Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyers

When you seek advice or treatment from a healthcare professional, you place your trust in that professional to provide knowledgeable advice and skilled care. Most of the time that trust is warranted. Sometimes, however, doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals are negligent in their care or make mistakes that result in serious injuries or even death. Unfortunately, surgical errors, anesthesia errors, medication errors, misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses, and negligent post-operative monitoring can all result in life-threatening injuries.

If you believe you were injured because a medical error committed by a doctor or other healthcare professional, or if you lost a loved one because of a medical error, you don’t have to face insurance companies, medical bills, and financial concerns alone. The experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Dennis Hernandez & Associates, PA have helped numerous victims of medical malpractice throughout Florida and want to help you hold the negligent parties accountable and obtain the full financial compensation you deserve.

When Is a Medical Error Considered Medical Malpractice in Florida?

We turn to doctors and other healthcare professionals when we are injured or ill because they have studied medicine and have the training and experience to diagnose and treat our medical conditions. They are only human, of course, and like all humans, despite their years of training and experience, they make mistakes. However, not all of these mistakes can be considered malpractice.

A medical error or mistake is considered malpractice if it does not align with the acceptable “standard of care.” In the State of Florida, the standard of care is defined as the “level of care, skill, and treatment which, given all the facts of the patient and his or her condition, is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent similar healthcare providers.” The law looks at whether a healthcare professional with similar training, skills, and experience would have given the same advice and/or treated the patient the same under the same set of circumstances.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Medical Malpractice?

Although we typically think of doctors committing medical malpractice, they are not the only healthcare professionals who can be held legally accountable for malpractice. Along with physicians, the following healthcare providers may be liable for medical malpractice:

• Hospitals
• Pharmacists
• Nurses
• Anesthesiologists
• Urgent care centers
• Dentists
• Chiropractors
• Long-term care facilities

What Kind of Medical Errors Lead to Medical Malpractice Lawsuits?

Almost anything that leads to injury or death while you are under the care of a healthcare professional can potentially rise to the level of medical malpractice. Some common cases include:

• Diagnosis errors – If a healthcare professional misdiagnoses, delays a diagnosis, or fails to follow up with a diagnosis, it could be an instance of medical malpractice
• Medication errors – Medical malpractice may result from prescribing or administering the wrong medication, administering too high or too low of a dosage, or from not recognizing dangerous interactions between medications.
• Surgical errors – During surgery, a foreign object can be left inside the body, a surgeon can operate on the wrong person or the wrong body part, or the surgical site could become infected because it was not properly closed.
• Anesthesia errors – Every patient reacts differently to anesthesia. If an anesthesiologist gives too much or too little anesthesia or misses fatal interactions unique to the patient, it can cause serious injury or death.
• Emergency room errors – Emergency rooms are often busy; however, they are still expected to provide the proper level of care and attention to patients. If a patient suffers harm because of delayed treatment, misdiagnosis, or failing to diagnose a serious condition, the emergency room could be held liable for medical malpractice.

Pursuing a Florida Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

To be a viable medical malpractice lawsuit in Florida, your case must meet certain standards. That is, you (the plaintiff) must be able to show that the healthcare professional and/or hospital you are suing

• Had a legal duty to provide care to you.
• Made a diagnosis or did a procedure that resulted in an injury, or failed to do a diagnosis or procedure and the failure led to an injury.
• Did not follow the reasonable standard of care (i.e., “the level of care, skill, and treatment which, given all the facts of the patient and his or her condition, is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent similar healthcare providers”).

Having established negligence on the part of the healthcare professional and/or hospital, you must then be able to prove that their negligence injured you, causing physical, financial and emotional damage.

Compensation in a Florida Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Plaintiffs who prevail in medical malpractice lawsuits can obtain substantial financial compensation for their physical injuries, pain and suffering. When the medical malpractice has resulted in death, the victim’s family may also be entitled to compensation.

This compensation may include payment for:

• Medical bills
• Care expenses
• Lost wages
• Decreased earning potential
• Diminished quality of life
• Physical and emotional pain and suffering

Get the Help You Need from Experienced Florida Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Medical malpractice lawsuits are typically complex because of the type of injuries involved, as well as specific legal rules and procedures that must be followed. For example, the statute of limitations (the time within which you must initiate a lawsuit) in Florida is two years from when you discovered or should have discovered the injury or four years from when the malpractice occurred. Also, cases generally rely on the testimony of qualified expert witnesses, so it’s important to have a witness who is not only a recognized expert in his/her field but also experienced at testifying in court.

Therefore, if you were injured due to a medical error, or lost a loved one because of medical practice, it is important to get legal help from attorneys with experience in handling medical malpractice cases. The attorneys at Dennis Hernandez & Associates have the experience you need, and they are committed to making sure you achieve justice and are compensated fairly for your injuries.

Many injury lawyers will do everything in their power to settle with insurance companies and avoid going to trial, but at Dennis Hernandez & Associates, PA, we never back down. We will leverage our trial experience to fight for the compensation you deserve. Working with the attorneys at Dennis Hernandez & Associates means being supported through the entire legal process.

Call us at 855-LAW-DENNIS or fill in the FREE CASE EVALUATION form on our website to get started on your Florida medical malpractice case.