If physician negligence caused harm to you or a loved one, compensation could be available through a Florida malpractice case. If the physician did not honor their duty of care, they may have opened the door to a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Speaking with a Florida medical malpractice lawyer is the best way to determine whether you have grounds for a physician negligence case.
Damages That Florida Medical Malpractice Attorneys May Pursue On Your Behalf
Injuries, illnesses, wrongful deaths, and other direct outcomes of physician malpractice can lead to:
- Additional healthcare costs: Negligent medical care typically means that patients need additional care to correct the harm inflicted by the negligent physician.
- Pain and suffering: You might need compensation for psychological distress, emotional anguish, pain, discomfort, sleep loss, diminished quality of life, and several other types of pain and suffering.
- Lost income: If circumstances related to negligent medical care cause you to miss work, reduce your hours, or retire, we will consider all lost income, diminished earning capacity, and other professional damages you face.
- Long-term disability: Injuries and conditions that result from physicians’ failures may be disabling. In these cases, victims may deserve compensation for shelter, rehabilitation, total loss of income, and several other economic and non-economic damages.
- Death of a loved one: When medical malpractice is fatal, survivors may face funeral costs, grief, lost financial support, and several other costly damages.
Should you endure any other types of harm as a result of the medical malpractice, your Florida medical malpractice lawyer will include those damages in your case.
Factors That May Affect The Value Of A Florida Medical Malpractice Case
When you pursue a medical malpractice case, the target outcome is a financial recovery that addresses all of your losses. The value of your damages may depend on:
- The specific medical condition that occurred or became worse because of the malpractice
- The specific symptoms you’re currently experiencing and may experience in the future
- The duration for which you may experience medical symptoms or damages from the malpractice
- The extent to which damages affect your loved ones
Each medical malpractice case is independent of the next. Do not wait to hire a lawyer so they can evaluate your unique circumstances and pursue justice for you.
Understanding a Physician’s Duty of Care
Every medical provider in Florida, including physicians, has a duty of care. This duty of care means that they must act reasonably, and it also generally means that a physician must:
- Prioritize patient safety
- Account for foreseeable risks when forming treatment plans and discussing care with the patient
- Warn the patient of foreseeable risks
- Take any other measures that enhance patient safety (and potentially reduce the likelihood of harm)
When your Florida medical malpractice lawyer can prove the physician fell short of this duty of care, they may establish grounds to sue.
How Can A Physician Be Negligent?
Physicians have a broad range of responsibilities. From the moment a patient walks into their office to the last day of a patient’s recovery from high-stakes surgeries, childbirths, and other procedures, a doctor must honor their duty of care. Some of the ways that a physician’s negligence can cause a patient harm are:
- Diagnostic mistakes: Errors involving diagnoses are one common type of physician error. For example, cancer is just one of several conditions that can progress due to a doctor’s failure to issue a prompt, accurate diagnosis.
- Failure to warn: Patients have a right to understand the risks of any given course of medical care or the risk of not pursuing certain forms of care. As experts, physicians have a duty to provide patients with reasonable warning.
- Surgical errors: StatPearls explains that the nature of a surgical error is that it is preventable. These kinds of errors are highly correlated with wrongful deaths, and our Florida wrongful death lawyers are prepared to handle these types of malpractice claims.
- Birth injuries: Any mistake by a physician can be devastating. There is, however, an added degree of tragedy when the victim of medical malpractice is a child. A doctor might increase the likelihood of a birth injury if they do not conduct thorough screening of the mother’s health, use excessive force to deliver a child, or fail to recognize signs of distress during delivery.
- Inadequate medical aftercare: A patient’s healthcare needs do not always end when they’re discharged from a surgery, hospitalization, or other treatment course. If a medical provider fails to follow up and administer all necessary care, they could be liable for any complications or other adverse outcomes the patient suffers.
Medication errors, clerical errors, and unsanitary practice conditions are some of the many physician failures that may cause direct harm or a domino effect of harm to the patient.
What Are The Consequences Of Physician Negligence In Florida?
There are several potential consequences when a physician falls short of their duty of care, possibly including:
- The onset of new ailments
- Direct harm to the patient (e.g., birth injuries)
- New symptoms resulting from failed diagnosis, recommendation of dangerous treatment, or other failures
- The progression of ailments that should have been caught and treated earlier
- Wrongful death
These direct outcomes can lead to much economic and non-economic harm to the patient and their loved ones—we refer to such harm as recoverable damages.
Hire A Florida Physician Negligence Lawyer Today To Represent Your Case
Anidjar & Levine has been fighting for our clients since 2005. Our goal is to enable you to take back control of your life, and to be able to heal while we take care of your case.
Call Anidjar & Levine today for your free, no-obligation consultation and find out how a Florida medical malpractice attorney can help you today.
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