Fort Myers Medical Malpractice Lawyer
It is bad enough when you are seriously injured due to someone else’s negligence. But if the negligent party is your own doctor or healthcare provider, you feel shocked and even betrayed. After all, you rely on doctors to make you better, not worse. So when you are the victim of medical malpractice, you understandably want justice.
Unfortunately, medical malpractice is not rare. It is also not as easy as you might think to recover damages for malpractice under Florida law. The state’s legal system creates a regime highly favorable to doctors. Unlike other kinds of personal injury claims, you will need to jump through a number of proverbial hoops before your malpractice case ever sees the inside of a courtroom. This is why it is critical to work with the experienced Fort Myers medical malpractice lawyers at the Kuhn Law Firm if you or a family member have been injured by any act of healthcare-related negligence.
What Kinds of Malpractice Can I Seek Compensation For?
Medical malpractice takes many forms. Broadly speaking, it refers to a scenario where a healthcare provider–a doctor, nurse, hospital, etc.–fails to provide the “accepted standard of care in the medical community” for a given case. In other words, malpractice is situational. What a judge or jury will look at is whether or not a healthcare provider faced with a similar situation to yours would have acted in the same way.
Some of the more common forms of malpractice we see at the Kuhn Law Firm include:
- anesthesia errors;
- emergency room misdiagnosis;
- delayed diagnosis;
- surgical mistakes or postoperative care negligence;
- hospital malpractice for failing to supervise employees; and
- misuse of medical devices.
How Florida Law Governs Medical Malpractice Claims
The first thing you need to know about Florida medical malpractice law is that the clock is always ticking. Florida sets a two-year statute of limitations from the date of your injury. In some cases this two-year clock does not begin to run until you actually discover the problem–which may be weeks or months after the doctor’s negligent act–but unless the healthcare provider intentionally deceived you about the injury, you must file a malpractice claim no later than four years after the date it occurred. (There are further exceptions to this rule for medical malpractice cases involving minors under the age of eight.)
Florida law also requires you to notify a negligent healthcare provider in advance of your intent to pursue a malpractice case. This pre-suit notice must include a signed affidavit from a medical professional certifying that you have a valid claim. The notice also gives the healthcare provider 90 days to try and reach a settlement with you, during which time the clock stops on the statute of limitations.
Speak With the Kuhn Law Firm Today
In a successful malpractice case, the victim is entitled to recover actual damages for their medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and pain and suffering. While no amount of money can ever truly make you whole following a medical malpractice incident, it can help you and your family rebuild your lives. So if you have been the victim of physician or hospital negligence and need assistance from a qualified Fort Myers medical malpractice lawyer, contact the Kuhn Law Firm, P.A., at 239-333-4529 today.
