What is Medical Malpractice - How Do I Know if It Happened to Me?

When we seek medical care, we assume the doctors, nurses, pharmacists and so forth are competent at their work and are giving us the care and advice we need. Most of the time they are. But when they don’t the results can be disastrous, even fatal.

Medical malpractice is more frequent than we know

It’s hard to gather or find accurate statistics as to results of medical malpractice, because such statistics need to be collected from many medical arenas, not just hospitals. Negligence and failure to diagnose also happen at clinics, private medical offices, LASIK centers, urgent care facilities etc., and pharmacies can make medication mistakes as much as doctors or nurses.

If you wonder if you or your loved one have been a victim of medical malpractice, don’t try to determine that by yourself. And trying to discuss it with your doctor, or his lawyer or insurance company, will be fruitless for you because those entities aren’t looking out for your interests.

Statute of Limitations

In Florida, a medical malpractice claim must be filed within two years of the date of injury. There are some exceptions though, so if your two years has passed, don’t assume you have no recourse. Contact an experienced Florida medical malpractice lawyer today and it might be that you can still file a claim.

If you wonder whose fault it was …

Don’t assume that if part if the damage was your own fault, you must have no valid case. In Florida, the award for damages you might win will be proportionally reduced by whatever percentage the court finds was your responsibility. But it won’t be wiped out altogether. Contributory negligence on your part doesn’t block you from filing a claim and potentially winning compensation.

Forms of medical malpractice

Malpractice can be active or passive. In other words, if you doctor prescribed the wrong medication, or if he failed to diagnose your condition, those are both forms of medical malpractice. Not only doctors are subject to medical malpractice claims, but also:

Nurses
Nursing assistants
Physician’s assistants
Pharmacists
Pharmacy assistants
Surgeons
Anesthesiologists
Dentists

Investigation of damages

If you wonder whether you have a valid case of medical malpractice, the best thing to do right away is obtain a free consultation with a medical malpractice lawyer in Florida. After talking with you, the attorney will have a fair idea of whether you have a case, and if you do, of how to proceed.

First there’ll be a presuit, i.e., information gathering. Your attorney will gather all the relevant medical records and have them scrutinized by an expert. If it’s then decided that there’s a valid case, your attorney will file a Notice of Intent summarizing your case and including an affidavit from the expert who reviewed your records.

Your claim is then checked out by the defense, and after 90 days, will be either settled, arbitrated, or taken to court.