Medical Malpractice Attorneys in Florida
Are You the Victim of Medical Negligence?
Did you know that there are approximately 250,000 deaths every year in
the United States due to some form of medical error? According to
Johns Hopkins Researchers, medical errors in the U.S. are the third leading cause of
death.
Maybe you’ve heard the term “medical malpractice” before,
but do you know what it means? It’s a great question! According
to the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys (ABPLA):
“Medical malpractice occurs when a hospital, doctor or other health
care professional, through a negligent act or omission, causes an injury
to a patient. The negligence might be the result of errors in diagnosis,
treatment, aftercare or health management.”
Visit
our blog to learn more about the basics of a medical malpractice lawsuit! If you
believe you or someone you love suffered injuries, complication, or harm
as a result of a doctor or medical professional’s negligence, reach
out to our Florida medical malpractice lawyers right away to discuss your
legal options.
Call
(800) 391-4337 or
contact us online to get started with a complimentary strategy session.
Common Examples of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice can take many forms; it may be intentional or it may
occur simply as the result of a medical professional’s mistake.
However, in order for it to be considered malpractice, the medical professional
must have failed to provide a standard of care (more on that below).
Some common examples of medical malpractice include:
- Prescription errors
- Failure to diagnosis/wrong diagnosis
- Missed or late diagnosis
- Birth injuries or death
- Unnecessary surgery
- Being discharged prematurely
- Failure to order proper testing
- Failure to recognize symptoms
- Failure to warn a patient of the known risk
If you are reading this page, you are likely beginning the process of researching
the rights for a patient, whether it be for yourself or a loved one. If
that’s the case, we are truly sorry that you’ve been placed
in this predicament! If you’re ready to speak to a Florida medical
malpractice attorney about your case,
contact us now. There is no cost to you in discussing your case with our personal injury team.
Reach us
online or by phone at
(800) 391-4337.
“I completely trust Carmen and the rest of the attorneys at The Dellutri
Law group. Carmen cares about his clients and works hard to provide the
best representation for them. Unlike some other attorneys, Carmen puts
the interests of his clients first. I would not hesitate to use Carmen
again in the future or recommend him to anyone I know." - D.L. (Google
-November 27, 2017)
Proving a Medical Malpractice Case
In any medical malpractice case, we need to prove four essential elements:
-
The Standard of Care: The first element of a medical malpractice case is that we need to identify
a “standard of care” between a doctor and a patient. All doctors
are supposed to provide “competent care to patients.” So,
the standard of care that should be provided to a given patient will be
individualized based on the patient's individual circumstances. This element
is usually not difficult to prove once a doctor/patient relationship has
been established.
-
Breach of the Standard of Care: The second element is the that the doctor breached the duty to provide
a reasonable standard of care to the patient.
This is when we enter a battle of experts. Expert witnesses are used to determine
what a reasonable standard of care could have been for the patient and
whether the treating physician deviated from a reasonable standard of
care and was, therefore, negligent. As you are probably thinking, in many
cases, this is a highly litigated part of the case.
-
Causation: The third element of a medical malpractice case is causation. Once you
can demonstrate a standard of care and that the doctor breached his or
her duty to provide a reasonable standard of care, the next step is proving
that the doctor’s breach caused your injuries. In other words, we
must prove that a doctor’s actions, or failure to take action, directly
caused our client’s injuries. We want to know that the doctor’s
negligence is the legal cause and the proximate cause of our client’s
injuries because without damages, you have no case.
-
Damages: The fourth element in a medical malpractice case is damages. When an individual
is injured by medical negligence, they are allowed to recover both economic
and non-economic damages. Economic damages are things like medical bills
from additional required treatment and lost wages as a result of being
too injured or sick to work. Non-economic damages, on the other hand,
are things that are harder to assign a specific dollar amount to, such
as pain and suffering or emotional distress.