Liability for Negligence Occurring During Medical Care
When a person sustains an injury while he or she is receiving medical care this is considered a medical malpractice case. A claimant having such a claim has a greater burden of proof than when a person is injured due to the ordinary negligence of another person in non-medical situations. This is why it is critical to retain a qualified Florida medical negligence attorney.
When there is a medical negligence claim, the statute of limitations is only two years from the date the claimant knew or reasonably should have known that his or her injuries occurred as a result of medical negligence. If the medical negligence claim is not initiated within that two-year period, the claim could be forever barred. It is important, therefore, to hire a skilled medical negligence attorney right away.
The standard of proof is also different in medical negligence cases than in other negligence cases; it is exceptionally important to hire someone who is intimately familiar with medical negligence law. While a person injured in an automobile negligence case only has to prove that the defendant more likely than not failed to exercise due (or reasonable) care, and that their negligence was a proximate cause of the claimant’s injuries, in a medical negligence case the claimant must obtain a sworn written opinion from a doctor who is practicing medicine in the same medical specialty as the potential defendant was practicing when the injuries occurred. This expert hired by the injured party must be willing to sign a statement under oath stating that it is his opinion within reasonable medical probability that the healthcare provider responsible for the injury deviated from the reasonable standard of care that reasonable healthcare providers in the same specialty would not have done and as a result of such failure the claimant sustained the adverse consequences which he or she sustained.
Because of the aforementioned requirements in medical negligence cases, it is important to retain the services of an Orlando medical malpractice attorney who has experience in handling medical negligence cases as soon as possible. The Florida medical negligence attorney should have ample experience in this area of the law.
Also, it is important to obtain the names and addresses of any person, and all persons, particularly healthcare personnel, who made any statement to anyone or heard anyone comment about the improper or inappropriate medical procedure and anyone who mentioned anything about the medical care deviating from the reasonable standard of medical care which similar doctors/healthcare providers would have provided. It is also important for the patient and/or family members to document the dates any events occurred.
Before a lawsuit can be filed, Florida medical negligence law requires written notice of the claim to be served on the potential defendant with proof that a similar healthcare provider has given an affidavit that it is his opinion the physician who caused the problem committed medical negligence by deviating from the reasonable standard of care which others in that specialty of medicine would have done. An Orlando medical malpractice attorney can handle these issues for you.
Because of the expense required to establish a medical negligence claim under Florida law, and because of the fact such claims are usually fought very hard by healthcare providers and their insurers and because they are very expensive to try to a jury, the amount of the injured party’s damages must be significant. The right medical negligence attorney can help you get the damages that you are owed.