Medical errors are the third-leading cause of death in the United States, trailing only behind heart disease and cancer, resulting in more than 250,000 deaths per year. Along with California, Texas, and New York, Florida is one of the top states in which incidents of medical malpractice occur nationwide.
Florida medical malpractice is a devastating problem that impacts the lives not only of patients who suffer injury and mistreatment from their medical providers, but also their loved ones. The consequences of receiving substandard medical care in Florida can be dire, from effects on physical health, to significant financial losses and psychological trauma.
The Florida medical malpractice lawyers of Florin|Roebig have a strong track record of fighting on behalf of Florida patients—or loved ones—who have been injured due to a healthcare provider’s negligent medical practices.
If you or a loved one has suffered mistreatment by a Florida healthcare provider and experienced physical, psychological, or financial injury as a result, you may be entitled to compensation.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice, also referred to as medical negligence, is a negligent action by a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional that directly results in patient injury or death. This includes instances where a medical professional did not act, resulting in negligence by way of an omission of reasonable medical care.
Medical negligence can occur in a number of ways in various medical settings, including hospitals, emergency rooms, family practice, surgical, specialist care, and outpatient settings. The primary element that unites cases of medical malpractice is the element of negligence, which in medical settings refers to a breach of the medical standards of care.
All medical professionals have a duty of care to their patients, requiring that they adhere to strict standards of care to ensure the wellbeing of patients and to protect patients from unreasonable or preventable harm.
Medical negligence is a breach of this duty of care. Failing to adhere to medical standards of care is a liability issue that can substantiate a legal claim if the incident of medical negligence can be directly linked to resulting injury or death of a patient.
Who Can Be Held Liable For Medical Malpractice?
Liability for medical errors and other instances of malpractice are dependent on the nature of the incident, the types of medical professionals involved, and the setting in which the incident of medical negligence occurs.
Liable parties in medical malpractice cases may include:
- doctors
- nurses
- surgeons
- nurse practitioners
- pharmacists
- hospitals
- medical device manufacturers
Any medical professional who acts (or fails to act) in such a way that leads to injury, illness, or the death of a patient may be held liable for resulting consequences on the basis of medical negligence.
Examples Of Medical Malpractice
There are a variety of scenarios in which instances of medical malpractice can occur, and no individual is immune from becoming the victim of malpractice.
Common examples of medical malpractice include:
- misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or missing diagnosis
- surgical errors
- inadequate training
- incorrect dispensing of medication
- inappropriate prescribing practices
- anesthesia errors
- misread test results
- practicing without proper licensure
- lack of informed consent
- disregarding patient medical history
- birth injuries
- not providing appropriate treatment for a medical/psychiatric condition
- negligent medical care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery
- poor sanitation
- botched medical procedures
Florida Surgical Medical Malpractice
Surgeons are more likely than all other healthcare providers to face allegations of medical malpractice. Research into cases of medical malpractice across the U.S. have identified neurosurgeons, thoracic–cardiovascular surgeons, and general surgeons as healthcare providers most likely to face these allegations.
Surgeons tend to face very complex tasks in their profession, requiring an extended amount of education and training to practice in inpatient settings. However, within these complex procedures comes the risk of making quick but costly miscalculations, carrying enough weight to cause serious and potentially permanent injury to patients before or after they go under the knife.
The most common surgical errors reported in medical malpractice claims include:
- anesthetic errors
- poorly sanitized surgical equipment
- neglecting vital signs
- puncturing an organ
- leaving surgical tools/instruments inside the body
- failing to identify surgical complications before or during procedures
- use of defective equipment
- failing to inform patients of necessary pre-surgical procedures (e.g. fasting)
- performing needless or non-consensual surgery
Florida Hospital Medical Malpractice
Florida hospitals receive an influx of millions of patients in any given year and are one of the most prominent settings in which instances of medical malpractice occur. This can be traced to a variety of factors, from overcrowding to understaffing, poor sanitation practices, hospital funding, and other contextual factors.
The most common forms of medical malpractice that occur in hospital settings include:
- preventable surgical errors
- medication errors
- lack of proper sanitation
- misdiagnosis
- failure to diagnose
- malfunctioning or defective equipment
- childbirth complications
- neglecting a patient’s condition
- failing to order diagnostic tests or identifying appropriate treatment
Florida Emergency Room Malpractice
Hospital emergency departments are very fast-paced and can become stressful environments for healthcare workers and patients alike. Emergency room patients are often in a state of crisis and in this time of crisis rely on the medical professionals attending to them to care for them in an informed and skillful manner.
However, there are numerous ways in which providing quality care in an emergency room can go wrong. Emergency room medical providers are under immense pressure to diagnose, treat, and move onto their next patient as soon as possible to keep on tight and efficient schedules.
These risky working conditions can lead to a whole host of consequences, including:
- diagnostic errors
- medication errors
- misreading test results
- failing to order appropriate tests (e.g. X-rays, MRI)
- neglecting patient’s medical history
- failing to identify crucial symptoms
- transferring patients to a hospital floor that is ill-suited to meet their needs
While doctors, nurses, and other medical aides in emergency departments may be under a great deal of duress, the fact still remains that they are honor-bound to a duty of reasonable and appropriate care. Any mistake—minor or major—can have consequences, and in instances of crisis, resulting consequences of malpractice can be dire.
Medical Device Errors
Many elderly patients, individuals with chronic illness, and others experiencing some form of ailment rely on medical devices to treat, identify, and diagnose medical issues.
Doctors regularly prescribe and recommend the use of devices for short- or long-term purposes to serve marked use within patients’ treatment plans for a variety of health conditions.
The primary types of medical device errors that occur can be classified as manufacturing errors, design errors, or inadequate warnings. Medical devices that malfunction can, for some, pose a risk for life-threatening outcomes.
Medical devices that are otherwise ill-functioning or result in side effects not listed by the device manufacturer can also have unhealthful consequences, including negative interactions, delayed treatment, and misdiagnosis.
Florida Medical Malpractice Laws
Florida medical practitioners are bound to national standards of care and are required to adhere to these medical standards in all specialty areas.
In instances where medical malpractice does occur, the Florida Department of Health is given authority to carry out disciplinary action against medical professionals found guilty of medical malpractice, if and when such disciplinary action is determined to be warranted.
The primary laws in Florida that influence state-wide medical malpractice cases are Florida’s ‘three strikes’ law and Florida’s statute of limitations for filing medical malpractice claims.
Florida Three Strikes Law
As of 2005, the state of Florida operates according to what’s known as a ‘three strikes’ law. This law requires that Florida medical practitioners who are found guilty of medical malpractice three or more times within a five-year period be stripped of their license to practice in the state.
Florida Statute Of Limitation For Medical Malpractice
Florida’s statute of limitations refers to the amount of time patients who experience medical malpractice are allowed to file a claim against the parties responsible. Statutes of limitation for medical malpractice vary across the U.S., established on a state-by-state basis.
Injuries in medical malpractice cases are not always evident on the day a doctor misdiagnoses, performs a surgery, or fails to order a critical medical test. The consequences of medical negligence can become clear very quickly, or sometimes appear over time.
Therefore, in Florida, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims is two years from the date the plaintiff knew or should have reasonably been aware of the injury sustained from the incident.
Wrongful death claims for medical malpractice in Florida are similarly restricted to a time limit of two years from which the accident occurred or was discovered.
In addition, Florida has a statute of repose, which states that injured patients have a time limitation of four years after the alleged incident of medical malpractice to file a claim or lawsuit against a healthcare provider
Certain exceptions to these statutes do apply on a case-by-case basis, and may include:
- birth injury cases
- cases involving fraud, misrepresentation, or concealment
What Do I Need To File A Medical Malpractice Claim In Florida?
There are several key elements of medical malpractice cases that must be present for a person to file a claim against liable parties for medical negligence.
The primary elements of a medical malpractice claim include the following:
- standard of care violation: Plaintiffs must be able to prove that a violation of medical standards of care occurred by one or more parties within a medical setting. This may also be referred to as a breach of duty of care.
- causal link to injury: Plaintiffs must be able to prove that the instance of malpractice directly caused one or more injuries that would not have occurred with proper treatment.
- consequences of injury: Plaintiffs must be able to prove that significant consequences occurred as a result of their injuries. This can include significant financial cost, effects on physical health, psychological health, or other aspects of the plaintiff’s livelihood.
Medical professionals are required to adhere to national standards of care. Florida medical providers are required to demonstrate reasonable and acceptable skill, quality of care, and treatment that would be offered by similarly situated medical providers.
Damages Awarded In Medical Malpractice Cases
Medical malpractice can have devastating effects on a person’s livelihood and that of their loved ones, particularly if the medical error is significant enough to lead to permanent disability, serious illness, or death.
Medical malpractice claims provide victims of medical malpractice (or their surviving loved ones) with the opportunity to recover compensation for losses sustained as a result of malpractice. This comes in the form of damages, which can be economic—such as medical bills—or non-economic, like mental anguish and psychological trauma.
Awarded damages in medical malpractice cases can be compensatory or, in some cases, punitive in nature. Florida medical providers who receive judgments of malpractice may face having their license revoked or lose professional society membership.
Compensatory damages come in the form of monetary compensation and are awarded based on the extent of an injured victim’s losses and losses they are projected to face in the future as a result of their injury.
Types of damages that may be awarded in Florida medical malpractice claims include:
- medical expenses
- current and future treatment costs
- lost wages
- loss of earning capacity
- permanent disability
- disfigurement
- loss of companionship (wrongful death)
- home accommodations
- pain and suffering
- mental anguish
- loss of enjoyment for life
Prior to 2016, non-economic damages in Florida medical malpractice cases were subject to caps of $500,000 for claims against medical providers, and $750,000 for non-practitioner defendants. The one exception was cases in which patients had been put in a vegetative state—for which there was a cap of $1 million.
In 2017, Florida’s Supreme Court ruled these caps unconstitutional, reasoning that these caps often put individuals who had suffered the most drastic injuries at a disadvantage in recovering compensation capable of accounting for the full extent of their losses.
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Why Hire A Lawyer For Medical Malpractice
While it’s not necessary to have a lawyer to file a medical malpractice claim, hiring a lawyer to represent you in a medical malpractice case is highly recommended. Medical malpractice claims are notoriously difficult for patients to win, particularly if they lack aggressive legal representation.
Building a strong case against a medical professional for medical malpractice requires ample evidence not only that the incident of medical malpractice occurred, but that the practitioner’s breach of medical standards of care directly led to patient injury or death.
Decades of research have shown that the greater amount of evidence patients have to support their allegations of substandard care, the more likely they are to win a settlement and secure higher settlement rates.
However, this can be tricky for patients—or surviving family members—to do alone. Medical professionals have a deep-seated fear of medical malpractice litigation and will do all within their power to dismiss allegations of negligence and shut down any claim or lawsuit against them.
Research has shown that defendants in medical negligence cases are more likely than plaintiffs (injured victims) to hire lawyers—and this can put plaintiffs at a significant disadvantage.
Medical malpractice lawyers with extensive experience in litigating these matters, however, are well-aware of the barriers patients commonly face in seeking justice for medical malpractice and can advocate effectively for injured patients’ rights to fair compensation.
At Florin|Roebig, our seasoned medical malpractice lawyers can:
- conduct an investigation into your case
- identify liable parties
- consult medical and legal experts
- gather witness testimony and medical records
- determine the value of your claim
- coordinate communications with legal representatives of the defendant(s)
- fight for a fair settlement on your behalf
- bring your case to trial if necessary
List Of Top-Rated Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Florida has some of the highest rates of medical malpractice in the country, leaving patients injured, ill, and facing very costly medical bills.
If you or a loved one has experienced an incident of medical malpractice, the lawyers of Florin|Roebig are on your side. For decades, our medical malpractice lawyers have advocated on behalf of patients and loved ones of decedents who have passed away due to unacceptable instances of medical negligence.
Our strong track record in fighting for compensation for injured victims is one of the many reasons Florida residents turn to our law firm to find a lawyer with the skills and resources necessary to reach a fair and just settlement on their behalf.
Our team of Florida medical malpractice lawyers includes:
- Wil H. Florin, B.C.S.
- Tommy D. Roebig, B.C.S.
- Chase P. Florin, B.C.S.
- Shaun M. Cummings
- Luca G. Esposito
- Chad K. Florin, M.B.A., LL.M.
- Michael A. Ossi, O.C.
- Lawrence J. Najem, O.C.
- Andrew M. Leone, O.C.
- Nollys R. Solarte, O.C.
We serve throughout the State of Florida including the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach.
We Are Nationally Awarded Lawyers
Find A Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyer Near You
If you or a loved one has suffered illness or injury as a result of a medical provider, hospital, or device manufacturer’s negligence—the lawyers of Florin|Roebig are ready to fight for your entitlement to fair compensation.
Contact the offices of Florin|Roebig today to schedule a free case evaluation with one of our top-rated medical malpractice lawyers to discuss the details of your case.
