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Florida Legislature has defined malpractice
as the violation of acceptable standards of
professional practice by a licensed health care
provider. When thinking about medical malpractice,
it's useful to consider the differences between
adequate care and inadequate or negligent care.
Very simply put, medical malpractice cases concern
physicians, nurses, and/or other health care
providers who fail to practice to a certain
"standard of care" which results in
injuries to the patient. |
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Medical
malpractice cases often involve complex, technical
distinctions which must be handled sensitively and
precisely in order to reach a satisfactory conclusion.
For example, whether the physician is a general
practitioner or a specialist will play a role in
the quality of care expected and delivered. Furthermore,
the physician may only be held to what is considered
to be the average and ordinary degree of skill and
care exercised by his peers, not the highest standard
of care.
Associates & Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury
Lawyers, P.A. has attorneys and medical professionals
on staff with experience handling complex medical
malpractice cases. Of course, no one expects or
hopes to receive injuries as a result of treatment
from a health care provider. But if you ever find
yourself in such a situation, we urge you to call
us immediately, as there are strict time limits
to file a medical malpractice claim.
Issues In Florida Medical
Malpractice Cases
1.
Informed Consent: The term "informed consent"
means that the physician has told the patient about
any risks involved in a procedure, and the patient
understands and gives his consent to go ahead with
the procedure. If the physician does not tell the
patient about the risks, and the risks result in injury,
then there is the potential for a medical malpractice
case.
2. Birth Injuries:
Medical malpractice cases often relate to the area
of obstetrics, a highly specialized and emotionally
delicate area of medicine. An example of an unfortunate
but common birth injury is Erb's Palsy, which is
the result of the mishandling of a fetal shoulder
that is too big and will not come out easily during
birth. The results of such injuries range from weakness
to complete paralysis of the infant's shoulders.
Another kind of obstetrics-related malpractice case
comes about as a result of a pregnant woman who
is in active labor and is brought to an emergency
room. Rather than admitting the woman, the emergency
room turns her away, and so may be considered to
have acted negligently and below the "standard
of care."
3. Nursing Home
Abuse: Caring for the elderly is another sensitive
area of medicine where malpractice cases are often
brought about because of injuries to nursing home
patients. For example, an injury to a patient that
is caused by a "restraint" violates the
patient's statutory rights to be free from chemical
and physical restraint.
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