Recent Blog Posts
Are VA Hospitals More Likely to Injure Patients?
VA Hospitals have been targeted in the press for providing substandard care to their patients. They have also been targeted in an escalating number of lawsuits that are largely due to medical malpractice claims. Yearly settlements by the VA went from $98 million in 2011 to $338 million in 2015, a more than 300%… Read More »
Surgical Error vs. Medical Malpractice: Understanding the Difference
It may be difficult for those who are the victim of surgical error to understand, but not all surgical errors rise to the level of medical malpractice. For patients that sustained an injury during surgery, this means that they won’t always be able to collect damages. Medical errors happen from time to time because… Read More »
Is the State of Florida Partially to Blame for High Incidents of Medical Malpractice?
According to a report issued in November of 2017, there were over 24,000 cases of medical malpractice that were settled in the plaintiff’s favor over the last decade. But disciplinary actions were pursued against doctors in only 128 of those cases. In fact, some doctors have been permitted to continue practicing medicine despite having… Read More »
Arbitrary Limitations to Florida’s Wrongful Death Act Can Impact Malpractice Suits
Florida’s Wrongful Death Act is the subject of widespread controversy. This is due in large part to the seemingly arbitrary limitations placed on who is and is not allowed to recover damages on behalf of a deceased victim. Take the follow situation for example, a retired father of three independent, adult children (over the… Read More »
Lawsuits Emerge from Misdiagnosed Strokes
It unfortunately happens more often than it should. A physician, often in the emergency room, misdiagnoses and/or under treats a patient who has just suffered a stroke or is suffering an on-going stroke at the time. Often times there is a critical time period during which a stroke must be treated. If physicians and… Read More »
Former Department of Defense Analyst Wins $109 Million in Botched Surgery that Cost Her All Four Limbs
A former analyst for the Department of Defense needed to have an ovarian cyst removed before she could go on assignment in Iraq. A Hillsborough County jury found that during the surgery, her surgeon mistakenly lacerated her small intestine resulting in a systemic infection, causing her to become septic. Sadly, this resulted in the… Read More »
Not All Mishaps Are Malpractice
As much as the science of medicine has advanced, and as many previously fatal diseases are now curable, not all visits to a doctor or hospital can end with the patient making a full recovery. When patients sustain preventable injuries or their conditions worsen because of negligence or errors on the part of doctors… Read More »
Improper Prescribing of Neurological Drug Nuedexta Is Widespread in Nursing Homes
Patients in nursing homes especially are vulnerable to medication errors and other types of medical malpractice. Florida law clearly sets a standard of care for nursing homes, but many nursing homes, because of understaffing, are unable to meet those standards adequately. One of the most common ways in which nursing homes fail to act… Read More »
Cosmetic Surgery and Medical Malpractice in Florida
Florida’s reputation precedes it as one of the cosmetic surgery capitals in the world. While a steady diet of Florida citrus fruits and sunshine does its part to keep Floridians looking young, elective surgical procedures are quite popular here. Florida doctors perform more than two million cosmetic procedures per year. In Florida, medical malpractice… Read More »
Chirillo v. Granicz Appeal Raises Difficult Questions About Physician Duty in an Outpatient Setting
In any medical malpractice case, it is necessary for the plaintiff to establish that the physician had a duty to care for the patient and also that the physician did not uphold the standard of care. This is especially difficult in the field of psychiatry, where a substantial amount of physicians’ information about the… Read More »
