You may be able to recover compensation if you or a loved one suffered a neurological injury caused by medical malpractice in Florida. Neurological injuries can be life-altering, affecting motor function, cognitive abilities, or other significant aspects of your daily life. Managing the condition can require ongoing monitoring, care and support, and future healthcare costs. If medical neglect caused this harm, you deserve a chance to seek justice.
Figuring out how much your claim is worth can be quite difficult without the help of a law firm. A Florida medical malpractice lawyer can help you navigate the process to file a medical malpractice claim and pursue fair compensation.
What Damages Are Recoverable In A Florida Neurological Malpractice Case?
The money recovered in a neurological injury case covers the current and future expenses and losses incurred because of the malpractice and necessary care. This could include:
- Past and future medical costs, including surgeries, rehabilitation, and medication
- Cost of long-term care or in-home assistance
- Lost income during treatment and recovery
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Modifications to the home or vehicle necessary because of a new disability
- Pain and suffering, both physical and emotional
- Loss of independence
- Reduced quality of life
When someone is living with a severe neurological injury, treatment and care costs are often overwhelming to their family. Someone in a vegetative state or living with quadriplegia could easily have care costs of several million dollars over their lifetime. This makes it especially critical for these families to recover compensation when a care provider’s negligence caused the injuries.
Common Types Of Neurological Injuries Caused By Malpractice
Neurological injuries occur in many ways and affect each individual differently. Medical negligence during routine care, diagnosis, treatment, surgery, or medication administration could lead to neurological damage and lasting injuries.
Some examples of these injuries could include:
- Brain damage from loss of oxygen during surgery or childbirth
- Spinal cord injuries from surgical errors or improper treatment
- Stroke or embolism caused by medication errors, misdiagnosis, or delay in treatment
- Nerve damage from surgical mistakes, mismanaged illnesses, or anesthesia errors
- Traumatic brain injuries from falls in a hospital due to poor monitoring or patient handling
- Postoperative complications, like bleeding or swelling, that cause brain or spinal cord injuries
Determining Liability And Proving Malpractice For Neurological Injuries
To recover compensation for a Florida neurological injury in a malpractice case, you must be able to show medical negligence caused the injury. This requires documenting the following four things:
- A doctor-patient relationship existed, so the provider owed you a duty of care.
- The provider breached the duty of care by failing to provide an acceptable standard of care. This standard is based on what is expected of a competent professional under similar circumstances.
- The breach was the proximate cause of the neurological injury.
- You suffered measurable harm.
Florida law requires an affidavit from a qualified medical expert before you can proceed with a malpractice claim. This expert must review the relevant records and agree that malpractice occurred.
The potentially liable parties in malpractice cases based on neurological injuries could include:
- Doctors, surgeons, neurologists, or anesthesiologists
- Nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants
- Hospitals or clinics
- Pharmacists
- Radiologists or lab technicians
When you trust our law firm with your case, we will conduct a thorough investigation to identify all liable parties and determine whether they failed to provide an acceptable standard of care. This is essential to recovering the compensation you need to cover your current and future care costs.
How Do Permanent Disabilities From Neurological Injuries Affect The Case?
When malpractice victims have severe and long-lasting neurological injuries, the potential value of their case increases significantly. Specific symptoms and long-term outcomes vary widely depending on the location and extent of the injury, but could include:
- Loss of mobility or paralysis
- Speech, vision, or hearing impairment
- Memory loss or cognitive decline
- Emotional and behavioral changes
- Inability to work
- Inability to manage tasks of daily living
Malpractice cases involving permanent disability, especially in young people or those of working age, often demand a significant payout because of the lifelong costs of care, lost earning potential, and diminished quality of life.
Our attorneys can call on medical experts, vocational rehabilitation experts, and other experts to help us understand future care expenses and needs over your lifetime, regardless of your current age. These expert opinions often play a key role in helping us document these cases and determine what a fair settlement might look like.
Why You Must Act Quickly In A Florida Medical Malpractice Case
Florida law sets strict deadlines for medical malpractice lawsuits. The statute of limitations, found under Florida Statutes § 95.11, is generally two years from the date you discovered the injury or the injury should have been discovered. However, this does not tell the full story. You may have more or less time, especially if the malpractice is not discovered immediately or there was fraud or concealment.
In addition, there are other deadlines and procedures you will need to be aware of before you can file a malpractice lawsuit. This includes Florida’s presuit notice and investigation requirement. This is a mandatory process where all parties exchange information and investigate the claim for up to 90 days before you can proceed with your lawsuit.
Delaying legal action can result in missing deadlines and losing your right to recover compensation. You should act quickly as soon as you realize malpractice might have caused your neurological injuries to ensure your rights remain protected.
Discuss Your Neurological Injuries With Our Florida Medical Malpractice Team
If you or a loved one suffered a neurological injury due to a healthcare provider’s negligence, contact our team from Anidjar & Levin. We provide free consultations. We can discuss how a Florida medical malpractice attorney from our team can protect your rights and manage your claim. Reach out today to get started.
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