Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyers & Mesothelioma
Cancer News
Florida medical malpractice litigation has ballooned enormously in the last few
years and rightly so. Any attorney here will tell you that it is now
unfortunately quite common. Doctors, nurses and hospitals have legal as well as
moral obligations to take care of their patients, particularly with lung cancer.
1. What is medical malpractice?
This is a negligent or careless act by a doctor, hospital, or
other health care provider. In general is defined as any act or failure
to act by a member of the medical profession that results in harm, injury,
distress, prolonged physical or mental suffering, or death to a patient while
that patient is under the care of that medical professional. Usually harm must
be proven to have occurred.
It is the breach of the accepted standard of care that is recognized by other
providers who are practicing with similar training in the same field of
medicine. It can result from a failure to act or from acting improperly.
Examples
Examples would include: the failure to properly read an x-ray showing a
cancerous tumour; the administration of an excessive dose of medication; the
misdiagnosis of a life-threatening condition; surgery on the wrong limb; and
failure to remove a surgical sponge at the end of an operation. There are many
other circumstances in medical and legal literature.
2. Are there some common patterns?
Yes, certain common patterns seem to occur more frequently than others. However,
there are situations that do not seem to fit any pattern.
A few of the common patterns of negligence are the following:
- failure to diagnose a condition or to diagnose a condition in time to treat
it properly
- failure to treat a condition properly
- failure to monitor or observe the patient
- failure to perform surgery properly
- failure to order necessary tests
- failure to consult with specialists
3. Should I report an act of this wrongdoing to any particular
organization or institution?
Although there are state and local agencies or organizations that will receive
complaints, most experienced
lawyers feel it is
advisable not to file these complaints until an attorney is consulted. There are
many consequences of the filing of complaints or claims that should be explored
with an experienced attorney before steps of this nature should be taken
according to the law.
4. Should a claim for damages be made for every act?
Unfortunately, not every act of medical malpractice justifies the filing of a
formal claim for damages. There are many instances in which the filing of a
claim would actually cause more harm than good.
Some examples of claims that probably should not be filed are the following:
- The patient, after experiencing a brief worsening of his or her condition,
fully recovers.
- The only real damages of any consequence are
medical expenses that were fully covered by insurance.
- The patient requires the continued care of the doctor who committed the
offence.
It is advisable to discuss the potential benefits of a claim
with an experience attorney in order to weigh them against any downside risks
and disadvantages.
5. What is the Statute of Limitations for filing a
claim in the State of Florida?
The statute in the State of Florida has several provisions that need to be
carefully considered by an experienced attorney in light of the facts of any
potential medical litigation.
It is difficult to state the applicable statute of limitations for claims in Florida without fully knowing the facts of a particular
claim. The statute begins with a 2 year limitations from the date of the
malpractice, but contains language that could extend that period to as long as 4
years and, in some instances, to even 7 years. It is also important
to know the date when the incident was first known by the patient or the
survivors of the patient.
Because of the complexity and importance of the Statute of Limitations as it
would apply to any particular medical malpractice claim, it is critical that an
experienced attorney be consulted as soon as the suspicion of malpractice
occurs. Once the period designated by the Statute of Limitations passes without
proper action having been taken all rights to pursue a claim are likely to have been lost forever.
6. What will it cost me to hire an Attorney?
Not a red cent! We have a list of
lawyers who
will act for you on a contingency fee basis. This means that our fee is based on
a percentage of the recovery we win for you.
Therefore, unless we are successful for you, you owe us nothing.
For example, to assemble and pursue a Mesothelioma case for you, with nationally
renowned experts in the fields of asbestos cancer can cost in excess of
$100,000. We know that most people could not afford that sort of money to
finance such litigation. Therefore, we advance the costs and you are not
responsible for reimbursing us unless we win for you. Finding a specialist lawyer near you
might not be easy. We recommend Waters & Kraus,
L.L.P. for all nationwide enquiries. They have successfully
represented families affected by Mesothelioma (lung cancer) all across the
nation.
Call them on 1-800-226-9880 for
free advice today.
Mesothelioma Cancer
Mesothelioma (cancer of the mesothelium) is a disease in which cells of the
mesothelium become abnormal and divide without control or order (People who
contract it commonly work in environments where they inhale asbestos fibers).
These abnormal cells can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs. Cancer
cells can also metastasize (spread) from their original site to other parts of
the body. Most cases of mesothelioma begin in the pleural area or peritoneum.
Are new treatments for Mesothelioma being studied?
Yes. Because mesothelioma is very hard to control, the National Cancer Institute
(NCI) is sponsoring clinical trials (research studies with people) that are
designed to find new treatments and better ways to use current treatments.
Before any new treatment can be recommended for general use, doctors conduct
clinical trials to find out whether the treatment is safe for patients and
effective against the disease. Participation in clinical trials is an important
treatment option for many patients with mesothelioma.
People interested in taking part in a clinical trial should talk with their
doctor. Information about clinical trials is available from the Cancer
Information Service (CIS) (see below) at 1–800–4–CANCER. Information specialists
at the CIS use PDQ®, NCI’s cancer information database, to identify and provide
detailed information about specific ongoing clinical trials. Patients also have
the option of searching for clinical trials on their own. The clinical trials
page on the NCI’s Cancer.gov Web site, located at
http://www.cancer.gov/clinical_trials
on the Internet, provides general information about clinical trials and links to
PDQ.
People considering clinical trials for Mesothelioma Cancer
may be interested in the NCI booklet Taking Part in Clinical Trials: What
Cancer Patients Need To Know. This booklet describes how research studies are
carried out and explains their possible benefits and risks. The booklet is
available by calling the CIS, or from the NCI Publications Locator Web site at
http://www.cancer.gov/publications on the Internet.
Sponsors: Criminal Lawyers Attorneys or Lawyers who have information on Mesothelioma Cancer
and would like to be profiled here, please contact me at
bruce@searchengine-guy.com.au
This site contains only general information and is not
intended to constitute specific legal advice. Laws vary and are constantly
changing. If you think you may have a malpractice case you should promptly
contact a lawyer in your locality with experience in handling malpractice
cases. Florida Malpractice.net is NOT meant to provide or substitute
specific legal advice, nor to solicit or establish any sort of
professional-client relationship.
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