“Malpractice lawsuits after an error were reported infrequently (by 2 percent of physicians and 6 percent of the public)”. (Source: New England Journal of Medicine)
Medical errors are not infrequent, in fact, a report published by the Institute of Medicine estimated medical negligence-caused deaths are as high as 98,000 per year, twice the number of people who die in car accidents.
It may be safe to assume that people who have been injured or have loved ones who have died, due to medical malpractice or negligence, may not know how to bring a medical malpractice suit or even whom to sue.
Our Florida personal injury law firm is extremely experienced at handling medical malpractice cases. If you think that you have a potential medical malpractice case in Florida, here are some facts to consider:
- Medical malpractice occurs when a health care provider (or a hospital) does something that is not in good practice, or fails to do something necessary for the patient’s care.
- In Florida, the lawsuit must be filed within two years from the time the patient knew, or should have known, that the injury occurred and there was a reasonable possibility that medical malpractice caused it.
- Unless there is fraud, misrepresentation, or concealment, one can never sue a health care provider more than four years after the actual malpractice incident.
- One significant exception in Florida is “Tony’s Law” which was enacted in 1996. If a malpractice incident occurred after July 1, 1996, the four-year statute of repose cannot cut off a child’s malpractice claim before the child’s eighth birthday unless the parents or guardians knew, or should have known, about the injury and the reasonable possibility that medical malpractice caused it.
- The timeframe of a medical malpractice case varies from case to case but normally it will take one to three years to bring to conclusion. About 80% of our medical malpractice cases usually end in a settlement.
- Every medical malpractice case has unique circumstances – no matter how similar they appear – so any settlement that we have obtained in the past shouldn’t imply that you will get the same result. View some of our most noteworthy medical malpractice settlements.
- A medical malpractice case involves many costs including experts, courtroom exhibits, and technology to demonstrate how devastating the injury is. Our typical malpractice case will run between $50,000 to $200,000. Therefore, we hand-select the cases that we feel confident are winning cases.
- Just like with all of our personal injury cases, we handle medical malpractice cases on a contingency basis which means that you won’t be charged any attorney fees unless we win.
If you have a medical malpractice or hospital negligence case that you would like to discuss with us, contact our West Palm Beach personal injury law firm.