Are you or a family member suffering because a doctor made a mistake in St. Petersburg, FL? If the error was serious enough, you may have a valid claim for compensation. An experienced St. Petersburg medical malpractice lawyer at Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers can help. We have the skills to fight for full compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and more.
Our team has over 50 years of combined experience handling complex medical negligence cases. We’ve recovered more than $120 million in settlements and verdicts over the years.
Do you have questions about your legal rights? Contact our law firm in St. Petersburg, Florida, to schedule a free consultation today at (727) 787-2500.
How Can Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers Help With a St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Claim?
Taking on a doctor or hospital’s insurance company can be incredibly difficult. To recover damages based on medical malpractice, you’ll basically have to prove that a reasonable doctor would have provided different treatment. You’ll also need expert testimony and affidavits.
If that sounds complicated, you’re right. An experienced St. Petersburg personal injury lawyer at Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers can help. We’ve earned an AV-Preeminent rating and been recognized by Super Lawyers for our excellent legal representation. We’ve also earned a place on the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
When you hire us, you’ll have a trusted team to:
- Investigate to prove that your doctor made a mistake
- Hire the experts you’ll need to proceed with your claim
- Calculate the fair value of your medical malpractice claim
- Negotiate with the insurance companies and defense teams
- Take your case to trial and advocate for a full jury verdict if necessary
Injured patients have trusted our St. Petersburg personal injury attorneys for legal representation since we opened our doors. To learn more about how we can fight for you, call our law offices for a free case review today.
What is Medical Malpractice in Florida?
Not every error gives patients the right to sue for malpractice. A healthcare provider only commits malpractice if they fail to satisfy the accepted standard of care.
All medical providers are expected to adhere to certain standards. The standard of care can vary based on many different factors, including the medical condition involved and the patient’s history. When a healthcare provider harms a patient because they deviated from the standard of care, they can be held financially responsible.
Who Can Be Liable for Medical Malpractice in St. Petersburg?
All medical providers can be held liable when they fail to provide a reasonable level of care.
Examples of parties who can be held responsible for medical negligence include:
- Hospitals and medical facilities
- Surgeons
- Emergency room doctors
- Anesthesiologists
- Pharmacists and pharmacies
- Specialists, including oncologists, OBGYNs, cardiologists, etc.
- Family doctors and general practitioners
- Nurses
- Administrators
Our lawyers can help you identify all parties who share legal responsibility for your losses. Contact us today to learn how an experienced St. Petersburg medical malpractice attorney can help.
How Common is Medical Malpractice in Florida?
Studies show that medical errors cause over 250,000 deaths every year in the United States. Roughly 400,000 hospitalized patients suffer some type of preventable harm each year. These studies don’t even begin to examine the impact of mistakes made in medical clinics and doctor’s offices.
These mistakes can be incredibly expensive. In a single year, insurance companies in Florida paid out over $282 million to settle medical malpractice cases.
What is My St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Case Worth?
Medical errors can change a victim’s life forever. Victims often struggle with severe physical and emotional challenges. Often, the only way to get justice is by recovering financial compensation from the at-fault parties.
That means it’s critical to understand how much your claim is worth. Some cases are only worth a few thousand dollars, while others may be worth millions. It all depends on the severity of the injuries and the unique ways they have impacted your life.
Various factors are relevant, including:
- Whether you’ll make a full recovery or suffer a long-term disability
- The cost of your medical treatment
- The value of any lost wages you’ve experienced
- How the injury will impact your ability to earn a living in the future
- Your age, life expectancy, and earning potential before the error
- Your pain, suffering, and trauma
- How the injury changes your life and quality of life
Our attorneys in St. Petersburg will work closely with you, your family, and your doctors as we assess your damages. That way, we can understand how much compensation you really deserve–and fight for every available dollar.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Victims of Medical Malpractice in St. Petersburg?
Victims of medical negligence are entitled to recover damages to cover any loss they’ve experienced. That includes economic damages and non-economic damages.
Damages will vary from case to case, but some common losses victims suffer include:
- Increased medical costs
- Future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation and therapies
- Lost wages
- Lost job benefits
- Reduced earning potential
- Physical and mental pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Reduced life expectancy
- Diminished quality of life
- Physical disfigurement and scarring
- Loss of consortium and other damages in fatal injury cases
Our attorneys can help you identify your damages and put an accurate dollar figure on them. We’ll leave no stone unturned as we pursue the compensation you need to move forward.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Florida?
Most injury law firms in Florida work on a contingency fee basis. When you hire us, you agree to pay a percentage of the compensation we’re able to recover in your case. You won’t have to worry about covering legal fees upfront.
Can Florida’s Shared Fault Laws Impact the Value of My St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Case?
Florida has modified comparative negligence laws. If someone is blaming you, they’re probably claiming that your case is worth less because you did something to make the injury worse. For example, these laws may become relevant if someone claims that you failed to follow your doctor’s orders.
Here’s how the law works. You can recover partial damages if your share of blame is less than 51%. You lose your right to damages if your share of fault is greater than 50%.
What Causes Most Medical Errors in St. Petersburg?
Medical mistakes tend to occur most often when doctors are tired, overworked, or inexperienced. Communication and charting errors are some of the most common causes of medical errors.
Some additional factors that often play a role include:
- Failure to order the proper tests
- Not recognizing a patient’s symptoms
- Misreading diagnostic tests
- Failure to take a complete patient history
- Mistaking patients’ identities
- Failure to recognize adverse drug interactions
- Not referring to specialists when appropriate
- Wrong site surgery
- Leaving foreign objects in patients’ bodies during surgery
- Failure to properly monitor a patient before or during a procedure
Our attorneys handle all types of medical malpractice claims, including those involving:
- Misdiagnosis
- Failure to diagnose
- Delayed diagnosis
- Birth injuries
- Medication errors
- Surgical errors
- Hospital negligence
- Emergency room errors
- Hospital-acquired infections
- Defective medical devices
- Dangerous prescription drugs
- Anesthesia errors
If you suspect you are a victim of a medical error, contact our team today. We’ll listen to your story and get started building your case.
How Do I Prove Medical Negligence in Florida?
Medical malpractice is a type of negligence.
To win your case, you must prove:
- You were the defendant’s patient, so they owed you a legal duty of care
- The medical standard of care that you should have received
- They failed to adhere to the standard of care, so they breached their duty of care
- That breach of duty caused you to suffer some type of harm
- The value of the damages you suffered as a result
In Florida, the standard of care is the level of care, skill, and treatment that is recognized as “acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent similar health care providers.” Expert witness testimony is critical to establishing the standard of care in medical malpractice cases.
How Long Do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Florida?
There is a two-year statute of limitations in most medical malpractice cases. Under Florida law, if you don’t file your lawsuit within two years of the error, you lose your right to compensation.
Typically, the two-year clock starts running on the date the injury occurred. In medical malpractice cases, however, the two-year period starts running on the date you discover or reasonably should have discovered the error.
A four-year statute of repose also applies. Regardless of when you discover the harm, you cannot file a lawsuit after more than four years have passed.
Contact a St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Lawyer for a Free Consultation Today
Do you have questions about your right to compensation under Florida’s medical malpractice laws? Call Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers today. An experienced St. Petersburg medical malpractice lawyer will review your case for free and help you understand your legal options.