St. Petersburg Child Injury Lawyer

If negligent medical treatment hurt your child, you deserve justice. A St. Petersburg medical malpractice lawyer with Freidin Brown, P.A. will fight for the maximum compensation possible for your child’s injury claim. We want you to have the resources your family needs to heal and move forward.

Our team of attorneys has over 100 years of combined legal experience. We know how to prove medical negligence and will do what it takes to get the money you need and deserve. Call 24/7 for a free case evaluation. Conversations with our law firm are always confidential.

We Will Seek Maximum Compensation for Your Child Injury Claim

Pediatric injuries can be life-altering for children and families and involve extended medical care, and the resulting losses can be significant. If your child suffered a severe or permanent injury, you likely have concerns about their health and future and how you will access the treatments and services they need.

For these reasons, it is vital you pursue all of your recoverable damages. Our St. Petersburg child injury lawyers will identify your current costs and obtain estimates to ensure you have money for your child’s ongoing care. When necessary, we will consult medical experts, life care planners, and economists to assist in this process.

In general, recoverable compensation may include:

• Medical bills. We can seek compensation for the negligent treatment that harmed your child. We can also pursue awards for emergency transportation and services, medical procedures, hospital stays, physical therapy, mobility aids, medications, medical equipment, and extended nursing. We can work to recover past medical expenses, as well as money for all future medical care that your child may need.
• Education and therapy. If your child requires or will require educational services, speech or occupational therapy, assistance with daily living, or life care, we can seek these costs.
• Lost income. If you missed work to care for your child, we can pursue your lost wages. If you must take an extended absence or leave the workforce to act as a caregiver, we can seek compensation for reduced earning capacity.
• Pain and suffering. We can seek these damages for your child’s physical pain, emotional suffering, mental anguish, and lost quality of life. We can also pursue these losses on behalf of parents.
• Wrongful death. We understand that money cannot ease your grief, but it may help to hold responsible parties accountable. We will seek compensation for wrongful death, so you do not have to face financial hardships while mourning.

Our Pediatric Injury Case Record

Our firm has achieved over $500 million in settlements and judgments for personal injury and medical malpractice victims across Florida. Our birth injury and pediatric malpractice case results include:

• $38 million: A jury ruled that doctors were negligent for failing to screen and diagnose twin babies for retinopathy of prematurity after their premature birth. The babies lost their sight, which could have been preserved with proper treatment.
• $12.7 million: We secured this judgment for a 5-year-old child who sustained a brain injury because of negligent treatment.
• $2 million: Sadly, this case involved the death of a 12-year-old child. We proved that emergency room doctors mistook her symptoms as drug induced. They failed to diagnose and treat a brain hemorrhage. A correct diagnosis would have saved her life.

We Are Experienced Florida Medical Malpractice Attorneys

If medical negligence harmed your child, not just any legal team will do. You need a law firm with medical malpractice experience. At Freidin Brown, P.A., our lawyers focus on these types of cases. We know the ins and outs of Florida’s complex malpractice laws. We can help you avoid common pitfalls that an attorney who primarily handles standard personal injury cases might miss.

Our child injury attorneys will:

• Investigate your pediatric malpractice claim
• Prepare and file insurance paperwork and legal documents
• Demand maximum compensation for your losses
• Aggressively negotiate on your behalf, protecting you from lowball offers, undue pressure, and bad-faith insurance tactics
• Track and manage deadlines
• Provide frequent and timely case updates

Our St. Petersburg pediatric injury attorneys will negotiate with insurance companies and hospitals for fair compensation. However, we will take your case to court and represent you at trial if needed. Our staff includes two Board-Certified trial attorneys, and we have taken hundreds of cases before judges and juries.

To learn more about our services, contact us online or call today for a free case evaluation. Conversations with our firm are confidential.

Child Injury Cases We Handle

Pediatric patients can be susceptible to illnesses and injuries that do not affect adult patients as commonly. Because of their smaller size and weight, they can also be more vulnerable than adults to medication errors and anesthesia errors. We have experience in these and other types of medical malpractice cases, including claims involving:

• Hospital negligence
• Doctor error
• Nursing error
• Surgical complications
• Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose
• Cancer malpractice
• Birth injuries

We can help victims seek damages against providers and their employers when applicable. These can include hospitals such as:

• Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
• Children’s Medical Center
• Muma Children’s Hospital at Tampa General Hospital

When you suspect medical negligence caused your child’s injuries, do not hesitate to reach out to us.

We Will Prove Medical Negligence Caused Your Child’s Pediatric Injury

The cornerstone of any medical malpractice case is negligence. We must prove your child’s injury resulted from a medical error and would not have occurred with proper treatment. Establishing medical negligence requires proving the following four elements:

1. Duty of care. Doctors have a duty to treat patients according to the standards of their profession. A duty of care exists if there is a doctor/patient relationship.
2. Breach of duty. Doctors breach the duty of care when they fail to treat patients or do not treat patients by accepted medical standards. In other words, when confronted with the same situation, would another physician find the doctor’s actions reasonable or necessary?
3. Causation. Causation demonstrates that the breach was a direct cause of injury.
4. Damages. Damages establish that the injury led to tangible and intangible losses.

Evidence in Child Injury Cases

Our St. Petersburg child injury lawyers will build your case with evidence, including eyewitness accounts, medical records, and scientific and medical research. We also hire top doctors and nurses from across the county who can provide expert testimony on the standard of care and how it was breached.

At least two attorneys will oversee case planning and strategy sessions. We also have paralegals who oversee cases with our lawyers. In addition, we have access to the newest courtroom technology.

Who Is Liable?

Liability for your child’s injury will depend on the facts of your case. You may have a claim against a:

• Pediatrician
• Nurse
• Pediatric surgeon
• Pediatric oncologist
• Hospital or emergency department
• Laboratory
• Pharmacy

Our lawyers can pursue multiple claims against multiple parties if applicable.

We Will Pursue Your Child Injury Case Before Time Runs Out

According to Florida Statutes § 95.11, the statute of limitations provides time limitations for you to file your child’s lawsuit, and there are many factors that can impact the deadlines. The clock starts when your child’s injury occurred or was reasonably discovered. Please keep in mind that Florida has presuit requirements that can impact your timeline, so the sooner you can file, the better.

If you do not provide presuit notice and file your lawsuit before the deadlines, the court will usually refuse your case. You will not be able to sue for damages, which will also reduce your bargaining power with the insurance company or the hospital. We can help you get started before it is too late.

Child Injury Lawsuit FAQs for St. Petersburg Parents

Find answers to frequently asked questions about medical malpractice and child injuries:

How Common Are Pediatric Medical Malpractice Claims?

Pediatricians face medical malpractice claims at a lower rate than most other specialties.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), only around 3 percent of pediatricians have a malpractice claim filed against them in a given year. For comparison, neurosurgeons have the highest claims rate, at around 19 percent.

How Much Is the Average Child Injury Settlement?

Though their claims rate is lower, pediatrician medical malpractice payout amounts are among the highest. The AAP reports that the average malpractice settlement for pediatric injuries is $521,000.

However, the value of your case will depend on factors unique to your claim, including your child’s age, the severity of their injury, and its overall impact on your child’s and family’s well-being and future.

Will My Child Injury Case Go to Court?

Many medical malpractice cases get settled before going to court. However, if we must take legal action to obtain fair compensation, we will not hesitate.

Before you can sue, you must serve the defendant with a notice of intent. This document must include an affidavit of merit from a medical expert affirming your case has grounds. Our legal team can handle these details. Once we serve notice, it begins a 90-day presuit process, during which the court pauses (tolls) the statute of limitations.

Contact Freidin Brown, P.A. for a Free Case Review

Freidin Brown, P.A. wants to make securing quality legal services affordable and accessible. We offer clients free and confidential case evaluations and take cases on contingency, so you pay no upfront cost or fees to work with us. We only get paid once we obtain compensation for you.

Our law firm has fought for personal injury and medical malpractice victims across Florida since 1976. We can meet with clients over Zoom and have staff that speak fluent Spanish. Call now to connect with our St. Petersburg child injury lawyers about your pediatric injury case.