Jacksonville Physician Negligence Lawyer

Whether a doctor works at a military hospital or a civilian hospital, they are responsible for treating their patients under equal standards of care. Victims of physician negligence at naval hospitals should not be afraid to pursue claims against these educated and respected professionals. At the Jacksonville, Florida, law firm of Cronin & Maxwell, PL, we represent active duty members of the military, retirees and their family members in medical malpractice suits against doctors and naval medical facilities in the U.S., and around the world.

If you have been hurt, or lost a loved one due to physician or hospital failures, contact our Jacksonville law office for a free initial consultation. We can help you hold a naval hospital or physician fully accountable for their actions.

We Help Put The Law On Your Side

Physician negligence victims should not feel intimidated by the prospect of taking a military doctor to court. Even though hospitals and their staff have the vast resources of the federal government on their side, our experienced military malpractice attorneys know how to overcome the challenges of filing a physician malpractice claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act and the Military Claims Act.

As former naval officers, our attorneys are familiar with the many legal obstacles military personnel and retirees must face. Our firm has built a solid reputation for helping clients secure compensation for their injuries or the loss of a loved one due to physician negligence. From thorough investigations to medical experts and eyewitness testimony, we can gather all relevant facts and expose the truth as it relates to:

• Diagnosis and subsequent medication. Any error in diagnosing a patient could leave their actual condition untreated. Worse, an erroneous diagnosis could subject the patient to treatments or medications that are not only ineffective for addressing their actual problem but also cause dangerous complications as well. If your recent injury pertains to a physician’s negligence in diagnosing your condition, or if a physician prescribed medication negligently, resulting in harm, you can seek accountability for your damages with the help of a Jacksonville physician negligence attorney.
• Surgical practices. Every surgical procedure involves some margin of error, and every patient has a unique physiology. Surgeons have demanding jobs and face incredible pressure to perform delicate surgical procedures without even slight errors. When a surgeon makes a mistake during surgery, they must correct it immediately, assess any potential complications it may cause the patient, and advise the patient of the issue and how it could impact them. If a surgeon lacks the formal qualifications to perform a surgery, makes a grossly negligent error, or otherwise causes harm to any patient through a surgical error, this can constitute grounds for a malpractice suit.
• Maternal and infant mortality. Injuries pertaining to childbirth procedures can be exceedingly traumatic for the affected family. If a doctor is negligent in delivering a newborn, the child could sustain life-changing injuries that cause permanent disabilities. It’s also possible for a mother to suffer extreme medical complications from childbirth if they do not receive competent medical attention. Childbirth injury cases tend to involve substantial damages, including the victim’s future medical needs, if they suffered a permanent disability.
• Emergency room treatments. The emergency room is likely the most chaotic part of any hospital. As a result, emergency room doctors and nurses face tremendous pressure to address patients as swiftly and appropriately as possible. Unfortunately, physician negligence could manifest in many ways in an emergency room. As a result, an affected patient may not receive the emergency care they need and/or sustain further harm from negligence.
• Fatalities. Some medical patients simply cannot overcome their injuries or illnesses, and despite the best efforts of attending medical staff, they may die in hospital treatment. While some deaths are explainable and unavoidable, others occur because of physician negligence. If you believe your loved one died because their medical team provided incompetent, incomplete, or ineffective care, you may have grounds to file a wrongful death suit for medical malpractice.

Malpractice Cases Focus on Standards of Care and Whether They Were Followed

Ultimately, any physician can potentially inflict life-changing harm on a patient when they do not exercise professional care in administering treatment to their patients. The “standard of care” is the focal point of every medical malpractice case filed in Florida. This term refers to the level of medical treatment a patient must receive to reflect the nature and severity of their injury. Physicians must adhere to their patients’ standards of care very closely, only straying from accepted treatments and techniques when necessary or when the patient’s unique medical concerns prevent them from benefiting from the standard treatment their condition would normally entail.

Various medical professionals must adhere to different standards of care and specific responsibilities related to their areas of expertise. For example, anesthesiologists must ensure proper dosage and administration of anesthesia and carefully monitor patient vital signs during any anesthesia use. Likewise, diagnosing physicians have a professional duty to use a comprehensive differential diagnosis process to accurately determine a patient’s condition. Your Jacksonville physician negligence attorney can help you understand exactly how the defendant in your claim breached their standard of care and caused your injuries.

There is a distinct difference between an honest and understandable mistake in a tenuous medical emergency and a medical injury borne of incompetence or negligence. All medical professionals swear an oath to do no harm to their patients, and those who deviate from this standard face liability for physician malpractice claims. Honest mistakes can happen, and medicine is inherently uncertain in many ways. However, when a medical professional makes a mistake, they must immediately take responsibility and correct it. When they violate their oath due to carelessness, recklessness, or any form of negligence, a Jacksonville physician malpractice attorney is the victim’s best resource to determine their options for recovery.

How to File a Medical Malpractice Suit in Florida

Unlike other types of personal injuries, medical malpractice suits face different procedural rules and legal statutes than most other personal injury claims. As a result, there are certain steps an injured patient must complete before they can proceed with direct legal action against the medical professional who injured them. Additionally, they will be somewhat limited in their recovery options compared to what is available in a personal injury claim filed for any reason outside of medical malpractice.

Florida’s Malpractice Act requires an injured patient to prove the defendant violated the standard of care that applied to their condition in their claim. This means the plaintiff must consult a physician similarly skilled to the defendant in their claim, and this individual must provide an affidavit of merit testifying in support of the plaintiff. The expert witness consulted for a medical malpractice claim should explain in clear detail exactly how the defendant breached their standard of care and what a reasonable physician in the same situation should have done to prevent the harm done to the patient.

In addition to proving the defendant did not perform up to the standard of care, the injured party must also prove the defendant’s malpractice was the proximate cause of their claimed damages. In other words, the plaintiff and their attorney must prove their claimed damages solely resulted from the defendant’s negligence and not some other cause. The key foundational elements of any physician negligence claim in Florida include:

• An affidavit of merit from a qualified physician explaining the breached standard of care. Many medical professionals, engineers, and other highly credentialed individuals are willing to testify as expert witnesses in medical malpractice claims and other personal injury cases. Your attorney can help you find a medical professional with credentials similar to the defendant’s, ensuring they are a reliable source of information regarding the medical issues you will discuss in your claim.
• Evidence of actual harm. Even if the defendant fixed the error they made, the plaintiff might have sustained injuries that pose long-lasting problems. They may have also been billed for additional medical care they shouldn’t have required. Therefore, the plaintiff of a physician negligence claim must be prepared to prove that the defendant caused measurable economic losses to proceed with their claim.
• Proof of proximate cause of harm. A Jacksonville physician negligence attorney can help their client gather whatever evidence they need to prove the defendant directly caused their claimed damages.

Every medical malpractice claim is unique, and every plaintiff faces different challenges as they seek compensation for their damages. You have a limited time to take legal action following an injury from physician negligence, so it’s crucial to seek legal counsel as soon as possible to succeed with subsequent legal proceedings.

Compensation for Physician Negligence in Florida

A medical malpractice claim is a form of personal injury claim, and Florida’s personal injury statutes provide plaintiffs with broad flexibility to seek compensation for civil damages. However, special rules apply to non-economic damages in medical malpractice suits. If any form of physician negligence harmed you or a loved one, you need to have legal counsel you can trust to accurately calculate the full scope of damages you can claim from the defendant.

Many people who suffer injuries from physician negligence require immediate corrective treatment followed by rehabilitative care. Unfortunately, depending on the nature and severity of the defendant’s actions, the plaintiff may experience a worsening of their previous symptoms, new symptoms, or a combination thereof. These effects, in turn, generate expensive medical bills. The victim’s health care insurance may provide some flexibility in affording care, but the plaintiff must likely hold the defendant accountable with a medical malpractice suit to ensure full recovery from their medical expenses, both immediate and future.

Regarding your economic losses, you have the right to seek full repayment of all economic damages sustained because of the defendant’s actions. These may include increased medical treatment costs, ongoing care costs you are likely to incur because of their actions, lost income from inability to work, and compensation for lost future earnings in response to severely debilitating injuries. Your Jacksonville physician negligence attorney will be instrumental in helping you prove that the defendant is responsible for all economic losses listed in your complaint.

Non-economic damages pertain to pain and suffering. Florida state law acknowledges that a painful and traumatic experience is itself a loss deserving compensation. However, state law limits pain and suffering compensation in medical malpractice claims to $500,000, regardless of the severity of the injury.

Resolving a Physician Negligence Claim in Florida

Most medical malpractice claims filed in Florida end in a private settlement. When a claim progresses to the point that the defendant must acknowledge their error and accept responsibility for their actions, they will likely want to settle the matter as quickly and quietly as possible. A private settlement negotiation allows the defendant to resolve the dispute and prevent it from coming up in the future while providing the plaintiff the chance to secure compensation swiftly after an injury.

You will need legal counsel from a trustworthy Jacksonville physician injury attorney for settlement negotiations, even if you believe the defendant’s liability is clear and your claimed damages are reasonable. Your legal team will ensure you receive a fair settlement offer, and if settlement does not prove fruitful and you must proceed to litigation, you will have the representation you need to do so with a high chance of success.

When a physician negligence case goes to trial, the defendant will have the opportunity to explain their actions and offer contradictory evidence against the plaintiff. Therefore, the plaintiff must be prepared to defend their position. Your Jacksonville physician negligence attorney can help you gather all types of supporting evidence, from statements made by other members of your care team to records of correspondence with the defendant.

What to Expect From a Jacksonville Physician Negligence Attorney

When you choose Cronin & Maxwell, PL, to represent you in a medical malpractice claim against a negligent physician in Jacksonville, we will immediately assist you in gathering the evidence your case demands. Our team routinely assists the victims of medical malpractice in military and civilian life. Whatever your unique situation demands, you can rest assured our team has the experience and resources to handle it efficiently.

Medical malpractice claims demand careful attention to detail, extensive research and documentation, and consistently responsive action as a complex case unfolds. Cronin & Maxwell, PL, have years of experience navigating challenging cases on behalf of military and civilian clients. We adapt our strategies to meet the unique demands of every case we accept and know that no two clients face the same challenges. Therefore, we will carefully listen to your story and help you determine the best legal options that may help your recovery.

Our goal in every case we accept is to help our client develop the strongest possible claim and to compile tailored strategies that meet the unique demands of the case. We know the Jacksonville area and the trends that persist through local health care systems and hospitals. In addition, our team’s vast wealth of professional experience with law and medicine as they apply in both the civilian and military realms positions us as uniquely capable of handling demanding malpractice claims.

The sooner you connect with a Jacksonville physician negligence attorney, the better your chances are of maximizing your recovery to the fullest extent possible under Florida law. Additionally, if a negligent, improperly trained, or professionally incompetent medical professional caused your injury, your successful claim could prevent others from experiencing similar harm in the future. Ultimately, the right attorney can add tremendous value to your claim and provide confidence when you need it most.

Military Personnel Deserve Competent Medical Treatment Too

Cronin & Maxwell believes all servicemen, servicewomen, retirees and their families are entitled to the same professional medical care as civilians. If you suffer an injury because of physician negligence, we can help you find justice and recover fair compensation.

Reach out to us at 904-388-9555 to schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced military medical malpractice lawyer. We work on a contingency fee basis; we don’t get paid unless you get paid. To find out more about your case, visit our medical malpractice information center.