If you suffered medical harm due to negligence by a healthcare professional in Florida, you could be entitled to pursue a medical malpractice claim. To meet Florida’s statute of limitations for a medical malpractice case, you must file your complaint within a certain amount of time in order to seek recovery for an incident. In some cases, the deadline can vary based on when you discovered your injury.
A Miami medical malpractice lawyer can help you understand your rights and file a medical malpractice claim on your behalf.
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What To Know About Florida’s Statute Of Limitations For Medical Malpractice
A medical malpractice claim in Florida can be a complex matter involving many factors. A court will need to know not only what happened but when the allegations began. That’s what the statute of limitations is designed to show. Historically, a statute of limitations gives plaintiffs a deadline to file their complaint, and also sets a time when potential defendants should have some assurance they won’t be sued.
The Florida statute of limitations in a medical malpractice case is two years from the date of the incident or the time when someone should have reasonably discovered they were harmed by medical malpractice.
Under the “discovery rule,” the two-year deadline can be extended if an injury went unnoticed but was discovered later. For example, if a surgeon left an instrument or gauze inside a patient, the patient might not find out until much later. Another example could be fraudulent concealment of facts supporting a potential malpractice claim. If there are no special circumstances, the statute of limitations would start running from the day when the incident happened.
In cases involving fraud or misrepresentation, it is important to note there is a 7-year cap for filing a lawsuit, regardless of when the injury was discovered. An exception to the 7-year cap would be when the malpractice victim was under age 8 at the time of the incident.
The statute of limitations in Florida defines a medical malpractice lawsuit as a claim for damages after death, injury, or financial loss to someone due to treatment or care by any provider of healthcare. “Treatment” can include medical, dental, surgical, or other work provided by a doctor or healthcare facility. A medical malpractice claim can only be brought against the healthcare provider or those under contract with a healthcare provider.
Types Of Medical Malpractice Cases
Medical malpractice – also known as medical negligence – occurs when a provider of medical care fails to act in the way an ordinary person with similar training would have in their position. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers have a duty of care to their patients. When they breach this duty and cause injury, they can be held legally liable in court.
Some common types of medical malpractice cases in Florida include:
- Surgical errors
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
- Infection complications
- Errors in prescribing or administering medicine
- Anesthesia errors
- Failure to warn a patient of the risks involved with a procedure
- Birth or pregnancy injuries, affecting either the mother or child
- Failure to obtain consent for a procedure.
Who is a “healthcare provider” in Florida. For purposes of a malpractice lawsuit, Florida considers any of the following to be healthcare providers subject to malpractice liability:
- Physicians
- Osteopaths
- Podiatrists
- Optometrists
- Dentists
- Chiropractors
- Pharmacists
- Hospitals
- Ambulatory surgical centers
As you can see, medical malpractice can involve numerous types of providers and any number of medical situations.
Can You File A Medical Malpractice Claim For Wrongful Death?
If you lost a loved one due to medical malpractice, the family and certain other beneficiaries can file a wrongful death lawsuit. A wrongful death claim in Florida can seek damages for funeral expenses, medical bills, loss of companionship, and other damages due to the incident.
Florida’s statute of limitations for wrongful death caused by medical malpractice is two years from the date of the incident that caused death. Qualified families and beneficiaries must file within this timeframe to collect damages in a Florida wrongful death lawsuit.
Proving Liability In A Medical Malpractice Case
To prove negligence in a medical malpractice claim, you must show four essential elements of a medical malpractice case:
Duty of Care
First, there must be a doctor-patient relationship, or a relationship between the patient and their healthcare provider. This can be shown through a consent to treatment form signed by the patient, or through the actions of the provider and patient themselves. Once providing care, a provider has a duty to perform as someone with their level of training and expertise would under the circumstances.
Breach of Duty
If your doctor or other provider failed to act as a reasonable person in their shoes would have done, it could be said they breached their duty to you. Common examples would be missing a diagnosis most doctors should have made, dispensing the wrong amount of medication (or wrong medication altogether), or performing a surgical mistake.
Causation
There must be a link between the doctor’s actions (or failure to act) and your injuries. This is known as causation. If some other event could have caused your medical injury, the defendant might argue causation can’t be proven. A skilled medical malpractice lawyer can argue the tricky causation element for you in court.
Damages
You must have suffered actual damages due to the negligence of a healthcare provider. This can often be shown through your medical symptoms after the event, and extra medical costs you were forced to pay. Damages can also include lost wages, reduced future earnings, pain and suffering, and more.
How Can A Medical Malpractice Lawyer Help Me?
An experienced Miami medical malpractice lawyer will carefully collect all possible evidence for your case, including medical records and bills. They can negotiate with insurance companies, prepare a medical malpractice lawsuit for you, and take your case all the way to trial. Most importantly, they will be a trusted advocate by your side each step of the way.
Contact A Miami Medical Malpractice Attorney Today
If you or a loved one have suffered due to medical malpractice, our dedicated legal team will investigate the facts and fight for the justice you deserve. Contact our attorneys at Shaked Law Personal Injury Lawyers today by calling at (305) 937-0191 to schedule your free consultation.