Losing a loved one due to a medical professional’s error is one of the most devastating experiences you can face. When you trust healthcare providers with your family member’s care and that trust is broken with fatal consequences, the grief is compounded by feelings of betrayal and injustice.
The Florida wrongful death lawyer team at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine understands the challenges of getting compensation for these cases, but we are not afraid to fight. Many families are left with unanswered questions and a desire for accountability. Our attorneys can help you find answers and pursue justice.
Take back control of your life after losing a loved one. Contact our Florida medical malpractice lawyers for a free consultation.
Understanding Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Claims in Florida
Medical malpractice occurs when healthcare professionals fail to provide the standard of care expected in their field, resulting in harm to patients. When these errors lead to death, surviving family members may have grounds for a wrongful death claim.
For your claim to be valid, you must establish that the healthcare provider had a duty of care to your loved one, that they breached this duty through negligence, and that this breach directly caused your loved one’s death.
Florida law also has pre-suit requirements for medical malpractice cases. Before filing a lawsuit, you must conduct a thorough investigation and obtain an affidavit from a medical expert confirming that there are reasonable grounds to believe malpractice occurred. For these and other reasons, you need a Florida personal injury lawyer to help you with your claim.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice Leading to Wrongful Death
Healthcare providers can make errors in many ways that potentially lead to fatal outcomes. Understanding these common types of medical negligence can help you identify if your loved one’s death may have resulted from malpractice. Here are the common types our wrongful death lawyers in Florida have seen.
Diagnostic Errors
Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis can have fatal consequences, particularly with time-sensitive conditions like cancer, heart attacks, or infections. When doctors fail to correctly diagnose a condition despite having the necessary information and tools, patients miss the opportunity for life-saving treatment.
These errors might include:
- Failing to order appropriate tests
- Misinterpreting test results
- Dismissing serious symptoms
- Not referring patients to specialists when needed
- Failing to follow up on abnormal findings
For example, if a doctor dismisses chest pain as indigestion without proper testing and the patient later dies from a heart attack, this could constitute medical malpractice.
Surgical Mistakes
Surgery inherently carries risks, but some errors fall below the acceptable standard of care. Fatal surgical errors can happen before, during, or after procedures.
Surgical negligence leading to death may involve:
- Operating on the wrong body part
- Performing unnecessary procedures
- Damaging vital organs or blood vessels during surgery
- Leaving surgical instruments inside patients
- Administering incorrect anesthesia dosages
- Providing inadequate post-operative care
These mistakes often result from poor communication, insufficient preparation, or failure to follow established protocols. When they lead to a patient’s death, they may form the basis for a wrongful death claim.
Medication Errors
Prescription and administration of medications require precision and care. Fatal medication errors can occur at any point in the medication process—from prescribing to dispensing to administering.
Common medication errors include:
- Prescribing medications that interact dangerously with other drugs
- Failing to check for allergies
- Administering incorrect dosages
- Providing the wrong medication
- Failing to monitor for side effects
- Not adjusting dosages based on patient response
Medication errors are particularly common in hospitals and nursing homes, where patients receive multiple drugs and may be under the care of several different providers.
Birth Injuries
While childbirth is generally safe in the United States, preventable errors can lead to fatal outcomes for mothers or infants. These cases are particularly heartbreaking as they affect the most vulnerable patients at what should be a joyous time.
Birth-related medical malpractice may include:
- Failure to monitor fetal distress
- Improper use of delivery tools like forceps or vacuum extractors
- Delay in performing necessary cesarean sections
- Mismanagement of maternal complications such as preeclampsia or hemorrhage
- Inadequate neonatal care following delivery
The loss of a mother during childbirth or a newborn due to medical negligence creates immeasurable grief for families that demands accountability.
Hospital-Acquired Infections
Healthcare facilities must maintain rigorous sanitation standards to prevent the spread of dangerous infections. When they fail to do so, patients can contract life-threatening infections during hospital stays.
Negligence related to infections may include:
- Inadequate hand hygiene protocols
- Improper sterilization of equipment
- Poor wound care
- Failure to isolate contagious patients
- Inadequate cleaning of hospital rooms and facilities
If a preventable infection leads to a patient’s death, the healthcare facility may be liable for wrongful death.
Who Can File a Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
If you believe your loved one died due to medical negligence, you need to know whether you’re eligible to seek justice through a wrongful death claim. Florida law establishes specific guidelines about who can file these lawsuits and how they must proceed.
Florida medical malpractice wrongful death claims must be filed by the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate. However, the lawsuit is brought on behalf of both the estate and the surviving family members who are entitled to recovery.
Those who may recover damages include:
- The spouse of the deceased
- Children of the deceased
- Parents of the deceased (in certain circumstances)
- Other blood relatives or adoptive siblings who were partly or wholly dependent on the deceased for support or services
The relationships between family members and the deceased determine what types of damages each person may claim. For example, minor children have different rights from adult children in these cases.
Legal Personal Representative
The personal representative, also called the executor, is responsible for managing the deceased’s estate and pursuing the wrongful death claim. This person is either named in the deceased’s will or appointed by the court if there is no will.
The personal representative has several important duties:
- Working with attorneys to file the lawsuit
- Gathering documentation about the medical care
- Communicating with beneficiaries about the case
- Making decisions about settlement offers
- Distributing any compensation recovered
If you’re a family member but not the personal representative, you’ll need to work closely with the appointed representative to ensure your interests are protected in the lawsuit.
Contact Our Florida Wrongful Death Lawyers
If you’ve lost a loved one due to suspected medical negligence, you deserve answers and justice. The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine are here to help you through this difficult time with compassion and legal expertise.
Our attorneys have helped numerous Florida families hold healthcare providers accountable for fatal medical errors. We approach each case with sensitivity to your grief while aggressively pursuing the compensation you deserve.
We offer free consultations to discuss your case and help you understand your legal options. There’s no risk in speaking with us, and no obligation to move forward. Contact our Florida wrongful death lawyers today to learn how we can help you seek justice for your loved one.
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