When you are sick or injured, you visit a doctor to seek treatment, and you trust that you will receive the care you need. The majority of doctors in West Palm Beach provide the highest standard of care to ensure their doctors do not become hurt.
Unfortunately, doctors can make mistakes just like anyone else. The difference is that when medical professionals are negligent or careless, patients suffer some of the worst harm. If you or someone you love has been injured due to medical negligence, now is the time to speak with a West Palm Beach doctor error lawyer who can help you claim the financial compensation you deserve.
Types of Doctor Errors
Although no one wants to think about it, there are multiple mistakes doctors may make when they are treating patients. The most common of these include:
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis: A delayed diagnosis occurs when doctors eventually make the right diagnosis, but they do not do so in a timely manner. By the time they provide the right diagnosis, a patient could have already suffered great harm. A misdiagnosis occurs when doctors fail to properly diagnose a condition altogether, which can also result in significant harm to patients.
- Medication mistakes: Medication mistakes are quite common and they include prescribing an incorrect dosage, prescribing a medication to the wrong patient, prescribing a medicine to a patient when they are allergic to it, and more.
- Birth injuries: Both the mother and the infant can suffer serious injuries in the labor or delivery room. These include failing to use forceps properly, failing to monitor the mother or child, delaying a necessary C-section or ordering one when it is unnecessary.
- Surgical mistakes: Surgery is already a frightening prospect, but it is much worse when errors are made. Anyone on the surgical team may leave a tool inside of a patient, operate on the wrong body part or the wrong patient, or fail to provide the right post-operative care.
Injured Due to a Doctor's Mistake? Get Legal Help Today!
Not All Mistakes are Medical Malpractice
It is important to know that not every unsuccessful medical result is due to medical malpractice. When diagnosing patients and treating certain conditions, doctors often have to use a trial and error approach. If one tactic does not work, doctors may try another. This does not necessarily mean that malpractice occurred but rather, that the doctor had to rule out other conditions the patient could reasonably be suffering from.
To determine if medical malpractice occurred, you must determine that the doctor was negligent, or that they did not provide proper care. Essentially, you must show that another doctor would have acted differently in the same situation. Under Florida law, you must file a certificate of merit along with your claim. The certificate is a statement from another doctor in the same field stating that they would not have taken the same action as the defendant.
Call Our Doctor Error Lawyer in West Palm Beach for Sound Legal Advice
If you have sustained injury due to medical negligence, our West Palm Beach doctor error lawyer at Freidin Brown, P.A. can assist with your case. Our skilled attorneys have the necessary resources to obtain the evidence you need and will build the strongest case possible so you recover full damages. Call us now or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.