Indiantown Emergency Room Errors Lawyer

Physicians, laboratories, and other medical professionals are held to a high standard of care when treating their patients. If a provider fails to uphold this care standard and negligently causes injury to a patient, they could be legally accountable for the costs associated with the patient’s losses.

If you have suffered injuries that you believe were caused by a doctor’s failure to take the proper precautions, you could benefit from an Indiantown emergency room errors lawyer. A personal injury attorney at Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa could launch a complete investigation into the cause of your injury and help you assert a strong case for compensation.

Achieving Financial Compensation in an Emergency Room Error Lawsuit

Patients injured due to an emergency room error could be entitled to several types of financial compensation, including the following:

• Hospital bills
• Medical treatment costs
• Expenses for follow-up care and therapy
• Lost income
• Future wage loss
• Pain and suffering

If the court determines the healthcare provider’s actions were malicious or grossly negligent, punitive damages could also be included in the claimant’s award of monetary compensation. An emergency room errors attorney in Indiantown could further explain the types of damages a claimant could be entitled to for their specific losses.

Time Limits on Filing a Claim

Pursuant to Florida Statutes § 95.11, any lawsuit claiming an emergency room error is subject to a two-year filing deadline from the date the injury is found. The law also establishes a four-year statute of repose, which means that at the latest, the plaintiff has four years from the actual incident date to file a civil lawsuit.

When a child is injured due to negligent care received in an ER, the statute of limitations might apply differently. As long as the minor’s parents file a lawsuit before the child’s eighth birthday, the law states that the four-year statute of repose would not apply. Speak with a lawyer in Indiantown to learn more about the statutory deadline for emergency room error cases.

Types of Emergency Room Mistakes

ER errors can take a variety of forms, many of which may inflict catastrophic harm on patients. Delayed diagnosis of medical conditions, such as heart failure or failure to identify the signs of patient distress, could constitute negligent emergency room mistakes. Other common careless acts include an improper reading of a patient’s medical tests, medication mistakes, and sending a sick patient home too soon.

Liability in ER Negligence Cases

To hold a medical provider liable for negligent care, the plaintiff must prove four, separate elements — duty, violation of that duty, proximate or direct causation, and damages.

Duty refers to the medical provider’s responsibility to provide the standard of treatment expected of competent professionals in the healthcare field. Physicians owe this duty of care to their patients. Accordingly, if a physician or a laboratory violate their duty of care to a patient and the breach causes the patient to suffer physical harm, the physician could be held liable for the victim’s financial, physical, and emotional damages.

It is also worth noting that liability could allegedly be shared between the plaintiff and the defendant in some cases. When this happens, the courts would apply the comparative negligence doctrine (see Fl. Stat. Ann. § 768.81). This doctrine states that the victim’s award of damages should be diminished in accordance with their percentage of liability. So, if a patient is deemed 30 percent liable for their damages, they could still recover 70 percent of their compensation.

Call an Indiantown Emergency Room Errors Attorney Today

If your injuries were caused by a doctor’s neglect of their legal and professional duty, you could be entitled to compensation. An Indiantown emergency room errors lawyer could alleviate the stress of navigating the legal process alone and manage all facets of your claim on your behalf. They could investigate your claim, review the available evidence, ensure your injuries were thoroughly documented, and present your case for compensation.

If aggressive negotiations do not achieve a just settlement out-of-court, the attorney could advise whether proceeding to trial is the best option for your case. Set up your case consultation with a Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa attorney today to learn more about your options for legal recovery.