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.
Florida Malpractice Lawyers With Over 200 Years of Combined Experience
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.
Benefits of Hiring a Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If you have been injured due to the negligence or malpractice of a medical professional, it is important to hire a medical malpractice lawyer to represent you. Our experienced medical malpractice law firm in Miami understands the laws and regulations associated with medical malpractice lawsuits and can pursue the most beneficial outcomes for you.
Our team of skilled attorneys can analyze medical records and documents related to the case to build a convincing legal argument that demonstrates medical negligence on behalf of doctors or healthcare institutions. Furthermore, our legal team can help protect you from insurers who attempt to deny medical errors were made and reduce or reject any compensation owed.
Getting Malpractice Victims the Compensation They Deserve
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, FL and Boca Raton, so don't wait to call.
Get started with a no-cost, no-obligation consultation at one of our Florida medical malpractice lawyers today. We are here to help.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Understanding what medical malpractice is will help you determine if you have been harmed by the negligence of medical professionals, or if you were the victim of bad outcomes for which you are not entitled to compensation.
Medical malpractice is a form of professional negligence, wherein a healthcare provider fails to provide the proper standard of care and causes their patient's injury or death. Medical malpractice can also be considered professional/medical negligence because the doctor or other healthcare provider has failed to exercise what the medical industry considers the “standard of care” required to provide particular healthcare services.
Examples of Medical Malpractice
When health professionals fail to follow accepted standards of practice when treating a patient, that failure can amount to medical malpractice. Examples of these failures include but are not limited to:
- Negligent or improper treatment. This includes errors in diagnosis, prescribing the wrong medication, incorrect surgical procedures, and other forms of negligence on the part of a doctor or healthcare provider.
- Failure to diagnose. When a doctor fails to diagnose an illness despite clear symptoms and signs that should have been noticed and investigated further.
- Misdiagnosis. Diagnosing the wrong condition or providing incorrect information about a patient's health can result in delayed treatments that cause serious harm or death.
- Surgical Errors. Surgery is one of the most common medical malpractice cases due to surgeons making mistakes during surgery such as operating on the wrong body part, leaving instruments inside patients’ bodies after surgery, etc. This can lead to severe injury for patients and put undue burden on their families who care for them at home following the surgery.
- Anesthesia Errors. Administering too much anesthesia, administering too little anesthesia, delaying the delivery of anesthesia, failing to identify adverse reactions to anesthesia, etc. are examples of anesthesia errors that may constitute medical malpractice. If trained personnel fail to adequately monitor the patient while administering powerful drugs during a medical procedure, this can also be considered medical negligence if the act results in injury to the patient.
- Birth Injuries/Injuries During Labor & Delivery. When doctors fail to recognize and respond appropriately to medical issues during labor and delivery, it can result in birth injuries like cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy and more.
How Can a Medical Malpractice Lawyer Help You Recover Compensation?
Medical malpractice lawyers help people who have been hurt by medical mistakes get compensation for the harm done. They look at medical records and documents to prove that a doctor or hospital made a mistake, then they can argue in court to get the person money. However, this is only a small sampling of what a medical malpractice law firm can do. Skilled medical malpractice lawyers near you can:
- Investigate cases to determine if medical malpractice occurred
- Collect and review relevant medical records, documents and other evidence
- Consult with medical experts to identify negligence and standard of care issues
- Negotiate settlements on behalf of clients without going to court
- Represent clients in hearings, depositions, trials and appellate proceedings
- Prepare legal briefs for judges or juries in support of a client’s case
- Build strong legal arguments that demonstrate responsibility for the injury suffered by the plaintiff
- Guide clients through all stages of litigation from initial filing through appeal process
- Work directly with insurance companies to get claims settled quickly allowing injured parties to receive compensation sooner rather than later
- Protect the rights of injured parties when health insurers attempt to deny coverage
How to Choose a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Miami, FL
At Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen, we want you to make sure you’re prepared when seeking a medical malpractice attorney in Miami.
We’ve put together three things to look for when you’re choosing an attorney that fits your needs:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- A duty was owed to the patient. This exists whenever a hospital or medical provider undertakes a patient’s treatment.
- A duty was breached. In other words, the hospital or medical provider failed to follow the relevant standard of care.
- The breach caused an injury. In legal terms, the medical malpractice must be the “proximate cause” of the injury suffered.
- 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 Medical Malpractice 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 are Medical Malpractice Attorneys 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.
Getting Started with a Malpractice Lawyer in Florida
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.
Contact Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers Today
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