Legal Issues When Florida Medical Malpractice Leads to Permanent Disability
“Medical negligence” is a broad term as defined by Florida’s statute on medical malpractice, covering a wide range of mistakes, errors in judgment, and other misconduct that deviates from recognized medical standards. The resulting harm for the patient can range from minimal effects to a life-threatening ailment to death. In some cases, medical malpractice can lead a patient to suffer permanent disability, which carries long-term consequences in addition to the immediate injuries.
Being permanently disabled because of medical negligence is a tragic scenario, which is why it is essential to consult with a Miami medical malpractice attorney right away for assistance with your legal remedies. This overview of the key issues and complications may also be helpful.
Damages in Medical Malpractice Cases: Before getting to the specifics of disability caused by medical negligence, you should get an idea of how compensation works in a Florida med mal case. There are two categories of damages that you may be able to recover:
- Economic Damages: This category includes your quantifiable losses that can be proven through measurable means, such as the receipts, invoices, and documentation regarding your medical care. Other examples include your loss of income and earning capacity while away from work and the expense of all care and treatment received as a result of the negligence.
- Non-Economic Damages: This type of damages is more qualitative, personal, and subjective in nature. These are the losses that may not be represented by paperwork, but you most certainly endure hardship after being harmed by a medical error. Non-economic damages include pain and suffering and loss of consortium.
How Being Permanently Disabled Affects Your Compensation: With this description of monetary damages in mind, you can see how the relevant concepts apply when medical negligence results in permanent disability:
- Medical costs may be higher to treat your urgent health care needs and stabilize your condition in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
- You may also incur higher medical expenses over your lifetime, since many people with permanent disabilities suffer from associated medical ailments.
- A permanent disability affects your independence, so you may be reliant on others for basic living necessities, and at-home healthcare may be necessary.
- If you require a wheelchair, specialized bed, scooter, renovations to your home, or other assistive devices to make it easier to live with a permanent disability, the costs can be substantial.
- A person with a permanent disability may never work again or might be limited in what they can earn. In addition to lost wages, you may be able to recover for losses related to your future earning capacity.
Our Miami Medical Malpractice Lawyers Will Protect Your Future
If you suffered permanent disability because of a health care provider’s mistake, you face an uphill battle when it comes to your physical, emotional, and financial needs. While taking legal action will not reverse your situation, you may gain some relief from knowing that you can obtain compensation for your losses. To learn how our team can help, please contact Freidin Brown, P.A. to set up a free consultation at our offices.
