Orlando Medical Malpractice Lawyers - Paul Knopf Bigger

When you need medical treatment, you trust that your healthcare providers will improve your health. However, careless or reckless decisions by medical professionals can cause life-altering injuries and complications for patients. You should not have to suffer the consequences of a medical provider’s wrongdoing.

An Orlando medical malpractice attorney from Paul Knopf Bigger can help you seek accountability from a negligent medical provider who has harmed you through substandard care. Our legal team is committed to advocating for medical injury victims’ rights. We provide every client with the personalized, effective representation they deserve.

If you suffered injuries or complications from negligent healthcare, we can help you pursue the compensation and accountability you need and deserve. Contact Paul Knopf Bigger for a free, no-obligation consultation to learn about your legal options.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the “standard of care,” causing harm to a patient. However, not every adverse outcome of medical treatment results from medical malpractice. Instead, medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider acts negligently or fails to act with the standard of care applicable to the patient’s situation.

While the specifics will vary from case to case, medical professionals generally define the standard of care as the treatment decisions and actions that other healthcare providers of comparable training and experience would undertake in similar circumstances.

What Are Common Types of Medical Malpractice Cases?

At Paul Knopf Bigger, our attorneys represent clients who have suffered injuries or health problems due to medical negligence or errors, such as:

• Surgical errors, including wrong patient or wrong site surgery, failure to monitor patient conditions, or leaving equipment inside a patient
• Anesthesia errors, including administering contraindicated anesthesia or miscalculating the dosage
• Medication errors, including prescribing contraindicated medications, dosage errors, pharmacy errors, missing doses, or administering medication to the wrong patient
• Hospital-acquired infections
• Misdiagnosis and failure-to-diagnose, especially diagnostic errors involving cancers
• Emergency room errors, including triage errors or premature discharge
• Radiology or diagnostic laboratory errors, including misinterpretation of test results
• Birth injuries, including fetal distress; delays in performing a C-section; neonatal infections; hypoxic brain injury; and stillbirth

What Are Common Types of Birth Injuries?

A birth injury refers to trauma or medical complications a mother or baby suffers during or immediately after delivery. Some of the most common kinds of birth injuries include the following:

• Birth-Related Brain Injury – Lack of blood or oxygen flow to a baby’s brain during delivery can cause permanent brain damage, leading to conditions such as cerebral palsy, intellectual/behavioral disabilities, or vision/hearing problems. These conditions are often referred to as anoxic brain injury, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), hypoxia, periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), and intracranial hemorrhage.
• Preeclampsia and Placental Abruption – Preeclampsia is a medical complication during pregnancy characterized by high blood pressure, abnormal levels of protein in urine, and organ damage. Untreated preeclampsia can lead to complications during delivery, such as placental abruption, in which the placenta separates from the uterine wall before delivery, potentially causing life-threatening, severe bleeding. If not addressed in a timely fashion, preeclampsia can also lead to maternal or fetal death. Placental abruption is an obstetrical emergency that can occur without preeclampsia and it can also lead to fetal brain injury or death.
• Injuries from Vacuum or Forceps Use – Brain injuries or skull fractures can occur due to improper use of delivery-assisting tools such as vacuum extractors or forceps. Common errors include multiple attempts to complete the delivery with tools instead of proceeding with a C-section after a failed first attempt.
• C-Section Error – Errors relating to Cesarean section delivery can include failing to perform emergency C-sections in response to fetal distress or maternal exhaustion, or making improper incisions that injure the mother or baby.
• Failure to Diagnose Birth Injuries – Prompt treatment of some birth injuries can eliminate or mitigate lifelong complications of those injuries. Failure to identify signs of birth injuries after delivery may prevent infants from receiving adequate treatment or rehabilitation.
• Fetal Distress – Birth injuries can occur when delivery teams fail to monitor a baby’s vital signs or respond promptly to signs of fetal distress. These signs include a spike in blood pressure, rapid or decreasing heart rate, or declining blood oxygen levels.
• Cerebral Palsy – This is caused by brain damage during delivery or abnormal brain development. It is characterized by muscle weakness or problems with motor function. Brain damage that causes cerebral palsy can lead to other complications, including vision/hearing loss or intellectual/developmental disabilities.
• Erb’s Palsy – This happens because of damage to brachial nerves exiting the spinal column during delivery, usually due to improper use of vacuum extractors or forceps, or failure to respond promptly if a baby’s head gets stuck in the birth canal. This is also known as a brachial plexus injury or brachial plexus palsy.
• Neonatal Complications – Even after a normal or difficult delivery, a neonate can require ongoing care or resuscitation or mechanical ventilation. Failures to appropriately oxygenate a baby in the NICU or to identify signs and symptoms of neonatal infection can lead to lifelong damages.
• Postpartum Complications – Mothers can suffer various physical and emotional complications after giving birth, including uterine infections, UTIs, excessive bleeding, uterine or pelvic prolapse, and postpartum depression.

Who Can Be Held Responsible for Medical Malpractice?

Many healthcare professionals can be held responsible for a patient’s injury or harm in a medical malpractice case. Some of the parties who may bear liability for medical malpractice include:

What Types of Compensation Can I Pursue in a Medical Malpractice Claim?

You could pursue compensation for various expenses or losses due to medical malpractice. You might seek money for the following:

• Additional medical treatment or rehabilitation
• Care and support services for long-term or permanent disabilities
• Lost income if you take time off work to recover from injuries
• Lost earning capacity or job benefits if your injuries or complications lead to permanent disabilities that prevent you from working
• Pain and suffering
• Lost quality of life caused by disabilities, visible scarring/disfigurement, or reduced life expectancy

What Is the Process for Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim in Florida?

To file a medical malpractice claim in Florida, you or your attorney must obtain a verified written opinion or affidavit from a medical professional. This individual must attest that, in their expert opinion and to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, malpractice occurred in your treatment and caused your injuries or complications. The professional must practice in the same specialty or subspecialty as the provider who negligently treated you.

Once you’ve obtained a medical expert opinion, you must notify the opposing party or parties of your intention to sue. You must provide notice of your intent to sue at least 90 days before you file a lawsuit. The opposing party can investigate your claim and either admit liability and offer to settle or deny liability. You do not have to accept a settlement offer and can decide to move forward with your suit. The opposing party may also choose to admit fault and offer medical malpractice arbitration.

An experienced medical malpractice attorney from Paul Knopf Bigger can handle all the details of filing a claim for you and advise you on the best course of action.

How Can I Prove Medical Malpractice?

Proving medical malpractice requires various pieces of evidence to show how your healthcare provider’s treatment failed to meet the standard of care. Examples of evidence your attorney might use in your claim include:

In most medical malpractice cases, you will also need expert reports and testimony. These will describe the applicable standard of care in your treatment and explain how your provider’s decisions and actions failed to comply with the standard of care.

How Long Do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Florida?

The statute of limitations in Florida generally gives you two years to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. The suit must be filed either two years from the date you received negligent medical treatment or two years from the date that you discovered (or should have discovered through reasonable diligence) the harm you suffered from that treatment, whichever occurs later. However, regardless of when you suffer harm or discover your injuries, you must file your lawsuit within four years of the date that the negligent treatment occurred. If the injury or harm was to a minor child, then you must initiate the medical malpractice claim before the child’s eighth birthday.

It’s crucial for you to contact an Orlando medical malpractice lawyer from Paul Knopf Bigger as soon as possible after discovering your injuries from negligent medical treatment. Filing a lawsuit after the time limit expires on your claim means possibly losing your right to recover compensation from whoever caused you harm.

How an Orlando Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help with Your Case

Depending on the severity of the injuries or complications you suffer due to negligent healthcare, you may face a long road to recovery. But you do not have to go through this challenging time alone.

An Orlando medical malpractice attorney from Paul Knopf Bigger can handle all the details of your legal case so that you can focus your time and energy on healing. We will seek maximum financial relief for you by:

• Investigating your claim and securing all available evidence to build a compelling case
• Identifying the healthcare providers who can be held liable for your injuries or complications
• Gathering documentation of the harm you’ve suffered and calculating your ongoing and future anticipated expenses and needs
• Filing your claims and communicating with hospital representatives, insurance adjusters, or defense lawyers on your behalf so you can focus on your recovery
• Pursuing the compensation you deserve through a settlement or by taking your case to trial if litigation becomes necessary to obtain the best outcome

Contact a Medical Malpractice Attorney in Orlando Today

If you’ve been harmed due to a healthcare provider’s negligence, you may have the right to hold them accountable for your financial and personal losses. At Paul Knopf Bigger, our dedicated attorneys can help you seek the compensation you deserve to move on with your life.

Contact our office today for a free no-obligation consultation with a medical malpractice attorney in Orlando and learn more about your rights and options.