Naples Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Most of us can admit to making a mistake at work. Thankfully, most of these mistakes are easily corrected and pose little harm to others. But when your job involves providing medical care, even a “simple” mistake can leave a patient in far worse shape than when they came to receive that care.
Although the medical profession has made enormous strides when it comes to patient safety, the reality is that hundreds of thousands of people are still injured every year due to medical errors. If you are one of those people and are looking to hold a reckless or negligent provider accountable, our Naples medical malpractice lawyer can help. At the Pendas Law Firm, we represent victims of medical negligence and their families in seeking appropriate compensation from doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other providers whose errors have proven far too costly.
How the “Standard of Care” Defines Medical Malpractice
In Florida, medical malpractice law is rooted in the principle of the “standard of care.” This refers to the degree of skill or care that an average health care provider in a given specialty is expected to provide their patients. Put another way, a doctor is not necessarily negligent simply because they made a mistake in providing patient care. But they are negligent if their actions were considered unreasonably risky for an average practitioner in their field.
Because the standard of care is not considered something that the average layperson can determine on their own, Florida law requires medical malpractice plaintiffs to conduct a “reasonable investigation” before they are allowed to sue a health care provider. This investigation requires the plaintiff to obtain an affidavit signed by an expert in the relevant field stating the malpractice case has merit.
This is not the only special rule that applies to Florida medical malpractice cases. As with most personal injury cases there is a statute of limitation–a deadline to file a claim. This deadline is normally 2 years from the date the plaintiff discovered the alleged medical mistake (or the mistake should have been discovered through due diligence). But there is also a 4-year statute of repose. This means that regardless of when the medical malpractice was discovered, you generally cannot sue a provider more than 4 years after the mistake actually happened, unless there is evidence of fraud or the victim was a young child.
Contact The Pendas Law Firm Today
Medical malpractice can take many forms. It may be something as simple as a technician failing to read your test results correctly. Or it may be something as complicated as a botched surgery. But regardless of what form it takes, any act of medical negligence can leave you facing the need for further medical treatment and rehabilitation, which in turn can leave you with an even larger pile of medical bills and mounting financial losses.
A medical malpractice lawsuit enables you to seek compensation for this and other damages that you have suffered as a result of a health care provider’s mistakes. So if you need legal advice or assistance from a skilled Naples medical malpractice attorney, contact the Pendas Law Firm today to schedule a consultation.
