You go to the doctor to get better, trusting him or her to diagnose, treat, and monitor you appropriately. Unfortunately, not all health care providers give their patients the quality of care they deserve, and sometimes they cause more harm than good. When a healthcare provider’s negligence causes you injury, you have a right to feel upset and hold the provider financially responsible for your losses and expenses.
To determine if you qualify to file a medical malpractice claim, call the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine and speak to a member of our team. A Jacksonville medical malpractice lawyer may be able to help you pursue the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
What Types of Damages Can I Collect for a Medical Malpractice Claim?
A medical malpractice claim aims to make you whole again, which means returning you to the same financial situation you would be in if the injury had never happened. When making a medical malpractice claim, you can pursue compensation for all your losses and expenses related to the injury. That includes your current and future financial losses as well as non-monetary losses like emotional and psychological suffering.
We can help you recover damages for things such as:
- Medical expenses and rehabilitation
- Future surgeries or other procedures to correct the mistake
- Loss of wages
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
How Has Medical Malpractice Affected Your Life
It can be hard to know the full value of your case on your own. When you work with our firm, we will:
- Start by listening to your story, reviewing your medical files, and taking the time to fully understand your physical and mental injuries and how they are impacting your life
- Create a detailed, comprehensive list of your losses so that we can fight for full recovery
- Talk to medical experts to get a clear picture of what your future medical needs will entail so we can include them in the demand for damages we send to the insurer
What Types of Cases Qualify as Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice can describe a variety of cases. Our Jacksonville personal injury lawyers and support staff at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine handle a broad spectrum of medical malpractice cases in Jacksonville and throughout Florida.
Some of the most common types of medical negligence cases we assist clients with include:
- Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis. Not only can improper treatment result in health complications, but if you received a late diagnosis of a time-sensitive disease, you may have missed critical care for the beginning stages of your illness. These kinds of errors can be financially and personally costly for victims.
- Wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-patient surgeries. Not only can these kinds of medical mistakes cause undue harm, pain, and recovery (not to mention extraneous medical bills), but they can keep you from receiving care for an existing problem.
- Leaving surgical items inside of a patient. Sometimes, surgeons and other health practitioners will fail to follow best practices when wrapping up a procedure. If you were left with a clamp or a tool inside of you, serious health complications can put you back into the hospital.
- Failure to warn a patient of the risks of a procedure or treatment. You should always be able to make an informed choice about the procedures or treatment you undertake. If you didn’t receive the proper warnings or information, then your rights as a patient were violated.
- Wrong medication, contraindicated medications, and dosage errors. Medication errors can be extremely dangerous. These things are carefully measured and distributed to help avoid complications and side effects. Patients who receive the wrong medication, a bad mixture of medications, or the wrong amount of one can suffer serious health effects.
- Pregnancy and labor and delivery. The doctors and nurses responsible for the care and delivery of your child have a responsibility to follow accepted practices and procedures. If they don’t follow these and you or your child suffer an injury, then they should be held accountable.
- Anesthesia errors. Unfortunately, a lot could go wrong when administering anesthesia. It could be that you were given too much, too little, or the wrong kind. Perhaps the attending professionals didn’t properly monitor the patient under anesthesia. These medical errors can result in pain and additional injury.
Keep in mind that a medical provider does not need to have acted improperly in order to be deemed liable for malpractice. Even if they failed to take necessary action, such as misdiagnosing your illness or failing to monitor a medical procedure, this could constitute malpractice.
Potentially Liable Parties in a Malpractice Case
Consider that doctors are not the only parties who could be deemed liable for malpractice. If another party’s negligence led to your medical injury or illness, we could hold them accountable.
Responsible parties in a malpractice case could include:
- Nurses
- Anesthesiologists
- Medical technicians
- Hospitals
Do I Have a Valid Medical Malpractice Case?
All medical professionals must meet certain training and credential criteria to practice medicine. They must also adhere to specific standards and procedures. It is when they fall short of these standards and make unreasonable errors that medical negligence occurs.
Like with other types of personal injury cases, you must be able to establish negligence to win a medical malpractice claim. The doctor must have treated you in a substandard way that fell short of the normal standard of care that other doctors would have given you under the same circumstances.
An Example of Malpractice
For example, let’s say a patient goes to his doctor with signs of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, like a tell-tale rash, fever, vomiting, and aches. The doctor fails to recognize the signs, misdiagnoses the patient as having a general virus, and sends him home. The patient’s true illness remains untreated, and he dies as a result. Because the doctor should have recognized the disease, he will probably qualify as negligent.
If you need help determining if your case qualifies, contact us today. Our attorneys can provide a free case evaluation to see if you have a valid medical malpractice claim.
Do I Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer?
Medical malpractice cases are exceptionally complex. They require detailed investigation and collection of evidence, third-party medical analyses, and strict adherence to legal and insurance protocols. These are things that our Jacksonville personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine are specifically trained to do.
Plus, many negligent healthcare providers, clinics, and hospitals – and their malpractice insurance companies – hire a team of lawyers to defend against malpractice cases. They often try to skirt liability and divert the blame elsewhere so that they do not have to pay victims. It would be intimidating for a patient to go head-to-head with the insurance attorneys, and most people simply do not know how to deal with technical issues like defenses, procedures, documentation, negotiation, and proceedings.
Our Jacksonville medical malpractice lawyers can assist with every aspect of your case, including:
- The initial investigation
- Gathering crucial evidence, including expert testimony
- Negotiating a settlement
- Litigating on your behalf during a court trial
- Filing all necessary paperwork and handling important documents and correspondence
- Handling all the legal details
- Advocating for your rights
Settlements and Judgments Vary for Medical Malpractice Cases
Keep in mind that medical malpractice cases can range in value from tens of thousands to millions of dollars. Because there is so much on the line, it is typically in your best interest to get advice from one of our lawyers before taking action. Our attorneys will fight for the highest compensation possible on your behalf.
Is There a Time Limit on When I Can File a Case in Florida?
Florida’s statute of limitations for most medical malpractice cases is usually two years from the date of the mistake (or from the date you realized or should have realized the mistake), per Florida Statutes §95.11(4)(b).
Failing to file within the allotted time will nullify your rights to compensation, so avoid procrastinating. The sooner you begin the personal injury claims process, the more time we will have to collect evidence and prepare your case.
Our Team Goes the Extra Mile for Your Jacksonville Case
At the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, we will seek the best possible results for your legal case – and more. We take pride in going the extra mile for our clients, offering the following services:
- Helping you schedule important appointments connected to your case
- Providing you with your attorney’s phone number
- Responding to all your questions and keeping you regularly updated on your case
We know that when you’re recovering from your injuries, you’re already facing enough challenges. We want to help make your legal process as smooth for you as possible.
We Will Get Started with No Upfront Cost to You
do not charge for our legal services unless we win your case. We work based on contingency fees, which means that our fees are simply taken from your settlement or verdict.
You do not have to worry about paying anything out of pocket, which means that you’ll pay none of the following:
- Hourly rates
- Retainers
- Hidden fees
This way, you have access to legal representation and can have an advocate by your side during the process without worrying about financial concerns.
Jacksonville Medical Malpractice FAQ
If you suspect you or a loved one are injury victims of medical malpractice in Jacksonville, you may have many unanswered questions about the claims process and what to expect.
Here are some of the more frequently asked questions surrounding medical malpractice lawsuits in Jacksonville. If you have other questions that were not answered on this page, be sure to reach out to our firm so we can discuss your specific concerns in further detail.
Will I Have to Go to Court?
The majority of medical malpractice lawsuits do not wind up going to court. In most cases, injury victims can recover compensation for their damages through the liable party’s medical malpractice insurance provider.
However, there are situations where it may be necessary to bring your case to court. Keep in mind Florida has several laws that place a limit or cap on the amount of compensation you can receive in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Per Florida Statute § 766.118, a $500,000 cap is applied to non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. You must have experienced a severe injury due to medical negligence. A lawyer with the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can help determine the full value of your damages and fight to get the compensation you deserve.
What Is Informed Consent?
Informed consent refers to a patient giving permission to undergo treatment or medical care after having been informed of the risks and side effects associated with said treatment. Informed consent often comes up during medical malpractice cases when the liable party argues that the injury or illness the victim sustained was a natural effect of their treatment.
If the healthcare professional in question failed to obtain your informed consent, or your attorney can show that your injury or illness was not related to a natural risk or side effect, you may be able to show the healthcare facility or doctor is indeed negligent.
What Evidence Can Be Used to Support My Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
prove that the healthcare provider in your case breached the medical standard of care, your attorney will need to show the four elements of negligence have been met. These include:
- Duty of care
- Breach of duty
- Causation
- Damages
Since the burden of proof in medical malpractice lawsuits is based on a preponderance of the evidence, the evidence presented must clearly show that the defendant is more than likely responsible for causing your injuries. Some of the more common types of evidence that could be used to prove medical negligence include:
- Physician statements
- Medical records
- Diagnostic imaging results
- Other test results
- Witness statements
- Expert testimony
- Photos and videos
- Forensic evidence
Take Advantage of Your Free Case Review
Call us today to learn more about your legal options and how our law firm will handle your case. You can ask us any questions you may have, such as how much your case could be worth and how relevant laws may affect your case. You don’t deserve to suffer the long-term consequences of medical malpractice injuries. We can take legal action on your behalf.
At the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, we are ready to get to work to seek the fair compensation you need to recover from your injury. Let our firm get to work on your case today. Call us to get started.
We Can Help.
