Types of Health Care Experts That Support Florida Medical Malpractice Claims

When you suffer harm because of a health care provider’s negligence, you should never expect him or her to admit making a mistake or apologize. In fact, you may encounter significant roadblocks in trying to recover compensation as the victim of malpractice. You will have to rely on multiple, solid forms of evidence, and an important source in these cases is medical experts. Fortunately, Florida law allows these individuals to provide expert testimony in a case as long as they meet the numerous criteria listed in the statute on the qualifications of experts.

While you can trust your Miami medical malpractice attorney to leverage the input from experts, you should at least become familiar with the types of professionals that may participate in your case. The following individuals may offer valuable insight to support your claim:

Physician Experts: In this category, you will find medical doctors who have experience in the same practice area or specialty as the health care provider who is being accused of malpractice. In Florida, the basis for proving a med mal claim is showing that the physician deviated from the generally accepted standards that other doctors in the same position would have applied in treating the patient. The physician expert essentially steps into the shoes of the defendant doctor to determine whether there was a departure from the medical standard. Therefore, the expert in your case must be someone in the same specialty area. 

Nursing Professionals: Licensed nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and other nursing experts may work on your case because they are on the front line for patient care in hospitals, clinics, and many other facilities. They know the procedures and practices for:

• Notifying doctors about a change in a patient’s condition;
• Administering medication;
• Tracking patient charts;
• Issuing alerts regarding a patient’s medical history; and
• Many other details.

Because they are so closely connected with the patient’s care, nurses can commit medical malpractice too.  As such, a nursing expert will be required to testify in a case involving errors by the nursing staff. 

Pharmaceutical Experts: This group of professionals has in-depth knowledge about the medications that a health care provider may prescribe or recommend for over-the-counter treatment. If there were mistakes in dosage, type of drug, drug interactions, contraindications, and other issues with administering medication, your claim may receive support from professionals in the pharmaceutical field. 

Other Experts in Medical Specialty Areas: In addition to the physician experts in certain niche medical areas, you may also benefit from insights offered by additional specialists. Radiology professionals are often involved with med mal claims for misdiagnosis, since they can testify on what is shown through X-rays, CT scans, other imaging tests, and lab screenings. If the treatment does not align with what the radiology expert sees, there may be solid evidence of malpractice.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyer 

Depending on the specifics of your case, our team at Freidin Brown, P.A. may work with various other medical experts, as well as financial analysts and professionals in non-medical areas. For more information on our services in the area of medical malpractice, please contact our offices to set up a no-cost case evaluation.

Resource:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0766/Sections/0766.102.html