Whether you are getting outpatient treatment or need inpatient care over days or weeks, you deserve high-quality and considerate care from a Florida hospital. While most professionals in these healthcare facilities meet this basic “standard of care” without any issue, those who do not can—and all too often do—cause life-altering harm to their patients with their negligence.
Even by the usual standards of malpractice litigation, filing suit against any hospital or its employees may be complicated, especially without guidance from a capable medical malpractice attorney. If you have sustained any kind of injury or a worsening illness due to this particular type of malpractice, working closely with a Trinity hospital negligence lawyer at Perenich Law Injury Attorneys could be vital to enforcing your rights and achieving a favorable outcome from your claim.
Possible Grounds for a Hospital Malpractice Claim
Healthcare professionals are expected to meet a “standard of care” based on what an equally skilled and experienced professional would do under similar or identical circumstances. While the exact nature of this “standard” can change between different individuals and healthcare facilities, hospitals are generally expected to ensure:
- All areas are clean and sanitary
- Equipment is properly maintained
- Consistent and accurate records are kept of all patient care
- All their employees are trained and qualified for their assigned tasks
When an error is made in any of these respects, there are not automatically grounds for a lawsuit. However, if someone within a hospital directly causes or allows a patient to suffer avoidable physical harm because they recklessly or carelessly breached their standard of care, an injured or sick patient may have grounds to take legal action against the hospital.
State law places numerous restrictions on the rights of people injured by hospital negligence in Trinity to file suit over their injuries, including an “affidavit of merit” requirement and a mandatory settlement process in most situations. A qualified attorney could go into more detail about these rules and how they might impact a particular case during a private initial consultation.
Do I Have a Hospital Malpractice Case?
As discussed above, all successful hospital malpractice claims in Trinity are built around proving that a specific “breach” in an applicable “standard of care” by an employee, administrator, or owner of the hospital directly led to a patient suffering preventable harm. Accordingly, the answer to whether a particular person has valid grounds for a hospital malpractice case typically revolves around how much evidence they have demonstrating that their case meets all those criteria.
In virtually every situation, comprehensive medical records and reports will be key to establishing that someone inside a hospital was reckless or careless, as will testimony from at least one qualified medical expert willing to attest under oath that another professional acted irresponsibly. It will also likely be important to have medical records predating the alleged malpractice and any other evidence that can prove that the plaintiff’s injury stemmed directly from that specific act and did not exist prior to the negligence of the person or people being sued.
With relatively few exceptions, it is not possible to sue over hospital malpractice unless that alleged negligence resulted in physical harm serious enough to require additional treatment from medical professionals. Suppose someone suffers a less serious injury in a hospital that could be addressed through basic first aid or did not require professional medical treatment at all. In that case, they may not have grounds to sue even if that injury was entirely the fault of an irresponsible hospital employee.
Recovering for All Available Damages
Past and future forms of harm, both economic and non-economic, may be factored into a hospital malpractice claim, including:
- Physical discomfort and pain
- Psychological and emotional distress
- Lost work income or ability to work
- Lost enjoyment of life, including lost consortium
- Home and vehicle modifications and other costs related to long-term disability
- All expenses related to additional medical care, including things like assistive equipment and rehabilitative therapy
When hospital negligence in Trinity directly leads to a patient’s premature death, a compassionate lawyer could help surviving family members pursue compensation for their ensuing losses.
How Much Does It Cost to File a Hospital Lawsuit in Florida?
Legal professionals handling hospital negligence claims and other types of medical malpractice cases in the state of Florida work on a “contingency” basis. In a nutshell, this means that attorneys do not get paid upfront for taking on malpractice lawsuits and will not get paid at all if they do not achieve a favorable case outcome on behalf of an injured patient. When they do reach a successful case result, the lawyer will take a percentage of the final settlement or damage award as the fee for their services.
Importantly, Florida state law prohibits attorneys from taking more than a 30 percent contingency fee out of malpractice recovery valued at $250,000 or less or more than a 10 percent contingency fee out of malpractice recovery exceeding $250,000 in value. The Florida Bar furthermore requires all malpractice attorneys practicing in the Sunshine State to notify prospective clients of these rules verbally and in writing.
Suppose a case’s value is expected to be well over $250,000. In that case, a Trinity hospital malpractice lawyer may ask a prospective client to sign a waiver that allows them to step around the fee limitations mentioned above and take a greater percentage of the final damage award as compensation. If the client consents to this by signing the waiver, the “caps” on contingency compensation can be raised to:
- Between 33 and 40 percent of recovery up to $1,000,000 in value
- Between 20 and 30 percent of recovery between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000 in value
- Between 15 and 20 percent of recovery over $2,000,000 in value
Consider Working With a Trinity Hospital Negligence Attorney
Going to the hospital is never an enjoyable experience, but it should not be a dangerous one. If you do end up sustaining harm because the care you received inside a hospital was not up to par, understanding and then making effective use of your legal right to demand civil recovery could be crucial to minimizing the impact your injuries have on your life.
The assistance you may need is available from a tenacious Trinity hospital negligence lawyer at Perenich Law Injury Attorneys. We are a team of 3 brother dedicated to helping others. Call today for a free consultation.
