Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Ocala, FL
Every licensed healthcare professional is required to provide a reasonable standard of care. Violating this standard can cause significant harm, resulting in staggering medical bills, lost wages, and long-term suffering. You shouldn’t have to bear the costs alone. Let our experienced and caring Ocala medical malpractice attorneys help you hold your doctor responsible for your losses. Call us now at (352) 205-4023.
Health care providers undergo years of training so the general public can trust them to provide quality care. Doctors are still human, however, and can make mistakes. Even a small error in judgment can forever harm a patient.
If you were hurt due to negligence by your doctor or healthcare provider, you may be able to hold them accountable for your injuries and other losses. Our experienced medical malpractice lawyers in Ocala can explain your legal options and fight for your right to compensation.
Why You Need Our Ocala Medical Malpractice Team on Your Side
When you hire one of our award-winning Ocala personal injury lawyers at Farah & Farah, you get more than the efforts of one attorney. You get an entire team of attorneys, paralegals, and support staff who will work together to get you the outcome you need.
We put clients first at Farah & Farah. Our client-centric approach is the hallmark of our success. It is the driving factor behind the following:
- Our open-door policy ensures your legal team is always accessible.
- We treat every client with dignity, respect, and honesty.
- We are committed to caring, understanding, and working hard.
Founded in 1979, we are a well-established law firm with four decades of experience that make all the difference for our clients.
We Handle All Medical Malpractice Claims at Farah & Farah
Medical malpractice encompasses a range of errors that can affect anyone from birth through old age. We have successfully handled them all, including the following, which are among the most common forms of medical malpractice:
- Misdiagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failure to diagnose
- Failure to treat
- Surgical errors
- Anesthesia errors
- Medication errors
- Birth injuries
- Nursing home abuse
How Much Is My Medical Malpractice Case Worth?
Your medical malpractice case may be worth tens of thousands to millions. The value of your case will depend on the severity of your injuries, the available medical malpractice insurance, the number of liable parties, and the strength of the evidence. Here are a few of our medical malpractice case results:
- $5 million medical malpractice recovery in a case against a hospital for a brain injury sustained in the emergency room
- $450,000 recovery in a bedsore case against a nursing home
- $275,000 from a nursing home for inadequate heel protection and failure to monitor the patient
Damages in a medical malpractice case may include compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages. Our skilled medical malpractice attorneys in Ocala can also help you pursue punitive damages in cases with clear and convincing evidence of intentional misconduct or gross negligence.
Medical Malpractice That Results in Death
In the case of the tragic death of a beloved family member from medical malpractice, your family may be eligible to pursue damages through a wrongful death lawsuit. Wrongful death damages are awarded to the surviving spouse or, in the absence of a spouse, the children.
What Damages Am I Eligible For in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
In a wrongful death lawsuit, we can help you pursue the following types of damages:
- Grief and suffering of the family
- Pain and suffering of the deceased
- Loss of companionship, guidance, support, and advice
- Burial expenses
- Medical expenses of the deceased
- The probable net income of the deceased had they lived
If your loved one passed away unexpectedly during or after a medical procedure, contact our team immediately so we can determine whether a medical error is to blame. If so, we can work to relieve the financial stress brought on by the death and hold the responsible parties accountable for the loss of your loved one.
What You Can Expect When Working With Our Ocala Medical Malpractice Attorneys
Recovering from the outcomes of medical malpractice is overwhelming enough without having to endure a prolonged legal battle. When you hire Farah & Farah, we’ll manage your case with our supportive and caring team of hardworking attorneys. These are some of the things we can do for you:
- Carefully review your medical records.
- Retrace your doctor’s steps during your procedure or course of care.
- Consult with medical experts.
- Identify the liable parties.
- Interview witnesses.
- File a timely insurance claim.
- Negotiate aggressively for the settlement you deserve
- Calculate your claim’s value.
- Negotiate your medical bills down so more of your settlement goes to you.
- Fight for you in court if the insurance company refuses to do the right thing.
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What Constitutes Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor makes a mistake that leads to harm. The mistake may be due to either your doctor’s action or inaction in the care provided.
Unfortunately, a poor health outcome can occur even if the doctor does everything correctly. This is why a poor outcome alone is not sufficient cause for a claim. It is only medical malpractice if you prove that the doctor violated the reasonable standard of care.
It is also not medical malpractice if the doctor makes a mistake, but you are not injured. Damages in civil cases are meant to compensate the plaintiff for their losses. Without an injury, there is nothing to compensate for.
What Does ‘Reasonable Standard of Care’ Mean?
The reasonable standard of care is the set of actions a prudent, qualified health care provider would exercise given the available information. The standard of care varies by field, but the following are examples of actions a reasonably prudent doctor in any practice area would be expected to take:
- Adhere to established treatment protocols
- Order appropriate tests until a diagnosis is made
- Consult with specialists or refer the patient to specialists when appropriate
- Stay up-to-date on the latest treatment methods
- Provide timely treatment for diagnosed conditions
- Obtain a complete patient medical history
- Prescribe appropriate medications considering allergies and patient history
- Properly update medical records
How To Prove Medical Negligence in Your Ocala Medical Malpractice Claim
To prove medical negligence, you must present evidence that all of the following elements are true:
- You were a patient of the defendant. This establishes that the provider owed you a duty of care. If you paid the provider for care, scheduled an appointment and showed up, or had a consultation in a health care facility with the provider, you had a patient-provider relationship.
- The health care provider breached their duty of care. To prove this, you must determine what actions would have been reasonable given the available information and show that your provider deviated from this. This generally requires a medical expert’s opinion.
- The breach of duty is the cause of your injury. You must establish that the breach of duty was the actual and proximate cause of your injury. You will need evidence that your injury would not have occurred if the practitioner had provided a reasonable standard of care. A review of your medical history and an expert medical opinion is generally required.
- You suffered an injury. The most straightforward method to substantiate an injury is through medical records, including your file and medical bills.
Gathering this evidence is only the beginning. The insurance company will hire its own experts who may claim that your injury would have occurred anyway or the doctor’s actions were reasonable. Insurance company lawyers may accuse you of faking your injuries and attack the credibility of your medical experts.
Our experienced Ocala medical malpractice lawyers are well-prepared for these tactics. We’re Florida natives, and our home-grown roots have helped us network with the leading medical experts in the state during our more than 40 years in business.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for Medical Malpractice?
Liability for medical malpractice can fall on any licensed practitioner that contributed directly or indirectly to your injuries. The list of those potentially liable includes virtually any health care provider you encounter, including the facility where you received care.
Below are just a few examples of the many health care providers that can face medical malpractice liability:
- Doctors
- Surgeons
- Nurses
- Nurse practitioners
- Physician assistants
- Laboratory technicians
- Anesthesiologists
- Pharmacists
- Radiologists
- Midwives
- Hospitals
- Nursing homes
- Birthing centers
We commonly name multiple defendants in one lawsuit. For example, if medical malpractice occurred in a hospital, such as HCA Florida Ocala or Advent Health Ocala, we may name doctors, nurses, and the hospital itself as defendants. We always aim to ensure you receive as much compensation for your injuries as possible, and identifying all the liable parties is an important means to accomplish this.
State Law Limits Your Time To File a Medical Malpractice Claim
The statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Florida is two years from the date you were injured. In some cases, medical injuries are not apparent right away. For example, if a surgical instrument was left in your body, you may not be aware of it until after it causes complications years later. In cases like this, the statute of limitations is based on when you discover or should have discovered the injury.
However, there is a hard deadline of four years after the date of the error, even if the injury is discovered much later.
Please note that medical malpractice cases are among the hardest cases to win, so it’s important to take as much time as needed to thoroughly investigate and prepare the case before filing a lawsuit. The earlier you hire a lawyer, the more time you’ll have to prepare a strong case.
Contact Our Medical Injury Lawyers in Ocala Today
If you or a loved one has been injured due to the actions or inaction of a medical provider, call the Ocala medical malpractice attorneys at Farah & Farah today at (352) 205-4023. Your initial consultation is free, there are no costs to get started, and you don’t pay anything unless we win your case.
Why You Need Our Ocala Medical Malpractice Team on Your Side
We Handle All Medical Malpractice Claims at Farah & Farah
How Much Is My Medical Malpractice Case Worth?
What You Can Expect When Working With Our Ocala Medical Malpractice Attorneys
What Constitutes Medical Malpractice?
How To Prove Medical Negligence in Your Ocala Medical Malpractice Claim
Who Can Be Held Responsible for Medical Malpractice?
State Law Limits Your Time To File a Medical Malpractice Claim
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