Jacksonville Hospital Malpractice Lawyers

When dealing with medical issues in a hospital, a person must put a unique kind of trust in their doctors, surgeons, and medical practitioners to help them heal. Unfortunately, sometimes medical errors can occur when you’re in the hospital, even when you’re under the care of professionals. When these errors cause issues that negatively affect you after, you might be a victim of hospital medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice in hospitals is nothing to take lightly, as it can impact your life or a loved one’s life immensely. While no one expects hospitals to be perfect, carelessness, errors, and failures to assist a patient correctly are fairly common.

According to a study done by John Hopkins Medicine back in 2017, over 250,000 people in the United States passed away from medical malpractice in one year alone. Whether there was a failure to prevent an infection in a patient or a medical device was used improperly, medical malpractice and negligence are serious problems that can cause detrimental harm.

If you or a loved one have suffered severe harm due to medical malpractice or negligence, you deserve fair compensation — and the hospital should be motivated to review and improve their policies and practices. For experienced medical malpractice attorneys you can trust, contact the professionals at Cronin and Maxwell.

What Is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice isn’t just any error that occurs by a doctor or nurse in a hospital. When it comes to identifying and proving medical malpractice, you must show that there was some form of “intent” involved on the medical practitioner’s side. “Intent” can be shown in multiple forms, such as failures or errors with knowing consequences. For example, a nurse could have treated a patient in a certain way but failed to do so, even though they knew the patient’s condition would worsen as a result of their actions. Medical malpractice can result in serious harm to a patient or even death.

Other examples of medical malpractice include:

1. Failure to Diagnose / MisdiagnoseFailure to diagnose an issue or a misdiagnosis due to carelessness are both forms of medical malpractice when they cause a certain level of harm. For example, consider a doctor who doesn’t recognize the correct signs of a patient’s issue, causing them to treat the patient incorrectly, which ultimately leads to their health worsening. This could be failure to diagnose. Failure to diagnose is equally as dangerous as misdiagnosis and mistreatment – neither of which should occur in the first place.
2. Failure to Order or Perform Proper TestsMedical malpractice can occur in the form of a medical practitioner performing the wrong tests, performing a test improperly, or failing to order the correct tests altogether. Because proper testing plays a critical role in the world of health, it’s crucial that the right tests are done for each patient to meet their unique needs. Often, insurance firms may not cover tests a patient requires if a doctor does not recommend them. If it results in harm to the patient, this can also be considered medical malpractice. If a doctor failed to authorize tests that would have diagnosed a serious medical condition, contact our office.
3. Failure to Monitor / Stabilize a PatientFailure to monitor patients can also be seen in multiple different forms. There are long-term monitoring failures, where doctors or nurses fail to monitor ailments or worsening conditions in a patient over time. On the other side, there are more short-term failures, like failure to monitor a patient’s vitals during a surgery, which can result in harm or even the patient’s death. Failure to help a patient who needs to be stabilized is another form of medical malpractice, where a patient can ultimately die due to a medical practitioner’s carelessness.
4. Failure to Prevent InfectionWhen you or your family members are in the hospital, you trust that the medical staff will not only take care of your ailments but also assist in upkeeping your overall health. Medical malpractice is often seen in hospitals when medical staff do not take proper care of patients, which can result in problems like the patient getting an infection. Infection can occur from a wound that is not cleaned properly or neglected. Despite the cause, failure to help upkeep a patient’s health in basic ways, such as preventing infection, is medical malpractice.
5. Improper Use of a Medical DeviceImproper use of a medical device can be argued in a variety of situations depending on the outcome of the patient involved. Improper use of a medical device, such as misconnection of a medication tube or improper restraining of a patient, can ultimately cause them harm. Depending on what instruments were used and how the patient was harmed will determine whether the use was improper and whether it was medical malpractice.

What Is Medical Negligence?

Conversely, medical negligence lacks the intent that must be proven in medical malpractice cases. Medical negligence is often truly a mistake made by a medical practitioner. For it to be considered medical negligence, the doctor or surgeon’s mistake would have to have caused harm or negatively affected the patient involved. An example of medical negligence would be a patient being prescribed or administered the wrong kind of medication. While it may not have been done with the intent to harm, these actions could still cause serious repercussions to a patient.

Other examples of medical negligence include:

1. Giving a Patient the Wrong AnestheticAdministering anesthesia is a crucial part of any medical operation. Because every body’s reaction to anesthetics is different, each patient requires a different dose and type of anesthetic. As a patient, you trust that your anesthesiologist knows how to dose you correctly so that your operation runs smoothly. Unfortunately, sometimes the wrong dosages or wrong anesthetics are given to patients in hospitals. When this happens, it can be classified as medical negligence if the patient is harmed. Sometimes, this can look like a patient being given something they’re allergic to, while other situations can be more serious where patients wake up in the middle of surgery. If this has happened to you, you may have a case for medical negligence.
2. Surgery MistakesMistakes during surgery can also be classified as medical negligence. Because a professional surgeon is most likely trying not to make mistakes during an operation, small errors aren’t all considered negligence. For example, a doctor accidentally leaving a tool in the body that causes infection or other issues would be considered medical negligence due to a patient being harmed in some way. This is because surgical mistakes can be more severe and cause long-term health complications and even death if a surgeon isn’t careful.
3. Prenatal Care and Childbirth NegligencePregnancy is an intricate, complicated process. Too much intervention, intervention at the wrong time, or lack of intervention can all lead to serious complications. Issues with childbirth can be either classified as both medical malpractice or medical negligence, depending on the situation at hand and when it occurred during the pregnancy. Medical negligence is more often found during the process of the pregnancy, such as issues with the fetus going unidentified by doctors or nurses. Whereas medical malpractice is when, for example, a staff member fails to see signs of birth complications and the child has long-term health problems because of it.
4. Missing a DiagnosisMissing a diagnosis and letting an issue go unidentified until it causes harm or is found by another doctor can often be considered medical negligence. Unfortunately, a missed diagnosis can be a life-or-death situation. For example, if a patient has a lump and their doctor assumed it was benign but was actually cancer, that misdiagnosis could be deadly; time is of the essence when it comes to such a disease. Failure to correctly diagnose a patient and consequently hindering treatment for them is cause for a medical negligence claim.
5. Post-Surgery NegligenceMedical negligence doesn’t just occur in the operating room. In fact, post-surgery negligence claims are some of the most common cases filed. If you or a loved one didn’t receive proper care after surgery, this is an element of negligence. Examples of post-surgery neglect could be failure to prevent infection, lack of proper attention, or failure to give adequate medication. Post-surgery negligence is serious and can result in severe, long-term health problems for patients who don’t receive the care they need.

Why Do I Need a Medical Malpractice Attorney?

Many people that have been a victim of medical malpractice or negligence are unsure of what to do, especially when it comes to the legal aspects of things. Doctors and medical professionals should listen to their patients. If you or a loved one suffered harm due to the actions of a medical practitioner, then seeking an experienced medical malpractice attorney will assist you in filing a case and getting the compensation you deserve. Going through the claim filing and litigation processes without the help of a legal professional can be complicated. Make it easier on yourself by hiring an attorney who knows how the process works.

Your medical malpractice lawyer can help you organize and file your case, gather evidence, represent you in court, perform research on the situation, and more. It’s also important to seek legal help sooner rather than later, as even medical malpractice cases will have a statute of limitations on them, meaning you can only legally pursue the situation for a certain period of time. Don’t go through a medical malpractice case alone and get representation from our trusted team here at Cronin and Maxwell, PL.

Military Hospitals Are Not Exempt from Medical Malpractice in Jacksonville, FL

Surgical errors can cause injuries that are truly life-altering. Military personnel and their families are no less susceptible to these types of injuries than civilians in hospitals at home. It is, however, more difficult to file claims against U.S. Naval Hospitals and doctors for issues like medical malpractice and negligence. Taking action against a negligent doctor in the military is different from that against a hospital. Because of this, you’ll want an attorney familiar with the legal aspects of dealing with the military. Luckily, our experienced military medical malpractice attorneys understand the challenges associated with filing a surgical malpractice claim under the Federal Torts Claims Act and the Military Claims Act.

You deserve to be treated with care and respect, no matter where you are and no matter what the situation. We will strive to get you the compensation you deserve when a military medical practitioner makes a mistake that hurts you. Whether a surgeon performs a wrong-site surgery or careless hospital staff cause injury or death to one of your beloved family members, our lawyers are ready to represent your case. Cronin & Maxwell, PL, has the knowledge of the law and legal system and the experience needed to take effective action for your cause. We know all the challenges of demonstrating that the harm is due to hospital negligence and not issues such as preexisting illness. If you or a family member suffered at the hands of a military doctor, your voice deserves to be heard.

Jacksonville, FL Medical Malpractice Attorneys that You Can Trust

Here at Cronin & Maxwell, PL, we understand just how complicated a medical malpractice case can be. That’s why we offer a variety of legal services to assist our clients. You are a person, not a number, and not just another patient. We believe that everyone is entitled to proper medical care and treatment, which is why we are dedicated to fighting for anyone who has suffered at the hands of a medical practitioner here in Florida. If you or your loved one have been a victim of medical malpractice or negligence in a hospital, you have the right to be compensated for your losses and the trauma you endured.

To determine if you have a strong case, don’t hesitate to contact our team of experienced hospital malpractice attorneys. Call our Florida law firm, Cronin & Maxwell, PL, in Jacksonville at 904-388-9555, or contact us online for a free initial consultation with a lawyer.