Types of Evidence for Proving a Florida Medical Malpractice Case

If you suffered harm as a patient after being treated by a health care provider, you may be able to seek compensation for your losses through a medical malpractice claim. However, these cases are notoriously complicated when it comes to proof. Under Florida’s standard for medical negligence, you have the burden of showing that the practitioner’s actions constitute a breach of the professional standard of care which:

• Applies to the relevant medical field;
• Is appropriate under the surrounding circumstances; and,
• Embodies a level of skill recognized as appropriate and acceptable by other professionals in similar positions.

Based upon this description, you can see that evidence is central to establishing your rights as a victim, which is why a Florida medical malpractice lawyer plays a key role in your case. To ensure you get the top monetary damages available by law, your attorney will rely on one or more of the following types of evidence.

Your Medical Records: Of course, your medical records are vital in a medical malpractice case because they tell the whole story about the care you received – related to the current injury-causing incident AND your past medical history. The details in your medical records are probably not sufficient to prove your entire case, but they are useful in laying the groundwork. Skilled lawyers know how to fill in any gaps with other forms of evidence.

Deposition Testimony: Where your medical records may be lacking in some respect, it’s possible to get essential details by deposing the health care provider who treated you. During this session, your attorney poses questions to the physician to pinpoint the nature of the medical error that led to your injuries. You might assume that a doctor may not be entirely truthful under the circumstances, knowing that negligent conduct would be exposed. However:

• Deposition testimony is given under oath, with serious penalties for false or misleading statements; and,
• If the health care provider’s testimony contradicts what’s contained in your medical records, there could be questions regarding credibility.

Expert Testimony: To prove that your doctor departed from the accepted medical standard of care, your lawyer will typically need to consult with and/or rely on testimony from another health care provider. Input from medical experts is important to explaining how and why your own physician’s actions didn’t comply with the standard of care. This person typically testifies that another doctor, in the same specialty area, under the same circumstances, would have taken a different action – which would have led to better results.

Schedule a Consultation with a Florida Medical Malpractice Attorney 

This information about evidence in a Florida medical malpractice case may be helpful, but you can count on our experienced Miami medical malpractice lawyers at Freidin Brown, P.A. to handle the details. Our firm has extensive experience fighting for the rights of patients injured by health care provider negligence, so we’re prepared to take on the challenges. To set up a free consultation, please contact our offices to speak to a member of our team.

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