A physician is required to provide the level of care that patients are entitled to expect from someone in their profession. Sometimes, patients find themselves worse off than they were before, due to the physician’s negligence. If this has happened to you or a loved one, you are entitled to compensation.

The medical standard of care can be described as the level and type of care that a reasonably competent and skilled health care professional, with a similar background and in the same medical community, would have provided under the circumstances that led to the patient’s injury.

Medical professionals hold themselves out as highly trained experts, and people trust them with their lives. They should be held to a high standard of professionalism. It is important that you discuss your situation with experienced medical malpractice attorneys in West Palm Beach as soon as you can after your injury so that they can start gathering the evidence you will need to make your case. En Español.

Medical Errors

In cases where the individual was killed by a physician’s negligence, the victim’s loved ones can file a wrongful death lawsuit to compensate them for their emotional trauma related to their loss.

Other serious medical errors that are non-fatal can cause enormous suffering:

• Paralysis
• Impairment of oxygen flow to the brain
• Damage to internal organs
• Shortening of life expectancy

Sometimes the crucial error occurs at the very start of treatment when a physician fails to correctly diagnose a medical condition even though the patient presented symptoms that a competent medical professional would have recognized.

The improper dosage of medication is another mistake that happens all too often. A physician or nurse might carelessly read a label and give a patient far more medication than was called for. To mount a claim against such negligence, an individual should consult with a West Palm Beach medical malpractice attorney immediately.

Types of Damages

Some of the types of damages that can be won in medical malpractice cases are:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Loss of consortium (the deprivation of the benefits of a family relationship)
• Emotional distress

It is not just physicians who can be found liable for these damages. Patients are sometimes injured by the negligence of nurses, technicians, and hospital personnel. To build a case to help maximize such damages, it is imperative that an individual consult with a West Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyer.

Proving Negligence

Under Florida law, in a medical malpractice lawsuit, the injured party has “the burden of proving by the greater weight of evidence that the alleged actions of the health care provider represented a breach of the prevailing professional standard of care for that health care provider.”

The injured party must produce compelling evidence that the level of care in their case did not meet the standard for the profession. Gathering such evidence is difficult and time-consuming, so the process must begin quickly after the injury happens.

Getting a thorough medical examination is the most important part of that process so that a record can be established of just how much harm was done to the patient. This information can be utilized by a skilled medical malpractice lawyer in West Palm Beach.

Benefits of an Attorney

Physicians and hospitals face lawsuits constantly, so they are likely to already have a team of lawyers on their side. You need an experienced West Palm Beach medical malpractice attorney on your side to fight for your rights. Do not let another day go by without beginning to build a case.