Lehigh Acres Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Anyone who visits their primary care physician, goes to the emergency room, or seeks professional medical treatment should be able to expect a consistent level of consideration and due diligence from everyone involved in their treatment. Most medical professionals in Florida meet this basic standard without any issues. Unfortunately, when providers are reckless or careless while treating patients, their negligence can have devastating and even life-threatening consequences.

Pursuing civil compensation for harm caused by a negligent doctor is complicated compared to other types of injury litigation, as any experienced personal injury attorney could affirm. If you want a better chance of achieving a favorable resolution of your case, seeking help from a skilled Lehigh Acres medical malpractice lawyer may be necessary.

Proving a Doctor Committed Malpractice

If someone is hurt by an auto accident or a fall on someone else’s property, they could seek compensation from that other party based solely on their interpretation of events. However, because medical science is complex and doctors are essential to modern society, state law imposes additional filing requirements on people looking to sue a healthcare provider for negligence.

Specifically, any person who wishes to start malpractice proceedings against an allegedly careless medical professional must first serve them with written notice of their intent to file suit. Furthermore, they must include with this notice an affidavit of merit drafted by a qualified medical expert who agrees an injured person has valid grounds to pursue a malpractice claim. This document affirms through an expert’s opinion that legal action is possible.

After this notice, all parties must participate in a mandatory settlement process over 90 days. Assistance from a medical negligence attorney in Lehigh Acres could be especially crucial during this process. If the parties cannot reach a settlement agreement, the injured party has 60 days or whatever is left of the statutory filing period to file suit.

What Filing Deadlines Apply to Malpractice Litigation?

State law imposes different time limits for medical malpractice lawsuits than other injury cases. Specifically, a person who suffers harm due to a doctor’s misconduct generally has a maximum of two years after discovering their injuries and four years after the negligence in question occurred to file their claim. If the healthcare worker engaged in fraud to conceal their malpractice, an individual has seven years to file.

There are rare exceptions to these statutory deadlines under specific circumstances. Most notably, the effective filing deadline for an injury to a young child is typically the child’s eighth birthday, unless the standard filing periods noted above would provide more time to file. A lawyer in Lehigh Acres could explain medical malpractice filing deadlines in more detail based on an individual’s case.

Contact a Lehigh Acres Medical Malpractice Attorney Today

Fortunately, Florida no longer imposes artificial caps on maximum recovery for damages caused by medical negligence. Unfortunately, obtaining comprehensive compensation through a claim like this is far from a simple endeavor, especially without seasoned legal counsel on your side.

A dedicated Lehigh Acres medical malpractice lawyer could provide essential legal guidance throughout every stage of your claim. Learn more by calling today.