What Qualifies As Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice is one of the most complex types of personal injury cases out there. To successfully prove a case, it’s necessary to be deeply familiar with the laws surrounding negligence in a healthcare context. 

It also doesn’t hurt to know some of the basics of what medical malpractice qualifies before contacting an attorney, as it can even help alleviate some of the stress.

When it comes to all things medical malpractice in the Sunshine State, attorneys at Sowell & Chakour have got you covered. Here’s what you need to know.

What laws apply to malpractice cases?

If you’ve had a bad experience while under the care of a medical professional, you might be wondering if you can recover compensation for the troubles you endured.

First, you need to be familiar with the basic Statutes serving as the legal foundation of what medical malpractice qualifies as. According to Florida Statutes, you must prove negligence and demonstrate that the health provider in question failed to act in a way that a reasonably skilled medical provider in question would have in the same circumstances. 

You can’t even consider a lawsuit until you (your attorney, to be precise) conduct an investigation. This ensures that you’re not making unfounded claims.

What are negligence and breach of duty?

The key aspects of a malpractice case (and the answer to what medical malpractice qualifies as) are breach of duty and negligence. 

Negligence is easy to understand. As we already mentioned, it occurs when a medical provider fails to meet the professional standards of care that an approximate provider would under the same circumstances. 

Similarly, breach of duty is when the provider doesn’t fulfill their obligations. If they fail to treat your injury and cause another injury as a result, they breach their duty. Any medical professional who treats you has a duty of care toward you due to the doctor-patient relationship. 

Establishing causation

In addition to proving the negligent behavior, your attorney needs to establish causation. In other words, they have to prove a direct connection between negligence and injury. 

Not every case of negligence automatically means the injury is caused by a negligent action. It’s necessary to prove that the health provider’s mistake is more likely than not their fault. 

Demonstrating damages

Lastly, a medical malpractice case is valid if there are damages associated with the injury. For instance, if a physician misdiagnoses (which fits the category of malpractice) but later realizes their mistake, then provides the correct diagnosis and you start recovering, there is no valid malpractice claim as there is no injury.

On the other hand, if the same physician from the previous example never corrects the course and leaves you with permanent complications and damages, you can pursue a malpractice case.

What type of damages can you recover?

You can recover both economic and non-economic damages in a malpractice case. The former is self-explanatory - economic damages are awarded to compensate you for tangible losses you suffered as a result of your injury. Think medical expenses, future earnings, lost wages, and so on. 

Anything that has a receipt or a bill can be compensated for. 

In contrast, non-economic damages compensate you for the emotional and physical turmoil you suffered. While these are not easily quantifiable, you can determine the appropriate amount by consulting a malpractice attorney.

In Florida, there is a $500k cap on non-economic damages. If the negligence resulted in death or extensive permanent injuries, the cap may rise to $1 million.

You may also be able to recover punitive damages in case the medical provider acted recklessly or maliciously. These scenarios are rare, but they do happen. If the jury or the judge finds the defendant’s actions abhorrent, they’ll award you extra compensation to punish the defendant and discourage similar types of behavior.

Medical malpractice statute of limitations

The statute of limitations refers to the time limit placed on bringing forth legal claims. For Florida malpractice claims, the statute of limitations is two years from the moment you discovered (or should have reasonably discovered) that the negligent physician caused you harm.

Although two years seems like an ample amount of time, it isn’t. It takes a while to build a strong case so you don’t want to start the process too late. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing your right to file a lawsuit. 

What do lawsuits look like?

Once your legal team investigates the events, they’ll support you in filing the lawsuit. 

The entire process will be made up of the following steps:

• Filing: the attorney will file a legal complaint containing all the details of the case
• Discovery: both parties must exchange case information that often serves as an extra source of evidence
• Pre-trial negotiations: most cases don’t go to trial and are resolved during negotiations. Your attorney will make an offer and the other party can either agree or make a counteroffer.
• Trial: if parties can’t agree on the resolution of the case, the trial will commence. Both parties will have the opportunity to present their case before a jury. 
• Verdict: the jury will deliberate and decide the case on the merits of evidence
• Appeals: both parties can file an appeal to get the case evaluated by a higher court if they believe the resolution of the trial was wrong. 

Is your malpractice case valid?

Even with the basic knowledge of what medical malpractice qualifies as, you may still not fully understand whether your case is valid. Don’t worry about it, though. Matters surrounding medical negligence are notoriously complex because the legal field and the medical profession are closely intertwined in all types of malpractice cases. 

There’s no need to stress over your case. Attorneys working at Sowell Chakour have deep experience in the field of medical malpractice, and we’ve successfully recovered substantial compensation for the vast majority of our clients.

Our track record doesn’t lie, and neither do our credentials. In fact, our leading attorney worked as a surgeon before becoming one of the best malpractice attorneys in Florida, allowing us to always bring a higher level of knowledge to the table. 

If you’re unsure about how to proceed, schedule a free case evaluation by calling (833) 633-6257 or filling out our contact form.

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.