Tampa Medical Malpractice & Personal Injury Lawyers
Providing High Quality, Low Volume Representation Throughout The Greater Tampa Area
When you have been harmed by the negligence or wrongful conduct of another, it is only fair that the responsible party be held accountable to you for the harm they have caused. In our American system of justice, negligent actors are held accountable through civil lawsuits that require them to pay for an injured party’s medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other legal damages as appropriate, such as a permanent disability or decreased quality of life. The burden of holding the negligent party responsible lies with the injured victim, who must be able to prove that the other party’s negligence caused their injuries.
Nowhere is this principle of justice more true than in the case of medical malpractice, when people with serious medical issues have sought help from professionals they thought they could trust, only to be further harmed through the negligence or incompetence of a doctor or hospital. Contact our experienced Tampa medical malpractice & personal injury lawyers today for assistance or more information. Consider the following facts about medical malpractice:
- Medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind only heart disease and cancer
- Over 700,000 patients annually acquire an infection during their hospital stay due to improper hygiene practices
- Medication errors account for almost 700,000 visits to the ER and 100,000 hospitalizations every year
- 4,000 claims are filed against hospitals every year for so-called “never events” – serious yet avoidable surgical errors that should never occur
Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers Seek Justice and Compensation For The Harm Which Has Been Done To You
The Tampa medical malpractice lawyers at Palmer | Lopez are devoted to helping victims of medical malpractice recover a full and fair amount of compensation for the injuries done to them. We are not a high-volume legal practice interested in settling a case as quickly as possible in order to collect a fee and move on to the next case. We keep our list of active cases to a lower level, in order that we may provide the highest quality of legal service and attention to our clients that we possibly can. We are available to our clients whenever they need us; many of our clients are able to reach their attorney on his personal cell phone whenever they have a question or concern about their case. We believe this approach provides the best level of service and helps to generate positive results, and the many satisfied clients who recommend us to others lets us know that our clients feel the same way. Your success is our success, and we invest the time and attention necessary to obtain an outcome you can be pleased with.
Who is Responsible for Medical Malpractice?
A claim for medical negligence or medical malpractice means any claim arising out of the rendering of or failure to render medical care or services. It is not only doctors who can be held liable for medical errors, but also hospitals and the employees who work there, and health care providers in a wide range of facilities and professions. Below is a look at some of the different persons or entities who may be liable to injury victims for the harm caused by their medical mistakes. To discuss a specific instance of possible medical malpractice in Tampa, and for a free consultation regarding your potential claim, call Palmer | Lopez at 813-506-5651.
Doctors – Under Florida medical malpractice law, doctors are held to the prevailing professional standard of care and must practice with the level of care, skill and treatment that would be recognized as acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent similar providers in similar circumstances. Doctors can be held liable for surgical errors, birth injuries and other harm caused by their negligence or incompetence.
Hospitals – First of all, hospitals and other healthcare facilities can be held vicariously liable for the negligent acts of their employees, including nurses, orderlies and other staff. Additionally, hospitals can be liable for harm that occurs due to inadequate policies, procedures or protocols that let so-called “never events” occur, such as sending the wrong baby home with new parents, mixing up a patient’s chart, or failing to institute sanitation and hygiene practices to prevent the spread of life-threatening infections.
Nurses – Nurses and other licensed health care workers, such as radiologists and lab technicians, are licensed professionals who can be held liable for harm resulting from their failure to perform up to the standards of their profession. Medication errors and diagnostic errors are common forms of medical malpractice claims against nurses and lab techs.
Pharmacies – Pharmacies can be liable for the negligence or incompetence of pharmacists and pharmacy techs who misfill or mislabel prescriptions or give improper advice and counseling to pharmacy customers.
Dentists – Dentists can be held liable for their own negligence or that of hygienists and technicians who work for them, when their negligence leads to serious injury. Dental patients can face serious complications, chronic pain and debilitating injuries from negligent medical care, including terminal illness and death from errors such as the failure to diagnose oral cancer, the failure to control an oral infection, or anesthesia errors during a tooth extraction or oral surgery.
HMOs – When Health Maintenance Organizations usurp the physician’s role in deciding what tests can be ordered, which medications can be prescribed, or when a patient may see a specialist, the HMO had better ensure that its decision is based on the patient’s health needs and not simply cost containment. HMOs can be held liable for impeding necessary treatment.
Why Do I Need a Lawyer for my Tampa Medical Malpractice Case?
Most of the time people who are injured by the negligence of others receive a settlement from the insurance company without having to go court. You may be thinking, Why do I need a lawyer if there isn’t going to be a trial? The fact is that insurance company settlements with unrepresented persons are far less in value than outcomes achieved by skilled and experienced attorneys, regardless of whether the case goes to trial or not. Below are a few reasons why it is important to have a personal injury lawyer represent you in a Tampa medical malpractice matter, and especially in cases of medical malpractice.
There is no substitute for experience
Unless you have been especially unfortunate in your life, your personal experience with personal injury insurance claims is hopefully fairly limited. Remember, though, that insurance company adjusters and lawyers handle these claims every single day, so they are vastly more experienced than you are in understanding the value of a personal injury claim. You may know what your immediate costs are, but there are likely many future expenses and negative impacts on your life that you have not considered. Having a personal injury plaintiff’s attorney represent you levels the playing field by having someone on your side who also deals with personal injury claims every day and has as much experience or more as the insurance companies in settling injury claims. Your attorney will carefully analyze your case and seek the full amount of compensation for all your legal damages.
Even without a trial, a lawsuit may still be necessary
It is true that most cases settle without a trial, but filing a lawsuit is still often necessary to get a good settlement. Only by proceeding to litigate the case do the facts come out about how strong your case is and how much it is worth. Also, by litigating the case with an experienced attorney on your side, the insurance company knows that you are serious, ready and willing to take your case in front of a jury if necessary to achieve a good result. Insurance companies don’t want to do this, especially in cases of serious injury where it is clear their insured was at fault. Once they see you are represented by an experienced and successful Tampa medical malpractice lawyer, they are much more likely to deal with you seriously and offer you a realistic settlement amount.
Having a lawyer is even more important in cases of medical malpractice
If you have been harmed due to the medical malpractice of a doctor or hospital, it is even more important that you retain a qualified lawyer to represent you. Special laws apply specifically to medical malpractice cases, requiring you to give pre-suit notice to the negligent party along with an affidavit or certificate of merit from a medical expert stating that you have a case. Medical malpractice cases rely heavily on medical expert testimony and often involve complex legal questions. Hospital corporations have extensive financial resources to challenge your claim and draw out litigation, making it expensive to you to continue your case. You need a law firm on your side with the skills and resources to match the hospital legal departments and insurance company lawyers so that you are not taken advantage or forced to accept less than you are truly owed.
Your lawyer works for you and only you
Insurance companies are not trying to get you the best result they can. They are interested in getting your claim off their books as expediently as possible. They want to settle with you quickly, before you have talked to an attorney or understand the true extent of your injury and damages. Before you sign any documents or accept any money from an insurance company, it is wise to talk to a personal injury attorney first. Your attorney is on your side and is duty bound to be loyal only to you and your best interests. Most plaintiff’s attorneys will offer you a free consultation and will not charge any money upfront. At Palmer | Lopez, we provide a free consultation and never charge a penny unless we obtain a recovery for you. This contingency fee arrangement means we have a financial incentive to get you the best results possible.
Our Promise to You: Dedicated Representation and No Recovery, No Fee
At Palmer | Lopez, we believe every individual who has been harmed by medical malpractice deserves access to high-quality legal representation, regardless of their financial ability to hire a lawyer. To make that vision a reality, our Tampa medical malpractice lawyers handle cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you do not pay any legal fee unless and until we are successful in obtaining a recovery on your behalf. We advance all necessary fees and costs such as court filing fees and expert witness fees, so you are never out-of-pocket any money at all to pursue your case. Medical malpractice cases are often expensive, complicated cases to bring, but you will always have our experienced attorneys dedicated to working for you and achieving the best result possible on your behalf.
Contact Our Experienced Tampa Medical Malpractice Lawyers Today
For dedicated, compassionate and effective representation in any Florida medical malpractice matter, call the experienced Tampa medical malpractice lawyers at Palmer | Lopez at 813-506-5651 for a free consultation about your case.
