What to Do If You Or a Loved One Is Injured in a Hospital
Receiving treatment at a Florida hospital is often necessary for a serious illness or a medical emergency. You may even visit a medical facility if you need elective surgery for a specific health condition. Either way, most people don’t think about the possibility of being injured due to patient neglect or a hospital mistake. Learning about your rights as a patient is important if you are involved with any of these situations.
Medical malpractice in Florida can happen in different ways, whether it’s negligent treatment, failure to diagnose a medical condition, or failure to warn a patient of potential risks involving surgery or administration of drugs. Unfortunately, medical malpractice is a common occurrence that can lead to serious health consequences or even wrongful death. Reaching out to a seasoned medical malpractice lawyer can help you understand all of your available options if you or a loved one was injured as a patient in a hospital.
Howard Grossman is one of the leading hospital negligence attorneys in Florida that’s handled a wide range of lawsuits in his three decades of litigation. He and his experienced staff members will work with you to determine if your injuries occurred due to medical malpractice according to Florida laws. If you or a loved one were injured as a patient while being treated at a Florida hospital, you might be entitled to compensation. Reach out to the medical injury lawyers at Grossman Attorneys at Law today to discuss the details of your case.
Can You File a Claim Against a Hospital in Florida?
Suing a healthcare facility for negligence in Florida is possible if a patient was injured due to hospital or staff negligence. An injured party can file claims for economic and non-economic damages, and potentially punitive damages as well.
A few examples of non-economic damages include:
- Emotional Distress
- Inconvenience
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Pain and Suffering
Grossman Attorneys at Law works with a team of medical experts to review each case to help determine if a patient injury qualifies for non-economic damages.
Common Hospital Injuries That Result from Negligence
The most common causes of hospital errors considered negligent are:
- Childbirth Injuries
- Diagnosis Errors
- Infections
- Gross Negligence
- Hospital Mistakes
- Medication Errors
- Operating Room Mistakes
- Surgical Errors
Medical staff negligence cases are estimated to cause nearly 251,000 deaths each year in the United States. Such a high number makes it the third leading cause of death in the entire country. Reaching out to experienced personal injury lawyers for a free case review can help you determine if you have a viable case for suing a hospital for negligence related to a patient injury.
Does Your Hospital Injury Qualify as Malpractice?
Understanding if you have a hospital malpractice case is a big challenge without the help of an experienced medical law firm. Sometimes bad things happen at a hospital, and it doesn’t involve patient neglect. Working with an attorney well versed in medical injury claims is important in studying the details of your individual case to determine your best course of action.
Here is an overview of the most common reasons for medical malpractice.
- Anesthesiologist Mistake: An anesthesiologist who fails to administer the correct dosage before surgery can lead to serious health consequences. Each patient also must be monitored during anesthesia.
- Hospital-Acquired Infection: Patients can develop an infection in a hospital over time. Infections can complicate existing problems and may even lead to death.
- Medical Negligence: An understaffed medical facility may not provide adequate care for a patient. A lack of training for medical staff can also result in serious injuries or wrongful death.
- Medication Errors: Administering medication that leads to an allergic reaction or blood clots due to a patient’s pre-existing medical condition can result in malpractice. Providing an improper dosage or the wrong medication is also considered medical malpractice.
- Misdiagnosis: A misdiagnosis is possible if a prescribed treatment isn’t working. The impact of a misdiagnosis can be devastating, as you are at a much greater risk of becoming more ill or suffering additional injuries.
- Surgical Error: A surgeon that isn’t paying close attention can accidentally leave an instrument within your body or even remove the wrong thing. Surgical error is considered a form of medical staff malpractice.
What Will It Cost to File a Hospital Lawsuit?
Grossman Attorneys at Law handles medical negligence lawsuit cases on a contingency basis. In other words, you don’t have to pay anything upfront for using a personal injury attorney. You will only agree to pay a fixed percentage of the medical malpractice case if it’s won or if a settlement is reached. Our law firm has a well-known reputation for being one of the top Florida medical malpractice firms by recovering millions of dollars for our clients.
You will have a two-year statute of limitations for suing a hospital for negligence. The two-year limit applies to the date of the patient’s injury. If you can’t remember the specific date, the limit will be two years from the end of hospitalization or treatment. Only on rare occasions will malpractice claims be heard outside of this time period, as this usually involves ongoing medical problems that are difficult to pinpoint the exact date.
What Compensation Can You Receive from a Hospital Mistake Claim?
An injured person may be awarded the following compensation in a hospital lawsuit:
- Financial losses due to injury
- Loss of past and future earnings
- Medical bills
- Pain and suffering
Up until January 2022, the medical malpractice laws in Florida placed a cap on the amount of non-economic damages a patient could receive if they won a hospital lawsuit. These caps have been removed and no there is no limit to the amount of compensation you can recover. Like most states, Florida does not have a cap for economic damages.
Sometimes a medically-related lawsuit isn’t considered medical negligence. One example is a failed medical device, as this would be listed under product liability claims. A good Florida personal injury lawyer can help you determine the eligibility of your case.
Grossman Attorneys at Law has both won and settled many multi-million dollar cases over the years for medical malpractice. However, the vast majority of these patient neglect settlements include non-disclosure agreements, as the specific amount remains confidential.
Speak with a Local Hospital Negligence Lawyer in Florida
Reaching out to an attorney is important if you or one of your loved ones was injured while being a patient at a medical facility. A skilled personal injury attorney will review your case to determine if you can sue a hospital for medical malpractice or patient neglect.
Howard Grossman is a top personal injury attorney in Florida that will fight for your rights if you plan to sue a hospital. His law firm represents a wide range of families across Florida who suffered from hospital neglect, product liability, and patient injury claims.
Our law firm is one of the top medical malpractice plaintiff firms in Florida. Contact Grossman Attorneys at Law today for a free case review if you feel that you or a loved one was injured as a patient at a hospital or healthcare facility. Our staff will evaluate your claim and discuss all of your options.
Comments 3
My sister was injured during a tracheostomy (because she was intubated unnecessarily and needed to come off the ventilator)
During this procedure, done at her bedside and expected to take 30 – 40 minutes, the doctor jammed a tube into her trachea at the wrong spot. The doctor shoved the tube through my sister’s trachea and into her esophagus. It took over 3 hours at my sister’s bedside before we could see her. When we did see her her abdomen was swelling in front of our eyes, the medical staff did not know they had punctured my sister’s esophagus and the oxygen was being pumped inside hermeneutics.
This was so traumatic, and shortly after the doctor took me aside to suggest we airlift her to a more capable hospital. We did consent to that.
She has spent 4 months in the hospital, has permanently lost her voice, ( the doctor ruptured her vocal chords) and is now on a feeding tube in her belly. Her thyroid was distroyed by the attempt to place the tracheal tube and has a fistula between her esophagus and her trachea. This has resisted repair once.
My sister coded twice in this second hospital due to the reckless treatment that we saw at the first hospital.
We have spoken to one of the top lawyers in the state of Florida. They tell us that because the reckless and possible malpractice occurred in a public hospital we do not have a case that is worth pursuing. Apparently, sovereign immunity protects this hospital and everyone who works there. How can that be true? If this had happened at the hospital a couple of miles down the road we would have a solid malpractice case. We feel so dejected, my sister will never be the same.
Hello,
I had surgery in ocala, fl. that went bad and resulted with several months in the hospital and lose of time with my children and husband and after 18 years of marriage I had to leave my husband and everything that took years to build. My health was affected in many aspects and has put restrictions on my abilities to do things I used to do before the surgery. My case is one that every attorney I have begged to help me has told me my case is too difficult. Please if you think you can help me then email me with a time or number I can consult with you.
Good morning, I am doing with a major issue post surgery. I would like to discuss this with an attorney.