St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Were you or a loved one harmed by a medical error in St. Petersburg, Florida? You may be able to recover damages for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering from negligent medical professionals. An experienced St. Petersburg medical malpractice lawyer at Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers can help you fight for the money you deserve. 

Since 1955, our legal team has fought to secure life-changing financial awards for injured clients, who have been victims of catastrophic injuries, brain injury cases, St. Petersburg child injury claims, pedestrian accidents, or any other type of accident in Pinellas County.

We’ve secured hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation over the years. Let us put our experience to work for you. If you’re ready to take the next step, contact our law office, to schedule a free consultation today at (727) 349-1728.

How Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With Your Medical Malpractice Claim in St. Petersburg

How Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Can Help With Your Medical Malpractice Claim in St. Petersburg

Medical treatment shouldn’t do more harm than good. Unfortunately, countless patients have been harmed because of careless doctors and healthcare providers. Taking legal action to hold those negligent parties accountable is the best way to prevent future harm—to yourself and others. It’s also the most important thing you can do to recover compensation for your injuries.

Medical malpractice laws are complex. They’re designed to protect healthcare providers from unfounded lawsuits. Additionally, doctors and hospitals have teams of defense attorneys protecting them. You deserve the same protection from our St. Petersburg personal injury attorneys. 

Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers is the oldest personal injury firm in Tampa Bay, Florida. Our lawyers have been recognized as “Super Lawyers,” “AV Preeminent,” and “Million Dollar Advocates.”

When you hire Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers, you’ll benefit from a legal team that will:

  • Pinpoint your doctor’s error
  • Hire the medical experts and specialists required under Florida medical malpractice laws
  • Assess the fair value of your injury claim
  • Negotiate with the insurance companies to recover the maximum compensation possible
  • Take your case to trial if the at-fault party won’t play ball

An experienced St. Petersburg personal injury lawyer can make or break your case. Our lawyers have over 60 years of experience handling complex medical malpractice claims.

We’d be happy to put our skills to work for your family. To learn more about how we can help you, call our law firm today.

What is My St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Case Worth?

Courts in St. Petersburg consider a variety of different things when evaluating the compensation you should receive after an injury. Most settlements hinge on the severity of damage to the victim. The egregiousness of the mistake is also important.

Factors that will be important to your case include:

  • The cost of your past and future medical treatment
  • The damage to your health you’ve suffered
  • Your general prognosis
  • Lost wages and other out-of-pocket expenses
  • How the malpractice has impacted your life

Our medical malpractice lawyers in St. Petersburg will work closely with your family so that we convey the losses you’ve sustained.  We’ll also retain experts to review your medical records and help us assess the value of your medical malpractice case.

It can be difficult to know how long it will take to build your case. If you suspect medical malpractice has damaged your health, call our law offices right away so that we can evaluate your legal options. It’s free, so there’s no reason to hesitate.

What Types of Damages Are Available to Victims of Medical Malpractice?

Medical errors can dramatically change your life. You may be struggling with additional injuries or subjected to painful and unnecessary medical treatments. Your life expectancy can even be reduced because of a doctor’s mistake.

If you’re suffering, you deserve to hold the responsible parties accountable. At Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers, we’ll help you fight to recover damages for both your economic losses and non-economic losses.

Economic damages reimburse you for financial expenses and include things like:

  • Your past medical bills
  • The cost of future medical treatments
  • Lost wages and income
  • Lost future earning capacity
  • Rehabilitation

Non-economic damages are designed to compensate victims for:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Mental anguish
  • Diminished quality of life
  • Diminished life expectancy
  • PTSD
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Physical disfigurement and scarring
  • Loss of consortium

Studies suggest that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Our attorneys can also help you file a wrongful death lawsuit if you lost a loved one because of a medical provider’s negligence.

We’ll Fight to Recover Compensation for All of Your Medical Malpractice Injuries

The consequences of medical malpractice can be far-reaching. Victims of medical malpractice often suffer from:

  • A worsened underlying condition
  • Reduced life expectancy
  • Painful, expensive surgeries and treatment
  • Emotional trauma and PTSD
  • Chronic pain
  • Dependence on pain medications
  • Loss of limbs
  • Catastrophic injuries
  • Wrongful death of a loved one

Some of these consequences may be irreversible. Our lawyers can help you fight to hold all responsible parties liable. 

Who Can Be Held Responsible for Medical Malpractice?

Most people think about suing a doctor or surgeon if a medical error has harmed them. In reality, anyone whose actions caused you to suffer can be held accountable under Florida shared fault rules.

Responsible parties may include:

  • Family doctors
  • Surgeons
  • Obstetricians, anesthesiologists, and other specialists
  • Ophthalmologists
  • Nurses and nurse practitioners
  • Pharmacists and pharmacies
  • Radiologists
  • Laboratories 
  • Hospitals 
  • Medical clinics

Employers are responsible for the actions of negligent employees under Florida employment law theories. If a hospital employee was careless, the hospital itself can be on the hook for damages.

What Causes Most Cases of Medical Malpractice in St. Petersburg, Florida?

Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, surgeon, nurse or other healthcare professional makes a mistake and harms a patient. Nearly any type of mistake can lead to a valid medical malpractice claim.

In fact, insurance companies pay out billions of dollars each year to settle medical malpractice lawsuits.

Some common types of medical malpractice in St. Petersburg include:

  • Medication errors
  • Emergency room errors
  • Surgical errors
  • Anesthesia errors
  • Pharmacy errors
  • Radiology errors
  • Birth injuries
  • Lack of proper qualification
  • Hospital negligence
  • Nursing negligence
  • Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose a condition
  • Delayed diagnosis

Medical mistakes happen for any number of reasons; some of the most common causes of medical negligence include:

  • Failure to order proper diagnostic tests
  • Failure to take a complete patient history
  • Failure to consider adverse prescription drug interactions
  • Misinterpreting lab results
  • Lab mix-ups and errors
  • Failure to recognize a patient’s symptoms
  • Failure to refer a patient to a specialist when appropriate
  • Inexperience
  • Understaffing
  • Communication errors
  • Failure to obtain informed consent
  • Failure to provide proper post-operative care or instructions
  • Failure to monitor a patient’s condition during surgery
  • Wrong-site surgeries

If you were the victim of a medical error, you deserve to know what happened. Call our St. Petersburg medical malpractice attorneys to get the legal advice you need and deserve. 

How Do I Prove Liability for Medical Malpractice in Florida? 

To recover compensation under Florida medical malpractice laws, you have to do more than prove your doctor made a mistake. You also have to prove that a reasonable doctor wouldn’t have made the same mistake under the circumstances.

For your medical malpractice claim to succeed, you’ll have to establish the following elements:

  • The responsible party owed you a legal duty of care (such as a doctor-patient relationship)
  • The medical standard of care under the circumstances
  • A breach of the medical standard of care
  • You suffered damages

The medical standard of care is based on what a reasonable, similarly-trained medical professional would have done under the circumstances. It’s a standard that varies from case to case. Your past medical history, age, condition, and general health all play a role in establishing the standard.

Ultimately, the testimony of an expert witness will be necessary to proceed with your case under Florida law. The expert’s opinion will be the key to establishing the medical standard of care.

Medical malpractice laws are drafted to protect doctors and health care providers from frivolous claims. You’ll need an experienced lawyer to recover the fair compensation you deserve. To learn more about how our attorneys can help your medical malpractice claim, call to schedule a free case review today.

How Long Do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Florida?

Florida law gives victims of medical negligence two years to file a claim for medical malpractice. The two-year time period begins to run on the date you discover or reasonably should have discovered the harm. Once the deadline passes, you’ll lose your right to sue for damages. 

Do you suspect you were a victim of medical negligence? Call our legal team to preserve your right to compensation today.

Contact a St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Lawyer for a Free Consultation

You expected your medical team to help you get better. Instead, your condition became worse. If you’re interested in exploring your legal options, call a St. Petersburg medical malpractice lawyer at Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers today.

We’ll help you fight to hold the responsible parties accountable for your losses.

Our personal injury law firm in St. Petersburg, FL also provides: