Port St. Lucie Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Most patients count on their doctors for all their healthcare needs. Physicians generally have much more education, training, and experience than their patients. Unfortunately, typically because of their busy schedules, Florida physicians often let their patients down, especially in certain areas. These areas include medical misdiagnosis, birth injuries, and medication or surgical errors.

Many primary care physicians have about 2,500 patients. According to one study, a doctor must work over twenty-one hours a day to deliver quality care to that many patients. That’s clearly not possible. So, instead of spending quality time with their patients, doctors rush from one appointment to the next one. According to another study, doctors listen to their patients for about seven seconds before they redirect or cut them off. As a result, doctors might miss important tidbits that make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful outcome.

In contrast, the diligent Port St. Lucie medical malpractice lawyers at Freidin Brown, P.A. always pay close attention to details. Our meticulous nature is a little more time consuming. However, our clients reap the benefits of this investment, in the form of maximum compensation for their serious injuries.

• Anesthesia Error
• Birth Injury
• Cancer Malpractice
• Doctor Error
• Failure to Diagnose Cancer
• Failure to Diagnose Stroke
• Fetal Heartbeat Malpractice
• Heart Attack Malpractice
• Hospital Error
• Medication Error
• Misdiagnosis
• Nursing Error
• Preventable Suicide
• Surgical Error

Duty of Care

Because of the aforementioned education, training, and experience, doctors have a fiduciary duty of care in Florida. That’s one of the highest levels of legal responsibility. Basically, doctors must bring all their skill and training to bear for every patient, every time. Nothing, such as a need to make money or find work-life balance, can come before a patient’s well being.

As the old saying goes, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. This higher duty of care makes it easier for a Port St. Lucie medical malpractice lawyer to prove negligence, or a lack of care. The high responsibility means there’s usually no such thing as a medical “accident.” Instead, there is only medical “negligence.”

Medical misdiagnosis is a good example. On average, doctors promptly and properly diagnose about 80 percent of their sick patients. That percentage is a passing grade in high school. But the practice of medicine is not high school. There’s much more at stake. As a result, an 80 percent accuracy rate is a failing grade in most cases.

Breach of Duty

We mentioned some common breaches of duty among Florida doctors above. Now, let’s look at them in more detail.

• Misdiagnosis: Doctors rarely order a full battery of diagnostic tests. Usually, they’re afraid the insurance company won’t pay for them. So, they rely on their considerable experience. That’s not the same as an evidence-base diagnosis, which is what the duty of care requires.
• Birth Injuries: This “I’ve got this” overconfident attitude also affects labor and delivery. During the prenatal process, some doctors overlook obvious red flags, like preeclampsia (maternal high blood pressure) or a history of difficult deliveries. Other doctors make poor choices in the delivery room.
• Surgical Errors: These mistakes could happen before, during, or after a procedure. Inadequate preparation could mean doctors perform the wrong procedure. Furthermore, busy doctors often make simple yet serious mistakes during procedures. Finally, hospital infections, like sepsis, are a problem during recovery.

Compensation in a professional negligence claim usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Because of the high duty of care, additional punitive damages are usually available in these cases as well.

Reach Out to a Thorough St. Lucie County Lawyer

Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced Port St. Lucie medical malpractice lawyer, contact Freidin Brown, P.A. We routinely handle matters throughout the Treasure Coast area.

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