Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
If you have been injured after visiting a Hollywood or South Florida hospital, clinic, or doctor’s office, you may think you have a medical malpractice claim, especially if your injuries resulted in complications or extra medical bills. In reality, medical malpractice claims can be extremely complex and difficult to prove, even in cases where it appears clear that negligence occurred and that devastating injury resulted.
There are many reasons why proving medical malpractice claims is difficult in Hollywood and in Florida:
1) Attorneys and healthcare professionals pay considerable amounts of money for malpractice insurance and other types of coverage.
Insurance companies are usually quick to move in to defend their clients and large hospitals work to keep insurance claims and premiums low.
2) In order to be successful, economic damages must have occurred and must be substantial.
If the patient has fully recovered from their injuries and especially if a hospital or clinic took care of subsequent care at a reduced cost or no cost to the patient, there may be not be much of a claim. In most cases of medical malpractice lawsuits, injuries are permanent and devastating, totaling hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.
3) It can be a challenge to prove that a patient received substandard care.
In these cases, attorneys rely on medical testimony from nurses, doctors, medical consultants, and other professionals. They must prove an error wasn’t simply an honest mistake but a malicious and wrongful act or a negligent and reckless act below the standard of care expected by doctors dealing with the same situation with the same amount of information. This can be challenging to prove, since different medical professionals may have different opinions about the matter. Some doctors and medical professionals may be reluctant to testify against their peers.
4) It can be difficult to prove a medical error caused the injuries.
In many cases, especially in emergency room malpractice claims, there may be multiple conditions or issues. For example, if a patient presents with symptoms of a heart attack and is not adequately treated also has underlying issues or other illnesses, doctors at trial may allege these underlying conditions contributed to a heart attack, not a doctor’s diagnosis or actions. Similarly, birth injuries in Hollywood and South Florida are sometimes blamed on chance or on the mother’s medical condition rather than on the actions of a doctor. Conclusively proving that a doctor was negligent or reckless can be difficult.
If you have been injured by a physician or in a hospital, you need an attorney willing to face doctors, their insurance companies, and powerful healthcare conglomerates. The attorneys at Flaxman Law Group have more than 60 years of combined experience and would be pleased to offer you a free accident consultation so you can discuss your situation with one of our attorneys. Our attorneys can give you a thorough and honest evaluation of whether you have a claim and what steps you need to take in order to strengthen your claim. Our team has recovered more than 40 million on behalf of clients and we have a network of medical consultants and other professionals to help us pursue medical malpractice and other personal injury claims.