What is Medical Malpractice?

In brief, medical malpractice occurs when a medical provider fails to provide adequate medical care that another medical provider would have in the same situation, and that failure results in some form of harm to the patient. When evaluating a medical malpractice case, our attorneys often ask, “Would another competent medical provider have been reasonably able to avoid this outcome that harmed the patient?” If the answer is ‘yes,’ then a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit is likely justified.

Four elements of medical malpractice that are found in each valid case are:

1. The medical provider owed the patient a duty of care to only provide medical treatment that met accepted standards of medical care; the duty of care is often established through a doctor-patient relationship.
2. The medical provider failed to fulfill the duty of care or otherwise failed to provide medical care that met acceptable standards.
3. The failure to provide proper medical care resulted in the patient’s injury or harm; patient harm can even be defined as suffering from a worsened health condition that could have been treated or diagnosed if the proper medical care was provided.
4. The patient’s harm caused some form of compensable loss, including economic damages (medical treatment costs, lost wages, etc.) and non-economic damages (pain, suffering, hardships, etc.).

What Compensation Can You Pursue in a Medical Malpractice Claim?

You deserve full compensation to help you recover from medical malpractice, and The Florida Law Group knows how to demand it through a strong claim.

Compensation that might apply to your medical malpractice claim includes:

• Economic damage: Economic damage includes losses that are quantifiable and tangible, such as the cost of past and future medical care and the amount of income you lost due to your injury or health complications.
• Non-economic damage: Non-economic damage includes losses that are intangible and are more abstract but are still important. Common examples include the pain and suffering you have endured due to the medical provider’s mistakes, as well as how your life has changed for the worse.
• Punitive damage: In rare cases, a court can approve punitive damages for medical malpractice plaintiffs. Punitive damages may be justified when it is proven that the medical provider acted with “egregious” negligence or intentional wrongdoing.

Let us know immediately if the healthcare provider or its insurance company told you that your compensation can be capped due to Florida law. This might not be true. The Florida Supreme Court recently removed caps on damages for most cases. To know for certain if your recovery can be capped, talk to us, not an insurance company.

We’re Ready to Help – Call Now

Talk to our Florida medical malpractice attorneys today if you were hurt due to a medical provider’s mistakes. The statute of limitations on your case could be shorter than you think, and once it expires, you likely can’t pursue damages at all. Don’t risk losing this important right by waiting too long. Sit down with a member of our firm, learn your legal options, and get your case moving with the full support of The Florida Law Group.