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A Legacy of Changing Lives Resolving Medical Malpractice Claims Nationwide

For over three decades, we've handled some of the most complex medical malpractice claims in the country. From surgical errors to birth injury claims, we combine our knowledge of the law with a deep understanding of pathology and medical guidelines.

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Miami Medical Malpractice Attorneys

A Legacy of Success in High-Stakes Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Nationwide

As a Miami trial law firm with decades of experience pursuing justice, we understand how devastating medical malpractice can be for our clients. The last thing patients — and their families — expect is for a medical professional to deviate from accepted standards of care and cause harm in the course of treatment. That deviation can be in the form of an improper, negligent act or the omission of an act, which is the failure to do something that should have been done. Either way, the consequences can be devastating.

Unfortunately, medical malpractice happens far too often — and in many cases, the injuries and the responsibility go unaddressed. At Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen, many of our Miami medical malpractice attorneys have vast experience litigating these types of cases. While medical malpractice claims are always complicated, we know how to work with clients and experts to best present a case and obtain accountability and compensation.

When we take on your case, we’ll fight hard to get the compensation you deserve. We have a distinguished and long track record of favorable verdicts and multi-million-dollar settlements, and our medical malpractice trial attorneys have tried or settled thousands of cases regarding birth injuries, traumatic brain injuries, failures to diagnose, surgical errors, laboratory mistakes and more. We handle medical malpractice cases throughout Florida from our offices in Miami and Boca Raton, so don't wait to call.

Get started with a no-cost, no-obligation consultation at one of our Florida offices today. We are here to help.

Picking the Right Medical Malpractice Attorney

At Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen, we want you to make sure you’re prepared when seeking a medical malpractice attorney.

We’ve put together three things to look for when you’re choosing an attorney that fits your needs:

  1. Does the lawyer have a proven track record? This may seem obvious, but it’s important to fact check the medical malpractice attorneys you’re considering. Ask yourself: Does this lawyer or firm have the proper financial and human resources to take on this type of case? Do they have the people in place to do this job appropriately and effectively? For our cases at Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen, we have a team of attorneys and six in-house medical investigators who assist us in vetting and evaluating medical malpractice cases.
  2. Does the attorney have a deep understanding of medical malpractice law in your state? Medical malpractice is extremely specialized in the state of Florida. Unlike personal injury cases involving planes, trains or automobiles, you can’t just go down to the courthouse that same day and file a lawsuit. There are a number of laws in place to shield doctors from lawsuits, and you must make sure these laws are complied with—otherwise, your case may be tossed out. Also, your case needs to be vetted by an expert, and then that expert needs to sign an affidavit. Once that happens, there’s an entire pre-suit process that must happen. The right medical malpractice lawyer will understand these intricacies and help shepherd your case to court.
  3. Does the law firm have an appropriate stable of medical malpractice experts to handle the pre-suit process? This is an extremely important one. Experts in these types of cases are invaluable, and we always suggest seeking a firm that has the best qualified experts. This way, you’re sure the expert on your case is stable and reliable.

How to Prove a Medical Malpractice Case

By understanding how medical malpractice lawsuits work and what steps and requirements are involved, patients who have been injured can become advocates in their own recovery. They can obtain damage awards and settlements that help pay the medical bills and make up for the loss of income that never should have happened.

In any medical malpractice case, the plaintiff and his or her medical malpractice attorney must establish the following elements:

  1. A duty was owed to the patient. This exists whenever a hospital or medical provider undertakes a patient’s treatment.
  2. A duty was breached. In other words, the hospital or medical provider failed to follow the relevant standard of care.
  3. The breach caused an injury. In legal terms, the medical malpractice must be the “proximate cause” of the injury suffered.
  4. These are losses — financial, physical, or emotional — that result from the negligent act or omission. Damages can be recovered by the medical negligence victim and certain family members and can include reduced wages due to a disability, severe pain and emotional distress associated with injuries, or reduced enjoyment of life.

It’s important to note that a medical negligence claim cannot be brought successfully unless all four of the above elements are present. After a case is filed by the plaintiff’s medical malpractice attorney, the discovery process begins—a period in which both sides share information that pertains to the case, such as medical records and patient histories.

Will My Case Go to Trial?

Many medical malpractice claims are settled during this time, but if the parties cannot agree on a fair resolution, the case will proceed to trial. There, the plaintiff must prove, by a preponderance of evidence, the four elements of his or her medical malpractice case. Expert witnesses (individuals with specialized knowledge, training or experience regarding specific medical issues) are particularly important, helping the plaintiff establish the prevailing standard of care and how the defendant’s action or omission deviated from it.

At the end of the trial, a jury will weigh the evidence that was presented and determine which side has the more credible case. If that determination is a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, the jury or judge will calculate damages, typically awarding a monetary sum to compensate the injured party. Awards can consist of punitive damages, as well, though these are typically granted only when the negligence was particularly outrageous. Either side can appeal the court’s judgment; a losing defendant can also ask to have a large judgment reduced. These requests may – but often do not – succeed.

How Will My Attorneys Be Paid?

In medical malpractice cases, the fees are collected on a contingency basis, which means your attorneys only receive payment if they make a recovery on your behalf. All of the costs of a medical malpractice case, such as investigative costs, expert costs, litigation costs and preparation for trial, are paid for initially by the attorneys.

In the end, though, our goal as lawyers is the same as yours: to help get you the compensation and justice you rightly deserve. We don’t get paid if we don’t recover for you. Of course, costs will always vary from case to case along with the facts and circumstances.

A LEGACY OF CHANGING LIVES

Millions Recovered on Behalf of Our Clients
  • Medical Malpractice Seven-Figure Orthopedic Medical Malpractice

    A Punta Gorda, Florida woman in her forties visited an ear, nose, and throat specialist for a check-up due to fatigue. After performing a brief examination, the doctor at the facility recommended that she undergo parathyroid surgery, however he did not order the necessary radiological scan that determines which side of her neck should be operated on. Without that information available, the surgeon began on the wrong side of her neck and did not realize his error until they were well into the procedure.

  • Medical Malpractice Seven-Figure Settlement for Woman Who Lost Her Leg After Misdiagnosis

    A woman in her sixties was brought to a hospital after she slipped and fell, injuring her leg and causing severe pain. During her treatment, the hospital staff failed to notice that the impact had caused a blood clot behind her knee, which was restricting circulation to the rest of her leg. Over time, the untreated clot cut off blood flow to the point where her leg was beyond saving and needed amputation.

  • Medical Malpractice Seven-Figure Settlement for Family of Mother Who Died During Childbirth

    In 2015, a 23-year-old mother began experiencing severe complications while giving birth in Charlotte County, Florida. The hospital’s staff did not give her the attention she needed, and failed to realize that her complications required an emergency transfer to a Sarasota County Hospital, which had the needed staff and equipment to treat her. The mother and her unborn child eventually died in the hospital.

  • Medical Malpractice Seven-Figure Settlement for Misdiagnosis of a Blood Clot

    A 68-year-old man was complaining about pain in his left leg, which was swollen, red, and painful. He went to a local emergency room, and the family asked the doctor if it was a blood clot. The doctor assured the family that it was not a blood clot but was instead cellulitis from a sunburn. When the patient returned home the next day, he died of a pulmonary embolism due to the blood clot that was initially suspected by the family.

  • Medical Malpractice Over $1 Million Settlement for Medical Malpractice Victim

    A middle-aged man had a history of an aortic aneurysm. His plan was to fly to Stanford University, where a doctor was scheduled to repair the aneurysm. Rather than starting the transfer to Stanford the day he arrived, the hospital waited three days and then failed to get his insurance company to pay for the transfer. Tragically, while the patient was speaking with the insurance company on the phone about the transfer, the aneurysm ruptured, and he died.

  • Jury Verdict Against the University of Florida $23,500,000

    A $23.5 million medical malpractice jury verdict against the University of Florida on behalf of a woman who suffered a massive stroke when a medical procedure to ease her migraines went wrong.

  • Jury Verdict on Behalf of a Former Major League Baseball Star $898,000

    A medical malpractice jury verdict on behalf of a former Major League Baseball star against an ophthalmologist for negligence in the removal of a cataract and implantation of an artificial lens in our client’s left eye.

  • Medical Malpractice Eight-Figure Settlement for Victim of Nursing Medical Malpractice

    A middle-aged woman was in a hospital recovering from a brain aneurysm. While recovering in her hospital room, she grew agitated and began pulling on the tracheostomy tube connected to her neck. The nurse on duty documented that she was pulling at her tubes six different times in 24 hours, and yet did nothing to prevent her from being able to dismantle the tubes.

  • Medical Malpractice Eight-Figure Settlement for Failure to Timely Treat a Heart Attack

    After successfully opening and stenting a 53-year-old man's blocked artery, while in the recovery room, the patient suffered another heart attack, but this time it took medical staff nearly 90 minutes to get him back to the catheterization lab. Due to the delay, his heart stopped. He was revived in the operating room, but he suffered a hypoxic brain injury, causing massive brain damage.

  • Medical Malpractice Seven-Figure Settlement for Victim of Cardiology Medical Malpractice

    A 46-year-old man was undergoing heart surgery at a South Florida hospital after suffering a heart attack. During the procedure, the cardiologist perforated the patient’s left anterior descending artery. The patient died, leaving behind an 11-year-old daughter and wife.

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Leading Causes of Medical Malpractice

There are a great many types of preventable medical errors. Battling these is no simple task. Patients themselves can help by learning to be more vigilant and in questioning a doctor’s treatment. Through understanding what the most common errors are, patients can play a key role in avoiding the serious, and wholly unnecessary, consequences that have harmed so many patients before them.

Information for any patient is empowering. With that in mind, here are the most common causes of medical malpractice (in no particular order of preference):

  • Misdiagnosis. A patient is treated for one condition but actually suffers from another. This is often the result of health care professionals misreading test results and symptoms—an all too frequent occurrence. The consequences can be severe—and at times deadly. According to a 2009 analysis, the five most common misdiagnosed conditions are infection, cancer, heart attack, blood clots to the lung and heart disease.

  • Wrong-Site Surgery. It happens far more often than most patients think: A healthy kidney is removed while the damaged one is left untouched; the left arm is mistakenly marked for amputation when the right arm should have been removed. Again, results can be catastrophic, frequently leaving patients severely disfigured or direly ill.

  • Medication Errors. According to a 2006 study, medication errors cause some 400,000 preventable injuries each year in hospitals. Another 800,000 injuries occur while patients are in long-term care, and Medicare recipients in outpatient clinics suffer another 530,000 or so injuries due to medication errors.
  • Failure to Monitor Patients Properly after Treatment. The surgery seemed successful, and the patient appears to be resting in the recovery room. What in fact is happening, though, is that he’s had a reaction to one of his medications, and his heart rate is dropping. Because of lax monitoring, this is not noticed until it is too late—and the patient has died.
  • Technical Errors. These are the preventable mistakes that happen in the course of treatment. For example, a surgeon nicks an artery or vital organ during an operation. While the damage can sometimes be repaired quickly, many times it cannot, and the consequences can be dire.
  • Inadequate Follow-up After Treatment. The patient complains of pain after outpatient surgery. The doctor advises her to take Advil and get some rest. By morning, the discomfort level has increased. Again, the doctor advises rest and over-the-counter pain relievers. By evening, when the patient is rushed to the emergency room, it is clear that a severe complication from the surgery has resulted—one that could and should have been more effectively treated had the patient been examined earlier.
  • Failure to Take a Proper Medical History Before Treatment. Prior to surgery, a doctor or nurse fails to ask the patient about allergic reactions to common drugs. So, the wrong anesthetic is used—and the patient lapses into a nonreversible coma.
  • Failure to Act on Test Results. A doctor orders tests, which are quickly carried out and reported. But the doctor gets sidetracked or goes home for the day, and doesn’t look at the results promptly—missing a serious problem that could and should have been treated immediately. Instead of receiving lifesaving urgent care, the patient’s condition deteriorates—even fatally.
  • Failure to Use Standard Tests Appropriate to the Circumstances. A common example: The patient arrives in the emergency room complaining of chest pain. The physician diagnoses her with indigestion, never doing an EKG or ordering cardiac enzymes, tests that could quickly point to heart trouble. The patient is sent home when she needed immediate treatment, and she suffers a fatal heart attack hours later.
  • Communication Errors. Good communication is an essential component of successful medical care. Without it, as in these and far too many other cases, the consequences can be tragic.

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