Does Morgan & Morgan Handle Medical Malpractice Cases in Florida?

Understanding Medical Negligence and Florida’s Presuit Process

Medical malpractice claims in Florida can involve additional legal and procedural requirements beyond those in many other personal injury cases. A claim generally requires evidence that a healthcare provider failed to meet the applicable standard of care and that the failure caused harm.

Before a medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed, Florida law also requires a pre-suit investigation and notice process. Depending on the circumstances, that process may include reviewing medical records and obtaining a written medical expert opinion supporting the basis for the claim.

Morgan & Morgan can review what happened, evaluate whether medical negligence may have contributed to your injuries, and help you understand the steps that may be required to pursue a claim.

Defining Medical Malpractice

Not every poor medical outcome is the result of malpractice. Some conditions are difficult to treat, complications can occur even when appropriate care is provided, and an unexpected result alone does not establish that a healthcare provider was negligent.

Medical malpractice may occur when a healthcare provider fails to meet the applicable standard of care and a patient is harmed as a result. In Florida, the standard of care generally looks at the level of care, skill, and treatment that reasonably prudent similar healthcare providers would consider acceptable under the circumstances.

Determining whether that standard was breached can require a detailed review of the medical records, the treatment provided, and the circumstances surrounding the patient’s care.

Types of Medical Malpractice Claims

Medical malpractice can arise in many different forms, depending on the care provided and how the patient was harmed. Claims may involve:

• Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis: A missed or delayed diagnosis can allow a condition to worsen or delay necessary treatment.
• Surgical errors: Claims may involve wrong-site procedures, retained surgical objects, anesthesia errors, infections linked to negligent care, or other preventable surgical mistakes.
• Medication errors: Prescribing, administering, or dispensing the wrong medication or dosage can cause serious harm.
• Birth injuries: Medical negligence during pregnancy, labor, or delivery may contribute to injuries affecting a baby or mother.
• Hospital negligence: Hospitals and other healthcare facilities may face liability when failures involving staffing, supervision, credentialing, risk management, or other aspects of patient care contribute to an injury.

Liability in a medical malpractice case can extend beyond an individual doctor or other provider. Depending on the circumstances, a hospital or healthcare facility may be responsible for its own failures in selecting, reviewing, or supervising medical staff or for other negligence related to patient care.

Determining who may be responsible requires reviewing the medical records, the relationships between the providers and facilities involved, and the circumstances surrounding the treatment.

How a Medical Malpractice Claim Is Evaluated

Evaluating a potential medical malpractice claim often begins with a detailed review of the care provided and how that care may have contributed to the patient’s injuries.

Medical records can help reconstruct the course of treatment, including the patient’s symptoms, diagnoses, test results, medications, procedures, and changes in condition. Qualified medical experts may also review the records and compare the care provided with what reasonably prudent similar healthcare providers would have done under the circumstances.

This investigation can help determine whether the applicable standard of care may have been breached and whether that breach contributed to the patient’s harm.

Florida’s Presuit Medical Malpractice Process

Florida medical malpractice claims must generally go through a presuit investigation and notice process before a lawsuit can be filed.

As part of that process, the available medical records and other evidence are reviewed to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to pursue a medical negligence claim. Florida law also requires a supporting written opinion from a qualified medical expert before the required notice of intent is provided to prospective defendants.

The healthcare provider or other prospective defendant then has an opportunity to investigate and respond to the claim before litigation proceeds.

Because medical malpractice cases involve specific procedural requirements and legal deadlines, an attorney can help determine which steps apply and prepare the claim accordingly.

Morgan & Morgan offers free case evaluations for people who believe they may have been harmed by medical negligence. If we take your case, we work on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not pay upfront attorney’s fees. If we recover compensation for you through a settlement or verdict, the attorney’s fee is calculated as a percentage of that recovery. If we do not recover compensation for you, you do not pay an attorney’s fee.

If you have questions about medical care that may have caused an injury, contact Morgan & Morgan today for a free case evaluation.