The Most Common Medical Errors in West Palm Beach, FL
Gregg Hollander | September 6, 2024 | Medical Malpractice
Some of the most common medical errors in West Palm Beach, FL include failure to diagnose, delayed diagnosis, failure to warn, surgical errors, and birth injuries. These are just a few kinds of medical errors, though, and there are many other ways that patients can suffer harm in the care of a medical professional.
Injuries, illnesses, and wrongful deaths are among the outcomes that result from medical errors. If you or a loved one suffered one of these or any other adverse outcomes, hire a West Palm Beach medical malpractice lawyer to seek fair compensation for your damages.
Medical Errors Are More Common Than Many Floridians Know
Medical errors are the third-leading cause of death in the United States and cause many injuries, illnesses, and wrongful deaths in Florida each year.
When a medical error happens, it signals a broken system. Such flaws in the healthcare system can lie with:
A Specific Medical Provider
Physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists, and other medical providers may have the greatest capacity to cause or prevent harm to patients. A specific medical provider may be liable if a medical error results from:
- The medical provider being physically unfit to do their job, whether due to impairment, tiredness, physical health problems, or other reasons
- The medical provider lacking the proper training to perform their duties
- Lack of good judgment by the medical provider
- An emphasis on speed of care rather than quality of care, which often stems from financial motivations
Some medical providers also make mistakes, such as surgical errors. Even if these mistakes are rare occurrences, the provider is typically liable for them.
Administrators at a Medical Facility
Those responsible for a medical facility have an immense duty to protect patients. Administrators can be liable for any negligence that contributes to a medical error in West Palm Beach, which may include:
- Hiring medical providers who are unqualified
- Hiring medical providers with a history of negligence or substance abuse
- Failing to monitor doctors and other employees for the use of alcohol and drugs
- Failing to ensure medical providers are in good health
- Shortcomings in training medical providers
Medical administrators are often paid well, and protecting patients is a condition of that salary. Lawyers often find that administrators are responsible in some way when a medical error happens.
The Medical Facility Itself
Patient safety starts with the safety of a medical facility. Owners and administrators may be liable for a medical error if:
- Medical providers were not given the equipment they needed to perform their jobs effectively
- The medical facility was understaffed
- The medical facility was unclean
- Any other facility-related hazard contributes to a medical error (or adverse health outcomes like infections)
Your attorney will investigate conditions at the medical facility in West Palm Beach where the error happened. They will identify any conditions that contributed to the harm you or a loved one have suffered.
Medical Equipment
Defects and malfunctions in medical equipment can contribute to medical errors. Those who manufactured or maintained the equipment can be liable if a defect (or a problem stemming from neglect of the device) led you or a loved one to suffer an injury.
Reducing medical errors requires effort from everyone involved in the chain of patient care. Your medical error attorney in West Palm Beach will determine why the medical error in question occurred. In making this determination, your lawyer will identify all instances of negligence that led you or a loved one to suffer harm.
Medical Errors That Can Lead to Injury, Illness, and Death in West Palm Beach
Whether the medical error you’ve endured is relatively common or rare, the error may have caused devastating outcomes for you and your loved ones. Examples of medical errors that can cause injury, preventable illness, and wrongful deaths in West Palm Beach include:
- Not diagnosing a medical condition
- Misdiagnosing a medical condition
- Diagnosing a medical condition after it has progressed (delayed diagnosis)
- Failing to recommend steps (like testing or imaging) that could have protected the patient
- Medication errors
- Recommending or providing treatment without warning the patient
- Recommending treatment that proves harmful or unnecessarily dangerous
- Making a surgical error
- Making an anesthesia error
- Causing a birth injury (which can result from negligence during the prenatal stage or delivery)
These are errors typically committed at the physician level. Medical administrators and facility ownership can also contribute to errors in several ways.
You may be certain that harm you’ve suffered resulted from medical malpractice, or you may merely have a suspicion. In either case, you should speak with medical malpractice attorneys in West Palm Beach as soon as possible. A lawyer will evaluate your case and lead any claim or lawsuit you’re eligible to pursue.
A West Palm Beach Medical Errors Lawyer Will Prove a Priceless Resource for You
Make no mistake: Ensuring your safety and ongoing recovery is the most important step after a medical error. If you have not yet sought a thorough medical evaluation and treatment for the health effects of a medical error, do so as soon as possible.
Next, hire a medical errors lawyer. You should look for an attorney who:
- Is part of a law firm with substantial resources and a history of leading medical malpractice cases
- Has handled many cases in West Palm Beach
- Has a history of securing large settlements and verdicts for medical malpractice victims
- Has many strong endorsements from former clients (and few, if any, critical reviews)
The potential benefits of hiring a medical errors lawyer is difficult to summarize but include the following:
- Financial relief: Medical malpractice lawyers typically handle cases for a contingency fee. You won’t have to pay your law firm an upfront fee, as your lawyer will have to earn their fee by securing compensation for you. This agreement motivates your law firm to secure compensation, as your firm takes the financial risk.
- More time for you: You deserve to put all your time towards recovery. You can do that by letting a lawyer lead your insurance claim or lawsuit.
- Less responsibility for you: Those coping with the effects of a medical error don’t need any added responsibility. You may feel far less stress if you let a lawyer handle your case. Make the choice to simplify your life and prioritize your health.
- The benefit of a lawyer’s legal education and experience: There is no substitute for legal education and experience. A lawyer isn’t just someone who will take your case off your hands. They bring unique qualifications that will translate directly to your claim or lawsuit.
If you’re honest, you’ll probably recognize that a medical malpractice case is more than you can handle. There’s no shame in that, as these kinds of lawsuits and claims are highly complicated, and you deserve the help only a lawyer can provide.
What Your West Palm Medical Malpractice Attorney Will Do for You
Each medical malpractice lawyer has different philosophies, approaches, and degrees of thoroughness. You should seek a lawyer whose former clients praise their work ethic and determination to get the best result possible.
While styles and approaches vary, most medical malpractice lawyers serve their clients by:
Securing Evidence of Medical Malpractice (and the Specific Medical Error You’re Suffering From)
A West Palm Beach medical errors attorney may prove that malpractice occurred using:
- The accounts of medical experts, who can testify about specific failures that qualify as negligence
- Medical records (which may indicate errors like delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and medication errors)
- Your account of how medical providers treated you (and perhaps how they failed you)
Lawyers follow the evidence, and yours will gather any documentation that helps prove you’re the victim of medical negligence.
Proving Negligence by At-Fault Parties
Your attorney will use the evidence they secure to argue that:
- The at-fault parties owed you a duty of care
- The at-fault parties failed to honor their duty of care
- The failure(s) of at-fault parties caused you harm via a medical error
- You have suffered damages as a consequence of at-fault parties’ failures
Proving negligence is a key step in every medical malpractice case in West Palm Beach, and your lawyer will be prepared to make this case.
Documenting the Patient’s Recoverable Damages
Your legal team will secure proof of your recoverable damages, including financial harm (like medical costs) and non-economic harm (like pain and suffering). Documentation of your damages may include:
- Medical bills detailing the negligent care that led you to suffer harm
- Medical bills for treatment you need following a medical error
- Mental health providers’ diagnoses of conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, mental anguish, and psychological distress
- Proof that you have lost income because of the medical error (which may come from doctors’ testimony that you’re disabled, past income statements, and other sources)
- Your testimony about how the medical error has affected you
Your attorney will work with your doctors in West Palm, consult their medical experts, and take all other measures necessary to prove your damages.
Calculating the Value of a Fair Settlement
Medical care is expensive, but medical errors can be even more costly. Not only may a medical error require you to undergo further treatment (at a high cost), but you also face pain and suffering and other damages that add to the cost of the error.
Your attorney will weigh all of your malpractice-related damages. They will calculate your case value as quickly as possible (without sacrificing accuracy) to demand a fair settlement from liable parties.
Leading Settlement Negotiations
Your lawyer will demand compensation covering the cost of a West Palm Beach medical provider’s negligence. Attorneys are uniquely qualified for settlement negotiations because:
- Negotiation strategies are an important feature of law school
- Medical malpractice lawyers are typically trained by their firms how to negotiate effectively
- Experienced lawyers have secured many settlements, giving them valuable perspective that only comes with real-world negotiations
Settlement negotiations involve a lawyer who wants to secure as much compensation as possible for their client. On the other hand, an insurance company or at-fault party wants to pay as little as possible. Your medical malpractice attorney’s negotiation experience will be critical in securing the financial outcome you deserve.
Taking Medical Malpractice Cases to Court in West Palm Beach (When Necessary)
Attorneys often succeed in securing fair settlements for their clients. In some cases, though, liable parties won’t agree to fair settlement terms. This may lead you and your lawyer to initiate a lawsuit, and potentially go to trial, in West Palm Beach.
Your legal team will take care of every detail of your case, from big-picture strategy to the finest print on legal paperwork. Your attorney will contact you if they ever need your input, so you can focus on recovery without losing sleep over your case.
The Cost of Medical Errors (Which Your Lawyer Will Demand Fair Compensation For)
When medical providers fail to protect patients, the consequences of that failure are often life-changing. Many times, the consequences include permanent harm to the victim and their loved ones.
If you or a loved one survived the medical error in question, your recoverable damages may include:
- Pain and suffering, including physical pain, psychological and emotional distress, lost quality of life, and potentially other challenges
- Medical costs, which may include the cost of the subpar medical care and any care you require because of a medical error
- Professional damages, including but not limited to lost income
Victims of medical malpractice may also need medical equipment, caregiver services, mental health treatment, medications, and other items and services.
What Is the Cost When Medical Errors in West Palm Beach Are Fatal?
When medical errors in West Palm Beach are fatal, affected loves ones often endure:
- Debilitating pain and suffering, including grief
- Lost financial support
- Loss of the decedent’s non-economic value (referred to as pain and suffering)
- Funeral expenses
- Other forms of economic damages and non-economic damages
Allow a medical errors attorney in West Palm Beach to fight for the fair financial recovery you deserve.
Hire Your West Palm Beach Medical Errors Attorney as Soon as Possible
Anyone affected by a medical error in West Palm Beach must be aware of statutes of limitations. You likely have a relatively brief time to pursue an insurance claim or lawsuit, so don’t wait to hire your attorney. Call today to schedule your consultation with an experienced West Palm Beach personal injury attorney.