Florida Brain Bleed Medical Malpractice Attorneys
Any type of bleeding inside the skull or brain (an intracranial hemorrhage) is a life-threatening medical emergency requiring immediate attention to prevent serious brain damage. When bleeding impedes the flow of oxygen to the brain, cells die within a few minutes, causing damage that can result in permanent physical, mental, and cognitive disabilities or death. Prompt diagnosis and medical treatment are crucial to limit damage to the brain and improve a patient’s chances for recovery.
If you or a member of your family sought emergency medical care for a brain bleed or stroke that was not diagnosed promptly or treated effectively, you may be able to hold the doctor and other healthcare professionals accountable for their negligence and the damages it caused. With a Florida medical malpractice claim, you may be able to obtain substantial compensation for your medical expenses, rehabilitation and care expenses, lost income, pain, suffering, and other damages resulting from the negligent medical care.
The Florida medical malpractice attorneys of Paul Knopf Bigger are committed to helping our seriously injured clients achieve justice. We strive to hold negligent doctors accountable for the harm they cause patients and their families. During our many years as trial attorneys, we have fought doctors who did not diagnose or treat brain bleeds and strokes effectively and have won multi-million-dollar settlements and awards for the families whom we have had the privilege of representing.
We look forward to talking with you about a potential Florida medical malpractice claim for negligence in diagnosing or treating a brain bleed or stroke. We will be glad to answer any questions you might have about medical malpractice claims in Florida and advise you on your best course of action. At PKB, we are committed to excellence in the pursuit justice and welcome the opportunity to put our commitment and legal expertise to work for you.
Causes of Bleeding in the Brain
Bleeding in the brain can be caused by an injury to the head, specific medical conditions or disorders. The causes include:
- Trauma to the head from a blow to the head, fall, car accident or sports accident
- High blood pressure
- A ruptured cerebral aneurysm
- Leaking between arteries and veins due to arteriovenous malformation
- A bleeding disorder or anticoagulant use
- An artery damaged by a blood clot
- Fatty deposits built up in the arteries
- Amyloid protein built up in the artery walls of the brain
- A brain tumor pressing on brain tissue
- Liver disease
- A ruptured blood vessel due to abnormal collagen formation in the vessel walls
- Conditions related to pregnancy and birth, such as eclampsia and postpartum vasculopathy
Diagnosing and Treating Brain Bleeds
A doctor should always check for internal bleeding in the brain when a patient has had a head trauma and should never overlook or disregard the symptoms of a brain hemorrhage. These symptoms include:
- Sudden tingling, numbness, weakness or paralysis of the face, arm or leg
- Confusion
- Dizziness
- Seizures
- Sudden, severe headache
- Loss of vision, problem seeing or sensitivity to light
- Loss of balance or coordination
- Abnormal or slurred speech
- Difficulty reading, writing or understanding language
- Nausea and vomiting
- Difficulty swallowing
- Lack of energy or difficulty staying awake
- Trouble breathing
- Abnormal heart rate
If a patient is exhibiting any of these symptoms, a doctor should suspect a brain hemorrhage and quickly conduct diagnostic tests, such as a computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) of the brain to determine where the bleed is located and the extent of the bleed. Other tests may include an electroencephalogram, spinal tap, urinalysis, and complete blood count (CBC).
The testing must be done quickly, however, to treat the bleed before extensive damage occurs. If blood has pooled and pressure is building in the brain, decompression may be necessary to allow blood drainage. If the brain has swelled, a craniectomy or craniotomy may be done to allow to swelling brain to expand. If an aneurysm that has not ruptured or abnormal blood vessels are causing the bleeding, surgery may be done to prevent a rupture.
When bleeding in the brain is not diagnosed and treated promptly, the result can be serious, even life-threatening brain damage or wrongful death. Patients who survive can suffer permanent damage, including physical, mental and cognitive disabilities.
Florida Medical Malpractice Claims for Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis of Brain Bleeds
If a doctor did not diagnose a brain hemorrhage in a timely manner and you or a family member was seriously injured because of that negligence, you may be able to take legal action to hold the doctor accountable and obtain substantial compensation for the damages you suffered. Damages may include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation and care expenses
- Lost income
- Diminished earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Inconvenience
- Diminished capacity for enjoying life
- Other damages recoverable under Florida law
Under Florida law, medical malpractice is defined as the failure of a healthcare professional to follow the accepted professional standard of care owed to his patients. That is, when a doctor fails to do what a reasonably prudent medical provider practicing in the same specialty would do and causes a patient to suffer serious injury or wrongful death, the doctor may be held responsible for inflicting harm on his or her patients with a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Usually, these medical malpractice lawsuits are very complicated and labor-intensive. Proving that a doctor breached the accepted professional standard of care by not diagnosing a brain bleed and that the breach seriously injured a patient requires a thorough investigation into the medical record, a complete understanding of all the facts of the case, high quality expert testimony and skill as a trial lawyer.
The Paul Knopf Bigger attorneys bring the essential expertise, experience and skill to each case they handle. We successfully represent clients across the country who have been seriously injured by medical negligence and errors in Florida and have fought and won against doctors who did not diagnose a brain bleed in time to prevent devastating damage.
Statute of Limitations for Florida Medical Malpractice Cases
The statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases in Florida is two years. In other words, if you are going to take legal action against a healthcare provider for medical malpractice, you must begin the process within two years of the date the malpractice occurred, was discovered or should have been discovered. The outer limit for the discovery of the malpractice is no later than four years from the date the negligent incident occurred.
People who have been injured because a physician misdiagnosed or delayed diagnosing a brain hemorrhage or their family members should not postpone contacting a trusted Florida medical malpractice attorney. Preparing a medical malpractice claim takes a significant amount of time, and Florida law requires a thorough presuit investigation as part of the mandatory notice of intent to initiate litigation.
Proven and Trusted Florida Attorneys for Brain Bleed Malpractice Cases
Winning medical malpractice cases requires the expertise of experienced trial attorneys and the resources of a successful law firm. The attorneys of Paul Knopf Bigger have won many multi-million-dollar settlements and awards and have the trial experience and resources you need to win your medical malpractice case.
We are, in fact, the law firm other lawyers throughout Florida and across the country trust to handle their clients’ complex medical malpractice claims. If you or a family member has suffered due to a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of a brain bleed, we are the law firm you can trust to provide outstanding representation, superior personal attention and rewarding results.
Please call us at 855.292.2111 or submit the “Free Case Evaluation” form on our website to discuss your case with an experienced Florida medical malpractice attorney you can trust for excellence in the pursuit of justice.