Fort Lauderdale Malpractice Lawyer

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Fort Lauderdale Malpractice Lawyer

Florida Medical Malpractice Attorney Alan Sackrin Knows How To Help

In 2011, the University of Utah released a study with shocking realities: medical mistakes happen in one-third of all hospital admissions. You can read this research report for yourself online: “Global Trigger Tool’ Shows That Adverse Events In Hospitals May Be Ten Times Greater Than Previously Measured” (David Classen, Assoc. Prof. at U. of Utah et al..

That means that those who are injured seriously enough to be taken to the hospital for care have a 33% chance that a medical mistake will be made during their hospital stay.

Are those odds upon which you want to bet your health or that of your loved one? Most of these medical mistakes are not reported: 90% are not being tracked today according to the Utah report. These are serious errors, too, with the Utah researchers finding patients being harmed by big hospitalization mistakes like:

medication error and drug mistakes where the wrong drug is given
medication error and drug mistakes where it’s the right drug but in the wrong dosage
surgery errors (the wrong patient, the wrong procedure)
surgery mistakes that cause bleeding
surgery mistakes that cause infection
life-threatening infections that come from the hospital environment itself, including poor hospital sanitation.

It’s true that doctors and hospitals cannot guarantee anyone a certain result, but it’s also true that the level of medical negligence (also known as medical malpractice) is unacceptably high today. Florida doctors traditionally take an oath to do no harm. It’s known as the Hippocratic Oath and it’s traditionally taken by physicians as part of their graduation ceremony.

What is Medical Malpractice Under Florida Law?

Medical malpractice is a legal term covering any kind of error or mistake made by a health care provider entrusted with the physical or mental care and treatment of a person. Some mistakes are minor and the law will not compensate for these mistakes.

However, Florida law will recognize medical error as “medical malpractice” when there is a deviation below the accepted standard of care in the community where the doctor is located. In other words, if the health care provider (doctor, nurse, EMS tech, etc.) doesn’t give the minimum amount of care that is expected in his or her community, then medical malpractice will exist if that error causes serious harm.

It is important to recognize that this standard of care is defined by the community: the standard of care at a top Fort Lauderdale hospital will not be the same under Florida law as the standard of care provided at an emergency clinic in a remote rural location.

When is a medical error recognized as worthy of a legal claim under Florida law?

Florida law recognizes an injury as recoverable “medical malpractice” when complications result from improper care or treatment. Even failing to correctly and timely diagnose an illness or a condition is medical negligence.

Medical malpractice involves many things. The most common surgical errors, for example, happen when the wrong organ, limb, or other area of the body is involved. Other surgery mistakes include performing surgery on the wrong patient or having the right patient and body part but doing the wrong procedure. In Florida, plastic surgery mistakes can be medical malpractice.

Unnecessary procedures can also form the basis for a Florida medical malpractice lawsuit. Common examples include doctors who perform unnecessary Cesarean sections, hysterectomies, and tonsillectomies on patients who do not need these procedures.

What does Florida law allow for medical malpractice damages?

The Florida legislature has defined what constitutes medical malpractice in the State of Florida, how long you have to file a claim for medical negligence, and what injuries will be allowed money compensation as legal damages. If you or a loved one has suffered what you believe may be medical malpractice, you may be able to obtain monetary damages for:

medical care and treatment

lost wages

lost future earnings

long term care and therapy needs

pain and suffering.

To read the Florida Medical Malpractice Act, go here.

Florida Has a Strict Two Year Deadline on Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim – Be Careful and Don’t Procrastinate

No matter how much merit your medical negligence claim may have, the Florida Legislature has included a TWO YEAR deadline for filing medical malpractice claims in this state, and if a claim is filed after that deadline, it’s void and uncollectable as a matter of law. In most instances, the deadline begins to run on the date that the medical error or omission occurred.

When medical professionals violate their oath to do no harm, malpractice victims and their families deserve justice. Medical errors will not be voluntarily disclosed by your doctor or the hospital staff. Even if they want to be forthcoming, their insurance carrier, their lawyer, their business partners, and others will counsel them not to do so. Therefore, it is extremely important for you to recognize when something isn’t right in care and treatment, especially if a loved one is permanently injured or tragically dies while receiving this medical care.

Medical errors are terrifying and make many people angry; victims and their families can become enraged or despairing. These are emotional situations involving a breach of trust between doctor and patient that is a nothing less than a betrayal. Victims of physicians, nurses, lab technicians, hospital staff, or other health care providers that make serious errors and mistakes can easily have the rest of their lives destroyed or damaged for many years into the future by the very people they trusted for care and protection. Their vulnerability to those medical errors and health care mistakes can have serious consequences and sadly, are sometimes fatal.

How do you know if there has been medical mistakes or medical malpractice?

It may only be though professional investigation that you and your loved ones will know for certain if you have a legal claim for medical malpractice under Florida law. Often, medical experts must review thousands of documents to determine what has occurred, as well as interviewing staff and doctors involved in the patient’s care along with those health care providers that have been involved with trying to rectify the mistakes that were made (if they can).

Medical malpractice attorneys have health care knowledge; however, they also have staff and strategic alliances with experts in various medical fields to assist them in determining what the medical mistakes were, how they happened, and who is responsible for the medical malpractice. It is sad but true that medical malpractice in Fort Lauderdale and South Florida is more common than you think.

When medical professionals violate their oath to do no harm, victims and their families deserve justice. Cases involving medical malpractice and health care negligence are more emotional than most personal injury cases due to the doctor patient relationships. Victims of negligent physicians, nurses and other health care providers and their families sometimes have their lives destroyed or damaged by the very people they trusted for protection. The mistakes made have serious consequences and are sometimes even fatal.

Unfortunately, medical malpractice in Fort Lauderdale and South Florida is more common than you think. Medical malpractice or doctor errors come in many forms, including those listed above as well as:

Failure to diagnose a disease or medical condition
Misdiagnosis of a disease or medical condition
Nursing home abuse
Failure to provide appropriate treatment for a medical condition
Unreasonable delay in treating a diagnosed medical condition.

If you or a loved one live in Fort Lauderdale or South Florida and either know or suspect that you are the unfortunate victims of medical malpractice, you can benefit from an experienced, qualified injury lawyer that understands the intricacies associated with a medical malpractice claim.

Alan Sackrin represents victims of Malpractice at all Fort Lauderdale hospitals including:

Broward General
Plantation General
Holy Cross
Westside Regional
University Hospital

Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyer Alan Sackrin Fights for Those Hurt By Doctor Mistakes

For over 30 years, Alan has helped people just like you get the legal representation they need, regardless of race or income. Since 1982, Alan Sackrin has been representing injury victims in Fort Lauderdale and the State of Florida. Alan Sackrin is a Board Certified Trial Specialist that has earned the respect of his peers because of his professional expertise earned from his countless time in the courtroom.

What is Board Certified? In Florida, only a select few attorneys are “board certified” by the Florida Bar in their area of practice. As of January 2012, Alan Sackrin was one of only 1069 attorneys in the entire State of Florida who is board certified in civil trial law.

Alan Sackrin practices an “open door” policy, providing unfettered access to himself and his veteran support staff to help answer your questions and begin the process of finding out what went wrong.

With Alan, you speak with your lawyer, not a paralegal or assistant. Alan Sackrin will not be paid unless he is successful in your medical malpractice claim.

Contact Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyer Alan Sackrin to Ask a Question or to Get a Free Case Evaluation

If you, a family member, or a loved one has suffered a serious personal injury resulting in severe harm, permanent incapacity, or wrongful death, from harm caused by a doctor, hospital, clinic, nurse, or other health care provider or medical facility, then please feel free to contact Alan by phone to schedule a free initial consultation of your possible legal rights and remedies at (954) 522-0207.

Or if you prefer to communicate online, then please feel free to fill out the “How Can We Help You?” form above for a no-cost case evaluation – or just to ask a question or two.

Get A Free Case Evaluation

Call (954) 522-0207

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Florida lawyers serving those living in the State of Florida including those living in the Miami Dade metroplex and the communities of Broward County, Florida including:

DISCLAIMER: This website provides general information regarding legal injuries and their redress as defined by Florida law. This is provided for information purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship.