Medical malpractice occurs when an individual suffers bodily injury caused by the negligent conduct of a physician or other medical professional. Generally, the claims are made against doctors whose actions have deviated from the accepted standard of care. Standard of care refers to the level of care that is generally considered to be acceptable by like physicians in the community. In the event that a doctor deviates from this standard of care and injures his/her patient, the patient (and his/her loved ones) may have a right to bring a claim against the doctor for compensation. Medical malpractice claims can also be asserted against hospitals and other healthcare facilities for inadequate training of its staff and for unsafe and/or unsanitary conditions.
Most states, including Florida, have specific Medical malpractice laws tailored to limit the filing of frivolous malpractice claims while still protecting the injured patients’ rights to pursue compensation for damages resulting from the a medical provider’s negligence. In Florida, Medical Malpractice actions (and other related matters) are governed by the provisions of Florida Statutes Chapter 766.
One of the requirements of Chapter 766, is that a plaintiff is required to go through a pre-suit screening process prior to the filing of a medical malpractice lawsuit. This screening process includes having another physician, practicing in the same area of medicine as the prospective defendant doctor, review the relevant medical records and certify that the plaintiff’s health care provider deviated from accepted medical practices. The plaintiff’s attorney is then required to provide the prospective defendant physician with notice of the potential lawsuit and provide the physician, and his insurer (if applicable) with an opportunity to investigate the claim.
The attorneys at Thomas Adam, P.A. are aggressive advocates for the rights of the injured and the victims of medical negligence. We understand the process that most insurance companies use to evaluate and defend medical malpractice claims, because our attorneys have experience working as trial counsel for malpractice insurance numerous carriers. We use this experience to develop litigation techniques to counter and circumvent those of the insurers; in order to obtain highly favorable results for our injured clients – - while saving costs at the same time.