Doctors, medical professionals, lawyers, accountants and financial planners are all professionals you pay for their expertise and experience. But when professional misjudgment or negligence leads to serious injury or death, the cause can go undetected unless those harmed turned to an experienced law firm for help.

   In fact, an exhaustive study released during the Clinton Administration by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), shocked the nation by estimating that up to 98,000 Americans die each year as a result of preventable medical errors.

   Other studies suggest a high percentage of errors occur during outpatient treatment or at any number of professional medical facilities where procedures occur that used to require admittance into an accredited hospital.

   Doctors and medical professionals are in the business of saving lives, there is no doubt about it. But the stunning array of treatment choices, pharmaceuticals, competing procedures and facilities can also lead to terrible error.

   The Florida Legislature has defined malpractice as the violation of acceptable standards of professional practice by a licensed health care provider. 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.

   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.

   Associates & Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, P.A. has attorneys and medical professionals on staff with experience handling complex medical malpractice cases. No one expects to receive injuries as a result of treatment from a health care provider. But if you have doubts or questions about the injury or death of a loved one, we urge you to call us immediately, as there are strict time limits to file a medical malpractice claim.

   We can arrange to meet at your home or hospital room or at any of our office locations in Fort Myers, Naples, Cape Coral, Sebring, Venice, Port Charlotte and Arcadia.

   At Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, we will give you an honest review of your case. And if we agree to represent you, we pay the costs of building your case until it's conclusion and you'll pay us nothing unless we win.

Some cases we have handled or situations that might require professional legal advice include:

• Doctor, nursing or hospital error
• Prescription negligence, allergic reaction, drug interactions or overdose
• Anesthesia or surgical error
• Misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis, including cancer
• Wrongful Death Claims
• Surgical Errors / Wrong Site Surgery
• Birth Defects or Injury, including Erbs Palsy
• Gastric By-pass Problems
• HMO Managed Care
• Dental Errors
• Cosmetic Surgery, including breast implants, reconstruction or reduction
• Elder Abuse / Nursing Home Neglect
• Lasik Eye Surgery
• Psychiatric Malpractice

Issues In Florida Medical Malpractice Cases

• 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.


• 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."

• 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.