When we seek medical attention for any reason, we are putting our health and possibly our lives in the hands of another. This is already a high-stress situation, given the stakes of what would happen if something were to go wrong. So, what happens if the doctor to who you trust your care to does not follow the medically accepted standard of care with your treatment?
If you believe you have been a victim of medical malpractice, call the law offices of Carey Leisure Carney today to speak with a medical malpractice attorney regarding your potential case.
What types of cases do we handle?
Emergency Room Negligence
If you recently had a trip to the Emergency Room and feel you received sub-standard care during your visit, we may be able to help you seek compensation for your injuries. Give us a call if you experienced any of the following misdiagnoses during your ER visit:
- Missed heart attack
- Missed stroke
- Cauda Equina Syndrome/Epidural Abscesses – missed abscess that developed on your spine during treatment causing weakness or paralysis of the legs
- Perforated bowel
- Sepsis
- Improper treatment of a medical condition
- Anesthesia improperly administered
Surgery with Retained Foreign Bodies
Were you hospitalized for a routine procedure, and developed an infection post-procedure because the doctor left a foreign body inside you after the operation? These objects may include but are not limited to:
- Surgical sponges
- Medical towels
- Surgical tools
If you have been a victim of this type of negligence, give us a call today for a free consult. Our experienced team of attorneys has helped many patients suffering from this experience.
Wrong Surgery Site
Whether the procedure you are undergoing is elective or required, you put your life and health in the hands of a surgeon when you consent to surgery. If the surgeon performs the surgery on the wrong site, this may be considered a form of gross negligence. In not checking the chart of the patient before beginning the operation, the doctor would have shown a reckless disregard for the safety of the patient and may miss the intended subject of the surgery. Undergoing anesthesia is a stressful process for the body to begin with and having to be put under a second time if the wrong surgery is performed initially puts patients at higher risk for complications. If you have experienced this type of potentially negligent malpractice, call Carey Leisure Carney today for a free consult.
Birth Injuries
For every 1000 births each year in the U.S., between six and eight of them will suffer a birth injury. Some injuries suffered at birth may affect a child throughout their life. As birth injuries are typically caused by medical mistakes, families are usually unprepared for the additional expenses of treatment and continued care that the child will require throughout their life. These unexpected costs can be financially devastating.
Birth injuries can cause several conditions, including:
- Bleeding or lack of oxygen in the brain
- Cerebral palsy
- Erb’s palsy
- Facial never damage
- Skull fracturing
Neurological birth issues caused by malpractice in obstetric care may be covered by the NICA (Neurological Injury Compensation Association) fund. Families who apply for the fund after their child’s diagnosis receive an initial payment of $250,000, with continued lifetime payments for all medically necessary and reasonable expenses related to the child’s condition. Applying for this fund can make a huge difference in your family’s life but is a very detailed process. Consider consulting an attorney who can preserve your NICA claim.
If your child was injured during prenatal care, delivery, or during their immediate post-natal care due to a medical provider’s negligence, you may be entitled to seek compensation for their injuries and continued care. Call the law offices of Carey Leisure Carney for a free consult to see if our attorneys can help you seek compensation for your child’s injury.
Pharmaceutical Malpractice
When fulfilling your prescription at the pharmacy, were you given the wrong pills? Did your doctor prescribe a medication that was on your list of allergies? If so, you may be entitled to compensation for any injuries you sustain as a result. Medication can be life-threatening if misprescribed, and these are details that your doctor needs to pay close attention to. If you have been prescribed the wrong medication for your health needs or the incorrect dosage, and this negligence has led to injuries, call our team at Carey Leisure Carney today for a free consultation.
How to Choose a Medical Malpractice Attorney
Medical malpractice cases are quite different from personal injury cases, as they merge the two professional services of law and medicine. These cases require managing a detailed timeline, a higher burden of proof to show that the negligent actions of the provider caused the patient’s injuries, and a greater level of resources to take a case to trial. You will want to hire an attorney who has a higher level of skill and knowledge in the medical malpractice field to bring a successful claim. When selecting your attorney, be sure to look for an attorney who:
- Is familiar with the medical field
- Can read, comprehend, and provide advice on medical documents
- Has an extensive network of medical professionals from whom they can choose the most appropriate expert for your case
- Understands medical malpractice processes and procedures
- Will be able to anticipate your provider’s response to the claims to present a powerful argument
- Will be able to manage the detailed timeline of a medical malpractice case
Why You Should Hire Carey Leisure Carney as Your Medical Malpractice Attorneys
Our experienced team at Carey Leisure Carney has handled many medical malpractice cases over the 40 years that our firm has been in practice. In fact, our attorneys set the jury verdict record for Pinellas County on multiple occasions representing clients in medical malpractice claims. When you hire a Carey Leisure Carney medical malpractice attorney to represent you in a claim, you can rest assured that you are hiring a team with the necessary knowledge and resources to help you seek compensation for your injuries.
Our firm has developed a strong reputation in our community for excellence and diligence. Through this reputation, we have built a strong network of medical professionals that our attorneys can call to serve as experts on a variety of types of cases. This will help you build the strongest possible case to bring your claim to court.
The Process of Filing a Medical Malpractice Suit
When preparing your medical malpractice claim, several elements are critically important to establishing a viable case. First, a formal doctor/patient relationship is required to establish a sufficiently close relationship between the patient and the care provider. Second, the care provider performed their duty of care to the patient negligently, and third, this negligence led to the injury of the patient.
The major elements of a medical malpractice case that must be proven to bring a successful claim are a breach of the accepted standard of care and causation for the injury. To prove these elements, our attorneys will:
- Carefully review all medical records and reports to determine whether breach and causation exist for your claim
- Collect all evidence and documentation to support your claim
- From a preponderance of the evidence, determine which care providers should be held liable for your injuries
- Communicate with you throughout the process to ensure you are aware of your rights and the correct process for filing the claim
- Manage deadlines and file important motions and reports to preserve your claim
Showing a breach of the accepted standard of care can be difficult, as often medical professionals do not want to damage the reputation of their colleagues. Our firm handles this process professionally and will be able to find the most appropriate expert to handle your case. Furthermore, proving causation between the medical provider’s negligence and a patient’s injuries requires detailed reports and testimony from experts. At Carey Leisure Carney you can trust that our network of professionals will be able to provide the most detailed and accurate information as we build your medical malpractice case.
Possible Damages Recoverable in a Medical Malpractice Claim
When filing a claim for medical malpractice, the ultimate goal is to compensate the patient for the harm caused by the negligent actions of their medical provider. As a person’s life can be affected in so many ways by an injury, an experienced medical malpractice attorney will include several types of damages in your claim to maximize your settlement. The types of damages may include:
Medical Expenses – an injury caused by the negligent actions of a medical provider can have many unforeseen expenses associated with it. These may include hospitalizations, surgeries, doctors’ visits, prescription medications, physical therapy, assistive devices, etc. If you have suffered an injury so severe that the effects will plague you indefinitely, you may be able to have your future medical expenses compensated as well.
Pain and Suffering – if you suffer physical pain as a result of your medical malpractice injury, you may be able to seek recovery for your pain and suffering. Mental suffering caused as a result of your injury may qualify for compensation as well. As these damages can be difficult to prove, you will need an experienced medical malpractice attorney to maximize this type of claim.
Loss of Consortium – if your relationship with your loved ones has been irreversibly changed as a result of your medical malpractice injury, you may be able to prove a loss of consortium claim. This type of claim is meant to compensate victims for losses such as companionship, sex life, guidance and/or mentoring, and loss of marital benefits.
Lost Wages – if you were forced to take time off to recover from the injury you suffered due to medical malpractice, you may be entitled to compensation for lost wages.
Loss of Future Earning Capacity – if you are rendered unable to work or are unable to earn the same wage you received before your injury, a jury may award you damages for your lost earning capacity.
Other Potential Damages – Other damages may be available on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the situation which caused the injury, these may include compensation for permanent disability, loss of a chance, loss of parental support, etc.
If the actions of a medical provider constitute a reckless disregard for their patient’s safety, they may be guilty of gross negligence. If this gross negligence is proven in court, a jury may award the patient punitive damages. An example of an instance where these damages may be awarded would be a doctor negligently prescribing a medication to a patient that is on their list of allergies, causing a severe reaction. Punitive damages are meant to punish the medical provider and deter them from acting in this manner in the future.
Don’t Wait, Act Now!
Medical malpractice cases have a shorter statute of limitations than other civil matters involving injury due to the negligence of others. The statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases in Florida is two years from the date that you discovered the harm. This timeline is often dominated by a presuit screening process, gathering and analyzing medical records, and hiring key expert witnesses. A case brought on behalf of a child for a condition that has developed over time may trigger an extension of the statute of limitations. If you believe you have been the victim of medical malpractice, call Carey Leisure Carney today to speak with a medical malpractice attorney for a no-cost consultation.