When a trusted physician breaks their oath to “do no harm,” the skilled South Florida medical malpractice attorneys at The Cochran Firm South Florida are here to represent the patients and families who suffer as a result. Our medical malpractice lawyers have helped innocent victims of malpractice seek compensation after they were injured in emergency rooms, private practice, hospitals, and surgical facilities. If you or a loved one has been seriously affected by a medical mistake, it will not cost you anything to contact our Broward County, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and the Gulf Coast area medical negligence lawyers for a case evaluation.
Negligence refers to a medical professional’s error in judgment. As a general rule, our South Florida medical malpractice lawyers must demonstrate that a doctor failed to follow the generally accepted standard of care, meaning he or she did not act as other reasonable medical professionals would. Medical negligence can take a variety of forms, including:
Our South Florida medical malpractice attorneys will work around the clock to ensure that someone is held accountable to the victims and their families. Examples of medical malpractice include:
A Duty of Care Existed: First, we must show that a formal doctor-patient relationship existed between you and the healthcare provider. This relationship establishes that the provider had a professional "duty of care" to treat you according to the accepted medical standards. This is typically the most straightforward element to prove.
The Provider Breached That Duty: This is the core of a medical negligence claim. We must demonstrate that the healthcare provider's actions (or failure to act) fell below the accepted standard of care. This means their conduct was not what a reasonably competent and skilled healthcare professional, with a similar background and in the same medical community, would have done under the circumstances. This is often established through the testimony of medical experts.
The Breach Caused Your Injury: It is not enough to show that a doctor made a mistake. We must also directly link that specific breach of duty to the injury you sustained. This is known as "causation." We must prove that 'but for' the provider's negligence, your injury would not have occurred or would have been less severe.
You Suffered Real Damages: Finally, the injury caused by the provider's negligence must have resulted in specific damages. This can include economic damages, such as additional medical bills and lost wages from being unable to work, as well as non-economic damages like physical pain, emotional suffering, and disability.
If you suspect you are the victim of a medical mistake, our Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice lawyer team is ready to help clients in Broward County, Miami, and throughout South Florida. There are time limitations on malpractice claims, and the longer you wait, the more difficult it may be to preserve evidence.
If something went wrong during a doctor or hospital visit or a physician overlooked an important aspect of care, follow your hunch and speak to our medical malpractice attorneys in Miami, Ft Lauderdale, the Gulf Coast, and throughout South Florida today. A free consultation with our South Florida medical malpractice lawyers can help you understand Florida medical malpractice laws and how they might work for your family. If medical malpractice can be proven, you may be able to collect significant financial damages to help you and your family recover. We have helped victims of malpractice recover damages from doctors, nurses, hospitals, health clinics, dentists, pharmacologists, and anesthesiologists. Our aggressive representation can help families gain access to all the medical records and important facts needed to get a successful result. Medical malpractice victims may be able to recover compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, disability, lost income, lost benefits, current and future medical bills, and additional damages.
At the Cochran Firm South Florida, we operate on a contingency fee basis. This means that the lawyer does not require payment unless a recovery for the client is made. Because of the complexities and resources involved, this contingency fee is often higher in medical malpractice cases than in routine personal injury cases.
A free consultation with our Broward County malpractice lawyers can help you understand Florida medical malpractice laws and how they might work for your family. If medical malpractice can be proven, you may be able to collect significant financial damages to help you and your family recover.
Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in Florida involves specific rules and procedures that differ from other personal injury claims. Before a lawsuit can even be filed, Florida law requires that we conduct a "presuit investigation." This involves gathering all relevant medical records and having them reviewed by a qualified medical expert. This expert must provide a written, sworn affidavit stating that there are reasonable grounds to believe medical negligence occurred.
Once this affidavit is secured, we serve a "Notice of Intent to Initiate Litigation" to the defendant healthcare provider. From that point, the provider and their insurer have a 90-day period to investigate the claim and respond. During this time, they may offer a settlement, reject the claim, or request more information. It is a mandatory waiting period designed to encourage resolution before a formal lawsuit begins. Understanding these complex procedural requirements is essential for protecting your right to recovery.
In Florida, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice is generally two years from the date the negligence occurred, was discovered, or should have been discovered. However, with very few exceptions (such as for young children or cases involving intentional fraud), a claim cannot be filed more than four years after the actual incident, regardless of when it was discovered.
Previously, Florida had caps on non-economic damages (like pain and suffering) in medical malpractice cases. However, in 2017, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that these caps were unconstitutional. As a result, there is currently no cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice personal injury cases in Florida.
A medical malpractice claim can be brought against any licensed healthcare provider or facility whose negligence caused harm. This includes not only doctors and surgeons but also nurses, anesthesiologists, dentists, pharmacists, chiropractors, hospitals, urgent care clinics, and other medical institutions.
The medical malpractice lawyers at The Cochran Firm South Florida and Broward County are here to help your family after an unthinkable injury. To learn more about your rights and medical malpractice laws in Florida, please call or e-mail our team of experienced legal minds.
