Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Our experienced Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Whittel & Melton are ready and able to fight for you for justice on behalf of all victims who have suffered injuries or have lost family members due to the negligence of medical personnel.

You trust your doctors, nurses, and hospital staff to provide you with the healthcare that you need. Mistakes happen to everyone. But when medical personnel violate your trust, you can start to lose hope. You may be dealing with steadily climbing medical bills that you cannot pay, along with adverse long-term health effects.

Our Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Whittel & Melton are here to help you through this difficult time. We will handle every aspect of your medical malpractice claim so that you don’t have to deal with the headache. You have been through enough. Let us fight for justice on your behalf.

Frequently Asked Questions for Medical Malpractice in Florida

What Medical Malpractice Claims Do Our Florida Attorneys Handle?

Our Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Whittel & Melton consult regularly on medical malpractice claims of all varieties. We urge you to call us at 866-608-5529 or contact us online if you have experienced any of the following:

Failure to diagnose

A failure to diagnose occurs when a patient seeks medical help, but the provider does not identify the condition. This may happen if they fail to run the right tests or ask enough questions. In some cases, medical professionals may dismiss a patient’s concerns. They may say nothing is wrong or fail to take the symptoms seriously. It can have serious consequences. For example, if cancer is not diagnosed in time, it may spread. By the time it is detected, treatment may no longer be effective.

Delaying a Diagnosis

Similar to failing to diagnose, this deals with a medical professional eventually properly diagnosing a patient. However, this delay could result in a more advanced disease, or even a fatal disease at this point.

Misdiagnosis

This is unfortunately very common. Many diseases have similar symptoms. If a doctor does not perform enough tests, they may misdiagnose a patient. What happens next is that patients end up taking the wrong medications or undergoing procedures that are not appropriate for their condition. These medications and medical procedures could actually harm the patient and prevent them from getting the medical care they need, and possibly be fatal.

Post-op Negligence

Postoperative negligence is absolutely a form of medical malpractice. After a patient is out of surgery, the care they receive is critical to their survival. Examples of post-op negligence issues are sepsis, Staph infections, internal bleeding, MRSA infections, blood clots, urinary tract infections, pulmonary embolism, necrotizing fasciitis, viral infections, etc.

Birth Injuries

This can include any injuries to mother or infant during pregnancy, delivery, and right after delivery. Birth trauma caused by excessive force or pressure to the infant’s head or body, C-section complications, oxygen deprivation to infant (birth asphyxia), infections, and numerous other complications can all lead to permanent disabilities, which could lead to cognitive emotional, and physical problems for the baby. Healthcare providers, including hospitals and surgical centers, can prevent many birth injuries by following proper standards of care and closely monitoring any potential issues during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. If a medical professional’s negligence results in a birth injury, then this falls under the scope of medical malpractice.

Postpartum Recovery Negligence

Hundreds of women die every year in the U.S. from postpartum complications, and about two-thirds of these deaths are entirely preventable. The postpartum period covers the time from birth until six to eight weeks after delivery. This is the time a woman’s body is healing from delivery, so it is crucial to the mother’s life to recognize and treat any medical complications. Blood clots, postpartum depression, infections, postpartum hemorrhage, and all other infections can be life-threatening to a mother.

Surgical Mistakes

These are errors that should never happen to patients, such as operating on the wrong body part or person, or leaving a medical instrument inside the patient after surgery. Most doctors following the proper protocols should never have these issues. Some hospitals struggle with insufficient staffing, overworked surgeons, and inexperienced residents, which can lead to mistakes. Nevertheless, none of these mistakes is acceptable and can all result in a medical malpractice claim.

Medication Errors

Medication is often necessary to treat patients’ ailments. Medications save lives, but administering them incorrectly can cause harm. Any medication errors, from prescribing the wrong meds to dispensing the wrong dosages, can result in medical malpractice claims.

Misread MRIs, X-rays, and Ultrasounds

These are all very important tests that help medical professionals diagnose patients. When healthcare providers misinterpret symptoms, they may leave serious injuries or illnesses undiagnosed, leading to numerous health issues for the patient.

Mistakes with Anesthesia

Anesthesia mistakes can be lethal to patients, so it is absolutely vital that proper care is taken when administering drugs. When healthcare providers administer a drug that a patient is allergic to or give a combination of drugs that interact negatively, they risk causing an overdose or even death. Faulty equipment and improper use of machines are also common causes of harm to the patient.

Mistakes in Emergency Rooms

Emergency rooms can be quite chaotic, and ER doctors and staff are busy, making quick decisions with very little time or information. There are many errors that can occur in an emergency room setting and lead to medical malpractice claims, such as medication errors, surgical mistakes, and misdiagnosis.

Mistakes by Nurses and Hospital Staff

There is a nursing shortage in the U.S., which can reduce the level of care patients receive in hospitals. Nurses are overworked, tired, and stressed, which can lead to deadly mistakes with medications and post-op care.

Hospital Mistakes

These errors can be many things we already touched on, such as medication errors, misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, anesthesia errors, post-op infections, surgical errors, unnecessary tests or procedures, discharging patients too soon, inadequate follow-up care, etc. Also, hospitals are filled with viruses and bacteria that are constantly cycled through, so patients can easily develop infections following surgery, such as MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and other Staphylococcus infections. These can enter a patient’s body through their wounds, catheters, and even surgical sites and can be deadly.

Nursing Home Errors

Nursing home staff can cause significant harm to their elderly patients when they do not prevent a patient from suffering bedsores or falls, when they fail to diagnose injuries in a timely manner, when they do not properly manage life-threatening conditions like sepsis (organ failure caused by infection) or fail to prevent other infections like urinary tract infections, skin infections, influenza, gastroenteritis, diverticulitis, and now the coronavirus. While it is possible for a patient to contract an infection anywhere, if it can be shown that the nursing home was negligent in protecting its patients from infection, then it could be on the line for medical malpractice.

Wrongful Death

This is any situation where medical negligence results in the death of a patient. Medical mistakes cause way too many deaths every year in the U.S., bringing immense pain and suffering to the families of these patients. Dealing with the loss of a loved one after they are taken because of a medical error is never easy, but a medical malpractice claim can help you seek justice on their behalf.

What Florida Medical Malpractice Damages Can We Recover From a Doctor, Physician, Hospital, or Surgical Center?

If you or a family member suffered harm or died as a result of medical malpractice, a medical malpractice lawyer can help you understand your rights. You may be entitled to economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages can include past, present, and future medical bills, as well as lost wages if the injury prevents you from working. Non-economic damages may include mental anguish, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of companionship, and disfigurement. These damages can be difficult to value, but we can help you determine a fair amount for a jury to consider.

You may also be entitled to punitive damages if it can be determined that a medical professional acted intentionally and with a reckless disregard for patient safety.

In Florida, medical malpractice damages are calculated by a jury that hears both sides of the case and recommends an amount it believes should be awarded. Non-economic damages are capped at $500,000 for medical malpractice claims in the state of Florida. A jury will apply all relevant factors to come up with a number they think is fair in regards to non-economic damages.

Contact Us Today at 866-608-5529 for a FREE Consultation

Being the victim of medical malpractice or losing a close relative because of medical malpractice can take a huge toll on your life. You deserve justice so you can begin moving forward with your life. It’s important to hire the best lawyer to help you in your fight. When selecting a medical malpractice lawyer, you have options, and it is essential to choose one with a proven track record of securing substantial financial awards for their clients. Call us today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online to arrange a free consultation with our Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Whittel & Melton and learn more about what we can do for you.