When you trust a doctor or hospital with your health, you expect competent care. Unfortunately, medical errors happen more often than most people realize. They can have devastating consequences for patients and their families.
What Counts as Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider's treatment falls below the accepted standard of care and causes harm to the patient. This doesn't mean every bad outcome is malpractice - medicine isn't perfect, and some treatments don't work despite proper care.
Common types of medical malpractice include misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, surgical errors, medication mistakes, birth injuries, anesthesia errors, and failure to obtain informed consent.
Florida's Unique Malpractice Laws
Florida has specific laws that make medical malpractice cases different from other personal injury claims. These laws were designed to balance protecting patients' rights while preventing frivolous lawsuits against doctors.
One key difference is Florida's pursuit requirements. Before filing a lawsuit, you must have a medical expert review your case and provide a written opinion that malpractice likely occurred. This expert must practice in the same specialty as the doctor you're suing.
Damage Caps in Florida
Florida limits how much compensation you can receive for certain types of damages in malpractice cases. These "caps" don't apply to economic damages like medical bills and lost wages, but they do limit non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
The caps vary depending on whether you're suing a doctor or a hospital, and whether the malpractice resulted in death or catastrophic injury. Recent court decisions have challenged some of these caps, making this area of law complex and evolving.
The Discovery Rule and Statute of Limitations
You have two years from when you discovered (or should have discovered) the malpractice to file a lawsuit in Florida. This "discovery rule" is important because some medical errors aren't immediately obvious.
However, there's also a four-year statute of repose, meaning you generally can't sue more than four years after the malpractice occurred, regardless of when you discovered it.
Proving Medical Malpractice
Winning a malpractice case requires proving four key elements:
Duty - The healthcare provider had a duty to provide competent care, which exists whenever there's a doctor-patient relationship.
Breach - The provider's care fell below the accepted medical standard.
Causation - The substandard care directly caused your injuries.
Damages - You suffered actual harm, like additional medical bills, lost income, or pain and suffering.
The Role of Medical Experts
Expert witnesses are crucial in malpractice cases. These are doctors who practice in the same specialty who can explain to a jury what the standard of care should have been and how the defendant's care fell short.
Finding qualified experts willing to testify against other doctors can be challenging, which is why experienced malpractice attorneys maintain relationships with reputable medical experts nationwide.
Hospital vs. Doctor Liability
Sometimes both the hospital and individual doctors can be liable for malpractice. Hospitals can be directly liable for their own negligent policies or procedures, or vicariously liable for their employees' actions.
Independent contractors like some emergency room doctors or anesthesiologists might not make the hospital liable for their mistakes, which affects who you can sue and how much compensation is available.
Types of Compensation Available
If you win your malpractice case, you can recover economic damages like past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity.
Non-economic damages include compensation for pain, suffering, disability, disfigurement, and loss of life enjoyment. These are subject to the damage caps mentioned earlier.
In cases involving death, surviving family members can file wrongful death claims for their losses.
Getting Help
If you suspect you've been a victim of medical malpractice, time is critical. Evidence can disappear, witnesses' memories fade, and strict deadlines apply. Firms like Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath have the experience and resources needed to take on major hospitals and insurance companies in complex malpractice cases.
Most malpractice attorneys offer free case evaluations and work on contingency fees, so you can pursue justice without upfront legal costs. Your health and your family's future are too important to leave to chance when medical professionals fail in their duty to provide proper care.
