Florida Attorney

Florida medical malpractice litigation has ballooned enormously in the last few years and rightly so. Any attorney here will tell you that it is now unfortunately quite common. Doctors, nurses and hospitals have legal as well as moral obligations to take care of their patients, particularly with lung cancer.

1. What is medical malpractice?
This is a negligent or careless act by a doctor, hospital, or other health care provider. In general is defined as any act or failure to act by a member of the medical profession that results in harm, injury, distress, prolonged physical or mental suffering, or death to a patient while that patient is under the care of that medical professional. Usually harm must be proven to have occurred.
It is the breach of the accepted standard of care that is recognized by other providers who are practicing with similar training in the same field of medicine. It can result from a failure to act or from acting improperly.

2. Are there some common patterns?
Yes, certain common patterns seem to occur more frequently than others. However, there are situations that do not seem to fit any pattern.

3. Should I report an act of this wrongdoing to any particular organization or institution?
Although there are state and local agencies or organizations that will receive complaints, most experienced lawyers feel it is advisable not to file these complaints until an attorney is consulted. There are many consequences of the filing of complaints or claims that should be explored with an experienced attorney before steps of this nature should be taken according to the law.

4. Should a claim for damages be made for every act?
Unfortunately, not every act of medical malpractice justifies the filing of a formal claim for damages. There are many instances in which the filing of a claim would actually cause more harm than good.