Medical Malpractice
Have you been injured due to medical error? Doctor, nurse or hospital errors can result in devastating injuries or loss of life. Gordon & Doner, P.A. represents individuals or the families of those injured or killed as a result of negligence committed by physicians, hospitals, nursing homes or other healthcare providers such as nurses, therapists, chiropractors, hospitals or clinics.
Medical negligence cases are complex and involve the integration of law, medicine, and science. At Gordon & Doner, we utilize an extensive network of experts in order to prepare, litigate and argue the most compelling case on our clients' behalf.
By law, healthcare professionals are only required to give a standard of care that is ordinary or normal. Florida has a statute that defines standard of care as that level of care, skill and treatment that is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent, similar healthcare providers under similar circumstances. When a physician is determined to be negligent, it means that he or she has failed to use the same degree of skill and learning, under the same or similar circumstances, that are used by other members of the medical profession. Some of the most common ways that medical malpractice occurs is through failure or errors in timely diagnosis and ordering appropriate treatment, ordering necessary tests and proper medication, consulting with specialists, and surgical procedures.
Although there are numerous types of malpractice claims, here are the most common:
- Wrongful death
- Birth defects or injuries
- Hospital, physician, and nursing negligence
- Misdiagnosis
- Nursing home injuries and elder abuse
- Pharmaceutical errors
According to a report by the U.S. Institute of Medicine, as many as 98,000 patients die each year as a result of medical errors in hospitals. Compound this number with the unreported mistakes made in other healthcare settings (physicians’ offices, urgent care centers, nursing homes, pharmacies and home care) and the magnitude of medical malpractice becomes staggering. In addition to the high costs of medical mistakes in terms of lives and quality of life, our nation pays an estimated $17 billion per year in costs due to preventable errors.
How do you know if you have a potential case? One sign would be an unexpected or very different result from a surgery or medical treatment. Also, death or severe injury that occurs as a result of "routine" treatments or surgeries where the physician or doctor can give no reasonable explanation for the death or worsened condition of the patient, may give cause to consider that medical malpractice may have occurred.
In Florida, a medical malpractice action must be brought within two years from the date of the incident or from the date when the incident was or should have been discovered. You should bring any potential medical malpractice claim to the attention of an experienced malpractice attorney as soon as it is suspected in order to protect your rights.
If you have any legal question regarding injury or death related to medical malpractice, contact the Florida medical malpractice lawyers at Gordon & Doner, P.A. Our firm believes that our system of justice works best when skilled attorneys who have the resources to fully prepare and try a case represent both sides.
Please complete our online contact form or call us toll free at 1-888-ForTheInjured (1-888-367-8434).
For more information, please see the following related page on our
website:
How to avoid medical
malpractice
Children Drug Errors
