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Ideally, everyone should be able to trust their doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers to give them the best possible care. While most practitioners are dependable in this regard, some act recklessly or carelessly when treating patients, sometimes to such an extent that a patient suffers severe and avoidable harm.
If you were injured by a doctor’s negligence, you should consider speaking with a Largo medical malpractice lawyer about the possibility of civil litigation. Personal injury claims based on medical negligence can be exceptionally complex, and the help of a seasoned attorney can be vital to protecting your rights and effectively pursuing a positive case resolution.
What Qualifies as Medical Malpractice?
Legal negligence in a healthcare setting is not the same as legal negligence in other situations, like car crashes or accidents caused by poor maintenance of private property. Rather than being civilly liable for any harm you sustain because of their action or inaction, medical professionals in Florida are only considered negligent if they breach an applicable “standard of care”—in other words, if they cause harm by acting in a way that an equally qualified and reasonable physician would not have acted under similar circumstances.
This can mean that a doctor’s liability for an error depends on the conditions in which the medical mistake occurred. If any competent doctor would not have made the mistake under similar circumstances, this could constitute medical malpractice. Successful claims are generally evidence-intensive affairs built around particularly severe injuries and losses.
Rules for Civil Recovery Based on Medical Negligence
Other complicating factors in medical malpractice litigation are the various and unique restrictions set by state law on cases of this nature. Along with your initial complaint, you must submit an affidavit of merit drafted by a medical expert with qualifications in the same field(s) as the defendant(s), affirming that the case has merit based on a likely breach of the standard of care. Additionally, there is a mandatory 90-day settlement process you must undergo with your named defendant(s) before you can proceed with a lawsuit.
Fortunately, though, the cap on financial recovery for non-economic “pain and suffering” that once applied to medical malpractice claims in Florida was declared unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court in 2017, so there are no longer any restrictions on the compensation you may seek for your losses. Our medical negligence lawyers in Largo could offer further clarification about these and other applicable rules during a private initial consultation.
Seek Help from a Largo Medical Malpractice Attorney
Anyone who suffers severe harm because a healthcare practitioner was negligent in caring for them has the right to demand substantial financial compensation from the people or entities responsible for their injury. However, enforcing those rights can be prohibitively difficult without support from seasoned legal counsel.
Retaining a qualified Largo medical malpractice lawyer could be an essential first step toward securing the restitution you need in a scenario like this. Learn more by calling our firm today to set up a consultation. We are committed to delivering results and supporting our clients through difficult times.