A novel attempt to collect a judgment from a bankrupt doctor failed when a federal appellate court ruled that Florida’s financial responsibility law does not create a fiduciary relationship between doctors and patients.

The challenge was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court by Coral Gables attorney Jorge Guerra and his wife, Gayle, who alleged the death of their newborn daughter, Veronica, was due to the negligence of a junior doctor in Dr. Luis Fernandez-Rocha’s practice.