The Basics of Medical MalpracticeEvery day I receive calls from people who have been injured by their doctor or a hospital. One of the first questions I ask is, “Do you know how medical malpractice works in Florida?" Unsurprisingly, most people answer “no.” Medical malpractice isn’t something that most people see in their everyday lives. Because of the complexity of these cases, it makes it difficult to evaluate them on an initial phone call. We can go over the basics such as what happened, when did it happen, and who did it, but we can't give a proper answer without more information. In order to properly evaluate a medical malpractice case, it’s important to gather the relevant information. This includes:
Start gathering this documentation early. In Florida, medical malpractice has a two year statute of limitations. While that might seem like a long time, from a legal standpoint it is not. When you request records from a hospital or other provider, it often takes at least 30 days to receive the records. Every case requires additional information, but medical malpractice most of all. No attorney alone can say whether medical malpractice has occurred. Florida Statute 766.101 requires the injured party to present an opinion by a medical expert in order to proceed with a lawsuit. The medical expert is a doctor who specializes in the same area of medicine as the negligent doctor. The medical expert reviews the relevant medical records and determines if in fact there was medical malpractice. If the medical expert says yes, then you can proceed with a lawsuit. If the medical expert says there was no malpractice then you can’t move forward or you need to find a new medical expert to review the case. Understandably, finding a medical expert takes time. Typically, we look for a medical expert from a state outside of Florida. This helps prevent any bias or conflicts of interest. Once we locate a medical expert, that expert reviews the medical records. Depending on the expert and the amount of records (there are often thousands of pages) this can take about a month. Finally, when the expert opinion comes in, we can finally start the litigation process. If you’ve been a victim of medical negligence in Orlando or anywhere in the state of Florida call Attorney Andrew Graves for a free case evaluation or complete our online consultation form and we'll contact you.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Legal BlogAuthorAttorney Andrew Graves is an experienced attorney who specializes in personal injury, car crashes, medical malpractice, and workers compensation. Archives
February 2025
Categories
All
|