section 766.102(7).”Defendants should analyze any counts related to agency theories to determine if any administrative or non-clinical issues have been alleged or insinuated (i.e., negligent credentialing, negligent hiring, etc.). A plaintiff can still allege vicarious liability related to the medical negligence. However, any additional administrative claims will need to have been addressed in the corroborating expert affidavit by a qualified expert. If they are not, a motion to dismiss for failure to presuit should be filed. Case Law Alerts, 4th Quarter, October 2025 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright 2025 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.