Florida Medical Malpractice

Q. How do I know if the doctor committed malpractice?

A. Florida medical malpractice laws require expert support in order to bring a claim. This means you must find a healthcare provider like the one who was allegedly negligent, and have that healthcare provider sign an affidavit of merit, certifying a reasonable basis to bring a claim for malpractice. Our Florida medical malpractice attorneys will have your medical reviewed by an expert to obtain this required support.

Q. I cannot afford to pay for lawyers and experts. How much do you charge?

A. Our medical negligence lawyers work exclusively on a contingency fee basis, meaning we do not collect a dime from you unless we obtain a settlement of judgment in your favor. We also pay all the upfront costs, like having an expert review performed. If and when you make a financial recovery, then we take attorney’s fees and costs out of the gross recovery.

Q. What percentage do you charge for attorney’s fees?

A. 33.3% to 40%, depending on when the case settles.

Q. What is a Florida medical malpractice case worth?

A. Our malpractice attorneys have settled medical liability claims in the millions of dollars and obtained Florida medical malpractice jury verdicts in excess of $30 million. We have also turned down thousands of medical malpractice claims. Each case is different. If you are interested in learning more about your potential Florida medical malpractice claim’s potential value, call our Florida medical malpractice lawyers now at 1-844-253-8919 for a free case evaluation.

If you were wrongfully injured by a doctor’s negligence in Florida, you will need the help of an experienced Florida doctor malpractice lawyer. Our Florida medical malpractice attorneys focus on medical liability claims and have successfully recovered millions on behalf of our clients who were victims of a doctor’s negligent actions.

How Do I Know if its Florida Doctor Medical Malpractice?

Below are some of the more common doctor errors which result in Florida medical malpractice lawsuits:

• Prescription errors;
  • Medication dosage mistakes,
  • Medication mixups,
• Failing to diagnose a disease or condition;
  • Delayed diagnosis of cancer,
  • Misdiagnosis of stroke,
  • Misdiagnosis of pulmonary embolism,
  • Misreading diagnostic tests,
• Misdiagnosing a disease or condition;
• Surgical errors;
  • Puncturing organs,
  • Wrong surgical site operating room errors,
  • Retained surgical instruments, like leaving sponges, towels and tools inside the patient,
• Anesthesia errors;
  • Failing to recognize a patient’s risk for anesthesia,
  • Overdosing anesthesia,
  • Improper intubation during anesthesia

In Florida, hospitals are usually responsible for their nurses’ negligence. Hospitals may also be liable for their doctor’s malpractice, even if the doctor was not technically an employee of the hospital.

How Do I Know if the FL Hospital was Negligent?

Below are some of the more common hospital errors which result in Florida medical malpractice lawsuits:

• Failing to supervise the patient;
  • Falls,
  • Wandering and elopement of the patient,
• Failing to perform the patient’s activities of daily living;
  • Bedsores and skin breakdown,
  • Infection,
  • Weight loss,
• Doctor malpractice, imputed to the hospital
• Failing to communicate to the doctor the patient’s deteriorating condition.

When bringing a hospital negligence case in Florida, you may also bring a concurrent Chapter 415 vulnerable adult claim and seek attorneys fees from the hospital. Contact our knowledgeable Florida hospital malpractice lawyers to discuss your case.

Nurses are a vital component of the healthcare network in Florida. Nurses provide care for patients in hospitals, doctor’s offices and in private homes. When a registered nurse is negligent in the care and treatment of a patient in Florida, the claim is subject to Florida Statute Section 766.

How Do I Know if my Nurse was Negligent?

Frequently encountered nurse errors include:

• Failing to prevent infections;
• Failing to prevent falls;
• Failing to communicate with doctors;
• Failing to administer medication at the right time and at the right dosage;
• Failing to chart and document the patient’s condition over time.

Get in touch with our Florida hospital malpractice attorneys to ask questions and discuss this matter.

Winning your Florida medical malpractice lawsuit is not an easy task. It requires top notch Florida medical malpractice lawyers, a law firm capable of spending the thousands of dollars required to win a medical liability claim, and the right team of expert witnesses.

If your medical malpractice lawsuit does not settle, it will go before a jury. To determine if a healthcare provider is negligent, the jury will be asked to answer Florida standard jury instruction #402.4:

402.4  MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE

1. Negligence (physician, hospital or other health provider):

Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care. Reasonable care on the part of a [physician] [hospital] [health care provider] is that level of care, skill and treatment which, in light of all relevant surrounding circumstances, is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by similar and reasonably careful [physicians] [hospitals] [health care providers]. Negligence on the part of a [physician] [hospital] [health care provider] is doing something that a reasonably careful [physician] [hospital] [health care provider] would not do under like circumstances or failing to do something that a reasonably careful [physician] [hospital] [health care provider] would do under like circumstances.

[If you find that (describe treatment or procedure) involved in this case was carried out in accordance with the prevailing professional standard of care recognized as acceptable and appropriate by similar and reasonably careful [physicians] [hospitals] [health care providers], then, in order to prevail, (claimant) must show by the greater weight of the evidence that his or her injury was not within the necessary or reasonably foreseeable results of the treatment or procedure.]

Proving your medical malpractice case to a jury will require extensive expert witness support. This makes Florida medical malpractice lawsuits expensive and time consuming for the law firm. Statistically, medical malpractice plaintiffs lose more trials than personal injury plaintiffs, but Florida medical malpractice plaintiff verdicts average a higher dollar amount than the average Florida personal injury case. Additionally, the overwhelming majority of medical malpractice cases in Florida settle before trial. 

Just because an injury occurs in a hospital or at a doctor’s office does not automatically make it a medical malpractice claim. For example, a nurse spilling hot tea on a hospital patient was not considered medical malpractice by a Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal. The Court held that not every wrongful act by a medical provider is medical malpractice. See Stackhouse v. Emerson, 611 So.2d 1365 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993). To be a malpractice claim, a wrongful act must be directly related to the improper application of medical services and the use of professional judgment or skill. Lynn v. Mount Sinai Med. Ctr., Inc., 692 So.2d 1002, 1003 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). The injury must be a direct result of receiving medical care or treatment by the healthcare provider. Goldman v. Halifax Med. Ctr., Inc., 662 So.2d 367, 371 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)Specifically, to determine if the claim sounds in medical malpractice, “we look to whether the plaintiff must rely upon the medical negligence standard of care set forth in section 766.102(1).” Integrated Health Care Services, Inc. v. Lang-Redway, 840 So.2d 974, 980 (Fla. 2002). So what is the medical negligence standard of care?

Standard of Care in a Florida Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Florida Statute Sect. 766.102 defines the standard of care in a Florida medical malpractice lawsuit as follows:

(1) In any action for recovery of damages based on the death or personal injury of any person in which it is alleged that such death or injury resulted from the negligence of a health care provide … the claimant shall have the burden of proving by the greater weight of evidence that the alleged actions of the health care provider represented a breach of the prevailing professional standard of care for that health care provider. The prevailing professional standard of care for a given health care provider shall be that level of care, skill, and treatment which, in light of all relevant surrounding circumstances, is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent similar health care providers.

This standard of care applies during treatment or medical care or services. Thus, “[t]he key inquiry under the statute is whether the action ‘aris[es] out of any medical, dental, or surgical diagnosis, treatment, or care.”’ J.B. v. Sacred Heart Hospital of Pensacola, supra, 653 So.2d at 947.

If you have questions regarding the information above please don’t hesitate to call our Florida hospital malpractice lawyers to get answers.