Aventura, Florida, is known as the “City of Excellence.” It is, in fact, an excellent place to live. Its close proximity to numerous beaches, shopping areas, and other amenities have drawn more than 35,000 people to live in the area with many tourists visiting on a regular basis. However, all the benefits of living in the Aventura area still come the challenges of everyday life, including illnesses and injuries.
When you visit an emergency room or doctor seeking a diagnosis and treatment for a medical condition, you should expect that you will receive a certain level of care. We trust medical professionals to have adequate knowledge and training to assist us, as well as provide a level of attention needed to treat injuries and illnesses whenever possible. Unfortunately, too many people learn firsthand that medical professionals can make errors that leave patients with serious injuries.
If you believe you have suffered injuries and losses because of medical malpractice, an Aventura medical malpractice lawyer can assess your situation and review your options for pursuing compensation. Dolman Law Group can explain Florida's complicated medical malpractice law and how it affects your case.
Medical Errors Can Cause Serious Injuries
We all make mistakes, even when we are good at our jobs. However, medical mistakes have the ability to cause serious injuries to the patients involved. The following are some examples of medical errors that can result in unnecessary injuries and the need for additional treatment:
Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose a Condition
When you present with certain symptoms, a properly trained medical professional should know to ask the right questions and conduct the necessary diagnostic tests to accurately diagnose your condition and prescribe treatment. When a doctor fails to correctly diagnose a condition, patients will not receive the treatment they need, and their condition may significantly worsen as a result. Commonly misdiagnosed conditions include heart attacks, cancer, stroke, Lyme disease, depression, and many others. When these conditions go untreated, they may later require substantially more invasive treatment or may become life-threatening and untreatable.
Birth Injuries
Expectant parents in Aventura rely on doctors to provide necessary treatment and assistance during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and post-delivery for both infants and mothers.
Doctors can make many different mistakes during this process that can lead to serious injuries, including the following:
- Not diagnosing conditions of the mother or child during pregnancy
- Failing to identify possible complications of pregnancy or delivery
- Inadequately monitoring the vital signs of mother and child during labor and delivery
- Not ordering a C-section (emergency or not) when needed to protect the health of the mother or child
- Improperly using birth-assisting tools, such as forceps or a vacuum
- Not providing adequate care to either the mother or child following a delivery
Injuries from birth can sometimes affect a child for the rest of their lives, as they may suffer from brain damage, cerebral palsy, or other disabling conditions. In addition, too many doctors focus primarily on the health of the child after a delivery and fail to recognize serious signs of distress in the mother, which can be life-threatening.
Medication Mishaps
Doctors in Florida write prescriptions for multiple patients each day for a variety of medications. Before prescribing a certain medication, doctors should always inquire about a patient's potential allergies or sensitivity to the medication, medical history and conditions, current medications, and any other pertinent issues that may result in adverse reactions to the medications. Failing to do so can result in serious side effects or reactions that may even require hospitalization. In addition, doctors may prescribe the wrong medication, the wrong dosage, or make other prescription errors that cause injuries.
Medication errors are also common in hospitals. Hospital staff administer hundreds or thousands of pills each day to patients and mistakes can be made, which may result in overdosing, underdosing, and administering the wrong medication, among other potentially harmful errors.
Surgical Errors
Surgery is already an inherently risky event for patients and can become even more so if a surgeon or member of the surgical team makes a mistake. Some surgical errors can include:
- Failing to review a patient's medical history and risk factors
- Inadequate sterilization
- Errors involving anesthesia
- Nicking arteries or blood vessels
- Performing the wrong procedure or performing surgery on the wrong body part
- Operating while overly fatigued or under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Leaving sponges or other objects inside a patient
- Providing inadequate post-operative care
Surgical errors can result in severe injuries to patients, who may require extended hospitalization, additional surgeries, and other treatment that could have been avoided if it were not for the mistakes made during their procedure.
Medical Device Failures
This area of medical malpractice can be complicated because the failure of a medical device might not rise to the level of malpractice. As our team can explain in greater detail during your free initial consultation, an inherently flawed or defective device could result in a product liability claim. This area of personal injury law differs from medical malpractice, but you can seek compensation for either.
Suppose the device is in working order, but the physician who prescribes it makes a mistake their training should have prevented. As a result, you may have a case for medical malpractice. Other possibilities include
- Prescribing the wrong device
- Installing or attaching it to the wrong site
- Choosing either a device that is too powerful or not powerful enough for your specific needs
A lawyer can help you understand which area of law applies to your injury case.
Were You the Victim of Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is a complicated legal concept, as not every mistake a doctor makes will rise to the level of malpractice. Instead, malpractice only occurs when a mistake occurred because the doctor did not meet the required medical standard of care. Our attorneys can review your situation, help determine whether you were the victim of medical malpractice, and advise you of your rights.
Determining whether medical malpractice occurred can often require the analysis and opinions of medical experts who can identify whether a doctor fell below the necessary standard of care. It is important to seek legal assistance as soon as possible as Florida has a strict statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims, which is significantly shorter than other types of personal injury claims.
Medical Malpractice Compensation
When you suffer injuries or have your health compromised by a medical professional, the law allows you to seek compensation. A medical malpractice lawyer can help you assess your injuries and their current and future costs. Recoverable damages can include:
- Required medical care until you reach maximum medical improvement. This category includes every eligible medical expense from prescription drugs to rehabilitation and surgical procedures. A lawyer can help you track your medical procedures and their direct and indirect costs.
- Lost income. You likely missed significant time from work, costing you wages, benefits, sick and vacation leave, and retirement contributions. Your injuries might also prevent you from returning to work. If you sustained catastrophic damage to your health and cannot return to work, you might also be eligible for compensation for your loss of future earning capacity.
- Pain and suffering. You not only suffered the physical trauma, pain, and discomfort of recovering from an unexpected medical error, but you also could recover for the mental, emotional, and psychological trauma of coping with your ordeal.
An additional category of compensation, called punitive damages, may be available in your case. Courts rarely award punitive damages and typically are warranted when the at-fault medical professional's actions are deemed egregious. A lawyer will inform you if your case qualifies for punitive damages and help determine what to request.
Medical Malpractice Can Include Many Healthcare Professionals
Medical malpractice cases are not limited to physicians and surgeons. As your lawyer will explain, you can hold other healthcare professionals responsible for errors, omissions, mishaps, and miscalculations that lead to injuries:
- Anesthesiologists
- Nurses
- Dentists
- Pharmacists
- Chiropractors
- Acupuncturists
You could also sue a hospital, private practice, clinic, or laboratory. As part of their investigation, your lawyer will determine the cause of your injuries and identify the appropriate parties from whom you should seek compensation.
The evidence your lawyer collects will help steer your fight for compensation in the right direction. The qualified opinions of medical specialists and experts can also simplify medical details and jargon. A lawyer will consult these experts for help to build and strengthen your case.
Contact a Florida Medical Malpractice Attorney for More Information
Medical malpractice can change your life and cost you significant losses - both financial and emotional. The Aventura personal injury lawyers at Dolman Law Group have represented patients who have suffered harm since 2009. We can help you seek the compensation you deserve from negligent medical professionals.
Call us today at (954) 302-7068 for a free consultation with a team member to learn about your right.
Dolman Law Group
What Our Clients Have to Say:
“So happy I chose Dolman Law Group!!! My experience with the law firm right from the start was fast, friendly and understanding. I started treatment for my injury right away, and while I was focusing on getting better the firm was fighting for me. Incredibly happy with the outcome, thank you to Brent and the team for all the hard work and updates.”
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA
PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS
20803 Biscayne Boulevard Suite 101,
Aventura, FL 33180
(954) 302-7068