Medical negligence cases can be very complicated because you need to demonstrate that a doctor failed to fulfill a professional standard. Often, this requires demonstrating highly complicated and technical medical errors that occurred.
Diaco Law is here to help with this process. Dr. Dan Diaco is a doctor as well as an attorney, giving him a unique ability to understand the technical details behind Florida malpractice claims. Diaco Law also has decades of experience representing malpractice victims and has recovered millions for clients.
You can give our medical malpractice attorneys in Tampa a call or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with a Florida medical malpractice lawyer. You can also read on to learn more about how to prove medical negligence in a malpractice case.
Understand the Elements of a Malpractice Claim
It’s important to understand exactly what you need to prove to make a successful claim for malpractice. You will need to prove four elements of your claim:
- Your doctor owes you a duty of care: When you establish a doctor-patient relationship, including in the ER or at urgent care, your doctor owes you a duty.
- Your doctor breached the duty: This involves showing negligence and can be one of the most complicated parts of your case.
- Your doctor’s negligence caused you harm: You must link the doctor’s failures to specific consequences, such as a worsening of your condition.
- You suffered damages you can be compensated for: Typically, this means showing that the harm your doctor caused you to endure resulted in higher medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, or emotional distress.
Diaco Law understands the law in detail and can help you prove each of these elements of your claim.
Define the Standard of Care
You can prove negligence in a medical malpractice case by showing that your doctor breached the standard of care.
Florida Statute section 766.102 specifies what the duty of care is in Florida malpractice claims. According to the relevant law:
“The prevailing professional standard of care for a given health care provider shall be that level of care, skill, and treatment which, in light of all relevant surrounding circumstances, is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent similar health care providers.”
Under this standard of care, doctors are not expected to be infallible. They are expected to provide a professional level of care that’s reasonable given their experiences, the resources available to them, and the circumstances of the situation.
Your doctor’s actions and omissions are compared to what a similarly trained physician would have done under the same circumstances. If no reasonable doctor with similar training would have made the errors your doctor made, your doctor can be considered to have breached the professional standard of care. This likely means they were negligent.
Gather Medical Records
Your medical records are a key part of proving negligence, as you need to demonstrate exactly what happened when your doctor made the mistake.
Your attorney can help you obtain copies of your records from the doctor, hospital, or other healthcare facility so you can obtain the fullest possible picture of what happened leading up to the medical mistake.
Connect With Experts Who Can Provide an Affidavit
Florida Statute § 766.203 requires you to have a verified written medical expert opinion from a medical expert in order to pursue a malpractice claim. You must have this as a condition of being able to file a lawsuit.
The corroborating affidavit must confirm that there are reasonable grounds for your claim. Typically, a medical expert will review your medical records and the details surrounding your claim in order to determine if there is reasonable cause to believe that your doctor violated the standard of care.
Establish a Breach of Duty
Your doctor could have breached the duty through:
- Negligent acts like a surgeon leaving an instrument inside of a patient or an anesthesiologist administering the wrong dose of medication.
- Negligent omissions, including failing to notify you if a test result shows that you have cancer or failing to order the correct test based on your symptoms
In some cases, it is clear that your doctor breached a duty. There are certain “never events” that should never happen, and that create a presumption of negligence under a legal doctrine called res ipsa loquitur.
Res ipsa loquitur means the thing speaks for itself, and the doctrine applies when it is very clear based on the circumstances that no competent physician would have made the same errors that your doctor did. Some examples of medical mistakes that could fall under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur include:
- A surgeon operating on the wrong patient
- A surgeon operating on the wrong body part
- A surgeon leaving an instrument inside a patient
- A doctor operating on a patient without consent
- A patient receiving an extreme overdose of a medication, such as getting 10 times the recommended dosage
- Administering a dangerous medication to the wrong patient
In these and other circumstances, simply demonstrating that the “never event” happened can provide strong proof of negligence in a malpractice claim, making it easier to prove your claim.
Contact an Experienced Florida Medical Negligence Lawyer
Proving negligence is the most important, and often most challenging, step in a medical malpractice case. It requires a deep understanding of the medical history, consultation with qualified medical experts, and clear insight into what standard of care applies in your case.
Diaco Law is the firm to turn to in order to maximize your chances of successfully proving negligence. As a doctor, Dan Diaco understands what can go wrong when doctors harm patients and knows what to look for when obtaining and viewing medical records.
With decades of experience, our firm also has a deep bench of medical experts who can investigate your case and complete an affidavit on your behalf in appropriate circumstances.
To find out more about how a Florida medical malpractice lawyer at Diaco Law can help you prove negligence and pursue your damages claim, give us a call or contact us online today to schedule your free consultation.