When you go to the doctor or the hospital for medical care, you expect the people who treat you to provide competent care. You go to the doctor to make things better, but sometimes, they only end up making matters worse. Too often, problems and complications can create additional suffering and stand in the way of your recovery.
If your medical care providers make errors during your care, you may be the victim of medical malpractice. When you’re a victim, you need the help of a skilled Clearwater medical malpractice lawyer. At Jack Bernstein, Injury Attorneys we have extensive experience helping medical malpractice victims fight for the recovery they deserve.
Medical professionals have a duty of care to the people that they treat. When you seek medical attention, your doctors, nurses, aides, and technicians have an obligation to provide you with competent care. You have the legal right to assume that they have the training and experience to provide you with professional care. Their obligation to provide you responsible treatment is called their duty of care.
Too often, medical care providers fail to live up to their duty of care. They might make negligent or reckless errors that cause you harm. They may fail to order a test that helps you make a correct diagnosis. They might mix up paperwork. A lack of training or carelessness can make you the victim of medical malpractice. Even inadequate staffing in a care facility can lead to mistakes that hurt you.
To tell if you’re the victim of medical practice, you evaluate the care that you receive against the care that you should have received if your medical treatment team had provided reasonable, competent care. You look at what a reasonable treating physical would do in the same situation. The standard is based on a person who has enough medical training to perform the work that the person executed. If the care falls below a reasonable standard of care and you’re hurt as a result, you’re the victim of medical malpractice.
Some examples of medical malpractice include:
A medical malpractice claim can be complicated. You must explain the medical evidence. You must show what care you should have received. It’s important to have the medical evidence prepared to show how you didn’t receive the care that you should have received. The case may involve experts that can review the actions of your care providers and offer an opinion about whether medical malpractice occurred in your case. Our team of medical malpractice attorneys in Clearwater can help you secure the expert testimony that you need to pursue your claim.
Filing a medical malpractice claim involves bringing your legal claim to an appropriate court. You submit a summons and complaint. You might file a claim against an individual professional, or you might file a claim against an entire care facility or medical network. It all depends on the specific facts of your claim and what went wrong.
Your summons and complaint lay out your theory of the case. It’s important that your claim explains how medical malpractice occurred in your case. You file your claim, serve a copy on the defendants in the case, and continue to build the evidence while you wait for additional proceedings.
When you file a medical malpractice claim, you have opportunities to build the evidence in your case. We can take advantage of Florida legal procedures to gather evidence and strategically prepare for trial. Often, our strong preparation before trial results in the other side appreciating your case and agreeing to pay you a fair settlement. We can take advantage of discovery procedures like depositions, requests for admissions, and requests for production of documents. We may use pretrial motions to narrow the evidence to present at trial and prepare your legal strategy.
Our Clearwater medical malpractice attorneys are also expert negotiators. It’s important to us that you resolve your case as quickly as possible in the way that’s best for you. Most of the time, we succeed in solving your medical malpractice claim without needing a trial. We handle the negotiations with the other parties. Our team has specialized training and experience that helps us make those negotiations effective.
As soon as you think that you may be the victim of medical malpractice in Clearwater, it’s important to meet with our team of lawyers. We can help you demand the preservation of records that you need to pursue your case. Our team can also reach out to the appropriate medical experts to review your claim and determine if medical malpractice has occurred.
When we meet with you, we explain the law so that you can understand what Florida law has to say about medical malpractice. We want you to leave feeling empowered by understanding Florida’s medical malpractice laws and how they can work for you. Our legal team prepares a plan, and we work together to pursue the compensation that you deserve.