How do I know if I can file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Florida?
Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals are supposed to heal, not hurt. In rare instances, things go wrong and your life may change after even the most routine of procedures. While it may be difficult to consider legal action in the wake of such an incident, it may be well worth your time to seek out help from experienced lawyers in the field.
What is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice refers to a healthcare provider, including doctors, nurses and others, injuring or killing a patient because of negligent care.
Florida law concerning medical malpractice makes clear that healthcare providers are found negligent when they do not provide a level of treatment, skill or care as recognized by other medical professionals in the field. If your treatment is deemed unacceptable and/or inappropriate under the circumstances, the medical professional who gave you care could be found negligent under Florida law.
What types of issues does medical malpractice cover?
Medicine can be a very complex and costly endeavor. Sometimes potentially life-threatening and costly procedures are unavoidable. However, if your doctor, nurse or other healthcare providers fail to provide you the level of care generally accepted in the medical community, they may be held liable for negligence. What are the most common types of medical malpractice cases in Florida? Here are the most prevalent issues:
- Surgical error
These can be some of the most costly errors medical professionals inflict on their patients. Surgical errors include operating on the wrong patient, operating on the incorrect area of the body, going forward with a surgery that the patient did not consent to, and operating more aggressively than necessary. It also includes errors when providing anesthesia, inflicting nerve damage or leaving foreign objects, like medical sponges or surgical tools, inside the body.
- Failure to diagnose
This may include failing to diagnose an illness or disease, including life-threatening issues like cancer. This also includes misdiagnosing a patient, which then causes undue delay in treatment and could create harm for the patient.
- Prescription error
Doctors, pharmacists and sometimes the manufacturer can be held liable for negligence if you, as the patient, are given the incorrect prescription medication. If a doctor does not look at past medical history or allergy information or a pharmacy fills the wrong medication, they could be held liable for negligence.
- Nursing home injuries
If medical professionals and staff at a nursing home abuse a patient — mentally, physically, sexually or otherwise — they may be held liable for negligence. This can also include failing to provide medicine and treatment to patients.
How do I file a medical malpractice lawsuit?
If you have been injured as a result of one of these common issues, you should consider seeking legal counsel on what you may be able to recover. Florida law also has a two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits, so taking this under consideration sooner rather than later will be beneficial to you and your family.
If you’re ready to learn about what steps you can take following an incident of medical malpractice, contact the experienced Fort Lauderdale lawyers at Boone & Davis. We are prepared to advocate aggressively on your behalf.
