Medical error is rarely acknowledged as a leading cause of deaths in the U.S.; however, every year, many more people die from medical malpractice and preventable medical errors than in automobile accidents. Before the coronavirus pandemic, it was, in fact, the third leading cause of death in the U.S.
People who have been injured due to these medical errors, as well as medical malpractice attorneys, have long recognized the catastrophic effects of medical negligence. When a negligent act or omission by a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional harms a patient, the injuries are often life-threatening and the long-term consequences can be devastating.
If you or a family member has been injured by medical negligence or error, you do not have to face all of the challenges alone. The compassionate, experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Warner & Warner want to help you hold the responsible party accountable for negligence and help you obtain the financial compensation you deserve.
Our Casselberry medical malpractice lawyers have the experience and expertise you can depend on to win your case. We have successfully handled many diverse, complex medical malpractice cases throughout our careers and are dedicated to helping victims of medical negligence and medical errors achieve justice. We know how lengthy and difficult these kinds of cases can be and welcome the challenge and opportunity to put our experience and knowledge to work helping you.
Medical Malpractice Cases in Florida
In Florida, medical malpractice is defined as the failure of a healthcare provider to act in accordance with the accepted professional standard of care owed to their patients. That is, if a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional is negligent and fails to act as a reasonably prudent medical provider of the same specialty would act in the same situation and thereby causes a patient to suffer serious injury or wrongful death, the doctor, nurse or hospital may be held liable for medical malpractice.
In a medical malpractice case in Florida, the plaintiff must show that a wrongful or negligent act occurred and that it caused an injury or death. Unfortunately, doctors and other health professionals commit many different types of wrongful or negligent acts every day. These medical errors and negligence include:
- Surgery Mistakes and Negligence – Medical malpractice can occur in many different ways during surgery: when a surgical team operates on the wrong side of a patient’s body, cuts or severs an organ or nerve, leaves an instrument or other foreign object in a patient, causes internal bleeding or fails to detect internal bleeding and treat it in time to prevent permanent injury or death.
- Anesthesia Errors – Anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists play a major role in keeping patients safe during many medical procedures and surgery. If they make mistakes, patients can suffer serious injuries that lead to aspiration, pneumonia, hypoxic brain damage, coma and death.
- Post-Operative Errors – After surgery, patients have to be monitored very closely to make sure there are no problems. If they are not monitored effectively, serious complications such as internal bleeding, infection, changes in vital signs and kidney failure can occur.
- Medication Errors – More than a million Americans suffer adverse reactions or complications from medication errors each year. Unfortunately, these errors are made throughout the medication-use system: from prescribing to dispensing to administering.
- Nursing Errors – Nurses play a very important role in patient safety and health. If, for example, they do not effectively monitor and report a patient’s vital signs, place IV lines improperly or make medication errors, patients can be seriously injured.
- Radiologist Errors – When radiologists misinterpret x-rays, mammograms, CT scans and MRI’s, among other diagnostic scans, patients can suffer serious consequences.
- Birth Injuries – When OBGYNs do not treat toxemia or pregnancy induced hypertension, when nurses do not closely monitor women and fetuses during labor and delivery and when doctors or nurses make mistakes during delivery, serious, live-altering birth injuries can occur.
- Kidney Dialysis Errors – Negligent dialysis involving medication errors, dialyzer errors, excess blood loss, dialysis machine malfunctioning, improper care of dialysis machines, contamination of the dialysis lines, failing to monitor patients’ blood pressure and other vital signs can lead to serious infections and other life-threatening conditions for dialysis patients.
- Failing to Diagnose/Delayed Diagnosis/Misdiagnosis – If doctors fail to listen to patients, fail to take a complete medical history, fail to order the correct diagnostic tests or fail to examine test results and/or diagnose a condition, patients can suffer injury due to lack of treatment or treatment for the incorrect condition. In cases of serious infection, heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, or auto-immune disease, the consequences can be very serious.
Although these are the major kinds of medical malpractice we see in Casselberry, there are many other instances in which a healthcare professional deviates from the standard of good medical care, harms a patient and is, therefore, liable for medical malpractice.
Compensation in Casselberry Medical Malpractice Cases
If you or a family member has been injured because of a medical error or medical negligence, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim against the responsible healthcare provider(s) to hold them accountable and to secure the financial compensation you deserve for your physical injuries, losses, physical pain and emotional suffering.
Compensation could include payment for:
- Medical bills and care expenses, including present and future expenses for hospital care, medications, diagnostic procedures, medical equipment, doctor visits, medication, rehabilitation, home health care, etc.
- Lost income – wages lost due to time off work
- Diminished earning capacity – if you are no longer able to work in the same capacity you did before the injury
- Diminished quality of life – if you are no longer able to enjoy life and fully participate in all normal activities as you did before the injury
- Physical and emotional pain and suffering
Get Expert Help from Casselberry Medical Malpractice Attorneys
Medical malpractice cases can be very complex, requiring extensive preparation and expertise. While some personal injury attorneys prefer not to handle these cases, at Warner & Warner, we welcome the opportunity to help victims of medical malpractice. We have decades of specific experience in complicated and catastrophic medical malpractice cases and have the resources necessary to fight the largest and most powerful doctors, hospitals, and medical corporations in Florida.
Florida medical malpractice laws establish strict statutes of limitations for bringing cases against medical professionals. The timeframe can be a moving target depending on the specific circumstances of the case, but the standard time period for pursuing a malpractice claim is two years from the date of the act or omission that caused the injury. Therefore, it is extremely important to have any potential case investigated as quickly as possible so that the statute of limitations does not prevent you from filing a claim.
Contact Accomplished Casselberry Medical Malpractice Attorneys for Legal Expertise and Reliable Guidance
If you or a loved one has been injured because a doctor or other healthcare professional made an error or was negligent, please contact the experienced Casselberry medical malpractice lawyers at Warner & Warner as soon as possible. We would be honored to discuss and investigate your case and advise you on your best course of action.
If pursuing a medical malpractice claim is advisable, we are committed to supporting you compassionately with our resources and professional expertise throughout the legal process. We will work diligently and fight vigorously to help you obtain the justice and financial compensation you deserve.