Nassau County Medical Malpractice Lawyer
With Injury Law Offices in Fernandina Beach, FL and Jacksonville, FL
Careless doctors can cause serious injury to their patients. When the person you turn to for healing behaves negligently, the result can be tragic. If you’re reading this webpage, you may have been injured by medical malpractice, such as misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or surgical errors. You may be in pain. You may be suffering. Do you need legal help now?
7 Ways You Could Ruin Your Personal Injury Case
Enter your information to download our free guide today. Learn what you should and shouldn’t be doing during your personal injury claim. You may be unable to work because of your injuries, and as a result, are concerned about paying the bills. You are also likely worried about how you will find someone to help you with a medical malpractice claim. We want to help. Our Nassau County medical malpractice lawyer offers free legal advice. Call us today. You never have to worry about paying upfront for the answers you need. Call us any time to schedule your free legal consultation. The information here will provide the basics about your medical malpractice claim. First, we’ll show you the most common mistakes people make in their claims in Nassau County. Then, we’ll use a story to teach you about additional things you need to know to better navigate your claim. Be sure to read to the end.
Common Medical Malpractice Claim Mistakes
There are many things you need to watch out for to ensure your claim remains as strong as possible and moves as efficiently as it can. Please read through the mistakes listed here, so you don’t accidentally make them in your own case.Not Advocating for Your Medical Wellbeing
Going through the recovery period after a procedure can be uncomfortable. It might even involve managing a certain amount of pain. Part of being able to do this involves knowing what type of pain and how much of it you can expect. This will help you determine if what you’re going through falls within normal expectations. If you suspect something is wrong after surgery that goes beyond the expected discomfort of recovery, it’s important that you get checked out. If you’re wondering about being properly diagnosed, it’s important to seek another opinion if your symptoms don’t improve. We all want to believe that doctors are infallible, but each of us has a responsibility not to ignore our own judgment and instincts if the information we are receiving from a medical provider is conflicting with the results we are experiencing. If you suspect something is wrong after surgery beyond the expected discomfort of recovery, it’s important that you get checked out. It’s also important to seek another opinion if your symptoms don’t improve after being diagnosed or being told nothing is wrong.Giving a Recorded Statement to the Insurance Company
After you’ve opened a medical malpractice case, the insurance company for the responsible party is most likely going to call you to ask for a recorded statement. It’s important not to give them one. Insurance adjusters are trained to get responses from people that can be twisted to help them lower the value of your claim. You probably won’t even notice it’s happening if you speak to them. Many people think they have to talk to the insurance adjuster. This is not true. You are under no obligation either to speak to them or to provide a recorded statement. Protect the value of your case and delegate communications with the insurance company to your Nassau County medical malpractice lawyer.Not Contacting a Lawyer Quickly Enough
Many people don’t worry about getting a medical malpractice claim started quickly because they think the statute of limitations gives them plenty of time. Even if you have more than a year to get a case started, it’s important to get started as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the less evidence you are going to find to support your case. Evidence disappears over time. Even if you have witnesses, their contact information may change before the statute of limitations runs out. In addition, they are going to have the clearest recall of what happened the closer their testimony is to the event the case centers around. Preserve the strongest possible evidence to support your case by calling an experienced medical malpractice lawyer as quickly as possible.Related Videos
Not Choosing the Right Lawyer
Don’t make the mistake of believing that all lawyers can bring you the same results. After all, you’d choose a doctor with expertise in the specialization you need help with, right? Choosing a lawyer is no different. You don’t want to hire a divorce lawyer to handle your medical malpractice case. You don’t want an estate lawyer, either, or any lawyer without experience in the practice area that you need help in. In addition to hiring someone with experience in the practice area your case falls within, make sure the lawyer you choose has a winning record at trial. Not all cases make it to the courtroom. Most are settled before they go that far. Whether or not you think your case could settle before going to court, having an attorney who is confident and skilled in the courtroom will help you. This is because insurance companies often know who the seasoned trial attorneys are. When they see who you’ve hired, they may become quite open to negotiating a settlement specifically to avoid coming against your lawyer in front of a jury. To have the best chance at success in your case, you need an experienced personal injury trial lawyer who has handled medical malpractice cases both in negotiations and in court.Nassau County Medical Malpractice Client Story
The purpose of the story that follows is to provide you with more information about your medical malpractice case. Names and specifics have been changed to protect the identity of our clients, but the helpfulness of the content remains. Please read this to the end to learn as much as possible about your case. When you’re finished, please take us up on our offer of free legal advice by scheduling your no-obligation consultation. A few years ago, 36-year-old Jacksonville resident Nora Sullivan underwent a hysterectomy. Based on the information her doctor told her, she expected some discomfort after the surgery that would last from around four to six weeks. She did not expect it to be anything she couldn’t handle. Nora was surprised by sharp pains in her abdomen when she woke up in the recovery room. Her idea of “discomfort” did not include persistent, sharp pains. She told the nurse and was given pain medication that helped. As Nora came completely out from under the anesthesia, however, the pain again became apparent. It was not something that the acetaminophen was taking care of. Not expecting this type of “discomfort,” Nora asked her doctor about it when she made her rounds that evening. The doctor gave Nora a quick exam and told her everything looked good. As she left, she reminded Nora any discomfort would ease over the coming weeks, and to rest and take acetaminophen if she needed it. Nora did not see her doctor again until she was discharged a few days later. She made one last inquiry about just what “discomfort” should feel like, and was again reassured she was progressing as expected, and not to worry. Three weeks after coming home, sharp, nagging abdominal pain still haunted Nora. She called the doctor’s office and was told by the nurse in a condescending tone, “Cramps are normal after this type of procedure.” Nora politely pointed out that she no longer had a uterus to cramp, but the nurse simply instructed her to take acetaminophen and lie down. Ten days later, Nora called the doctor’s office but was unable to reach a live person. She reluctantly left a message. A nurse called back the next day, again telling Nora to take acetaminophen and lie down. That Thursday, Nora called again, told the receptionist she was still in pain and asked for an appointment. The receptionist told her there were no open appointments for three weeks. She also said that the doctor had left for the weekend and would not be returning until Tuesday afternoon. The best she could do was to suggest that Nora come in the next day in hopes that she could be seen by the physician’s assistant (PA) between appointments. “Since it’s a Friday, we’ll only be open until 4 p.m. I can’t guarantee you’ll be seen, but that’s really all I can suggest.” Nora arrived at 11 a.m. the next morning. She was instructed to have a seat in the waiting room, where she waited, gently rocking in pain until she was finally brought into an exam room at nearly 1:30 p.m. Left alone in the exam room, she watched another 25 minutes slip by before the PA breezed in, gave Nora no more than a cursory exam, and sent her home with a printout for the care of menstrual cramping. On the way home, Nora picked up her daughters from her in-laws, where they’d had to spend the day since Nora had not known how long she’d have to wait in the doctor’s office for the chance of being seen. The nagging pain had sapped all of her energy, making routine responsibilities like buckling her girls into their car seats daunting. Nora spent the next hour lying on her couch, watching five-year-old Addie and three-year-old Zoe laughing and giggling on the rug in the living room. She held a cold compress to her abdomen, wondering if she was just being “a wimp.” After all, the doctors know best, right? But this didn’t feel right, not at all. Nora winced as an icy trickle ran over her skin. Her eyelids grew heavy. She was so very tired. Her husband Danny would be home any minute, and the girls were fine playing just a few feet away. Nora’s eyelids grew heavy and her head bobbed. She let herself drift. “Nora.” She heard a muffled voice call her name from somewhere in the fog she wandered through. She couldn’t tell where it was coming from. She felt as the fog had soaked into her bones. She felt cold and clammy, shivering… “NORA!” A shake now and Nora startled awake, disoriented. “Honey, you’re burning up,” Danny said, laying a hand on her damp forehead. “Let’s get your temperature.” 104 degrees. Danny blinked. Must have done it wrong. “Let’s do that again, Sweetie.” 104.1 degrees. “Okay, time for the emergency room.” Nora tried to sit up and protest, but a wave of nausea rolled over her and she slumped back onto the cushions. Danny strapped each of his girls into their car seats before carrying his wife out and strapping her into the pickup beside him. He called his parents, Mike and Arlene, as he rolled out of the driveway. They immediately agreed to meet him at the emergency room entrance to take the girls for the night. Knuckles white on the steering wheel, Danny crossed town heading for the hospital as fast as he could, but not so fast he might waste time getting pulled over. Nora began babbling on the seat beside him, not asleep, but not coherent, either. Danny hit the gas. He pulled up to the ER entrance and saw Mike and Arlene waiting for him beside the glass doors. As he helped the girls out of the truck, he heard a thudding sound come from Nora’s window. He looked over his shoulder and saw the heel of her hand bumping against the glass. She was trying to get out. Danny opened the door just in time for his wife to vomit onto the asphalt, barely missing him. Nora was immediately taken for an exam as Danny was pulled to the registration counter for his insurance information. It was almost two hours later when the nurses were able to ease Nora’s fever and nausea enough to take her down the hall for an ultrasound. The technician carefully worked the wand over her swollen incision, confused by what she saw. There was an oddly shaped object in Nora’s abdomen, where her uterus wasn’t. She called a colleague to take a look, and they decided to bring Nora for a CT scan to get a better look. That’s when a glove was discovered inside Nora’s abdomen, left behind during her hysterectomy operation. The discarded glove had brought on a raging infection in the weeks after her surgery. Nora was septic. Despite the risk, the doctors had no choice but to go in to remove the glove. Two weeks later, Nora was discharged from the hospital. The afternoon after she came home, she slept soundly in her bed as Danny paced angrily in the living room. His wife’s blood pressure had dropped so low during the emergency surgery, they’d almost lost her. He’d spent the morning reading about the long-term effects of sepsis, learning that his wife could face post-sepsis syndrome, which could include functional disability, cognitive impairment, psychological deficits, and more. He was beyond furious. That’s when he called us. We arranged to meet the couple the next morning at their home.How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Medical Malpractice Lawyer?
We entered the Sullivan’s charming Cape Cod and sat down in their sun-filled country kitchen beside a bay window. We could see two adorable girls laughing in a playhouse out on the backyard lawn. They were making a “cake” that looked a lot like a mud pie frosted with leaves. Danny passed out mugs of hot tea. Nora blew on hers, appraising us with intense green eyes that narrowed slightly as she asked, “How much would it cost to hire you?” We explained that there would be no upfront cost. “We work on a contingency basis. We cover all of the costs of the case from start to finish. When it’s done, we only get paid when we resolve your case successfully.” Nora nodded thoughtfully, and said, “So far, so good.”Medical Malpractice Blog Posts
How Much Is My Medical Malpractice Case Worth?
Nora’s next question was, “How much do you think a case like this is worth?” “It’s hard to say at the outset,” our lawyer told them both. “To accurately tell you the value of Nora’s case, we need to conduct an investigation, which would involve getting witness testimony and gathering evidence. “We also need to get clear on Nora’s damages. This means her focus going forward needs to be on her recovery. She will need to reach what is called ‘maximum medical improvement.’ “The term means the point at which her new doctor declares her to be ‘back to normal.’ If that level of health is no longer an option, then she needs to reach her new, best level of health. “Reaching maximum medical improvement also means we know Nora is done with surgeries, and it tells us what any future medical care related to the claim will look like. “Reaching this point enables us to clearly understand Nora’s economic and non-economic damages. When we know that, we’ll be able to tell you the value of her case.” “How could I help Nora with her case?” Danny asked. “Your job would be to help Nora closely follow her new doctor’s treatment plan during her recovery. Adhering closely to the plan will help her stay on track to maximum medical improvement. It will also prevent the insurance companies from claiming any of her condition is her fault.” Nora and Danny were satisfied with this answer.How Long Will My Medical Malpractice Case Take?
Danny now moved on to their last question. Reaching for his wife’s hand, he asked, “How long do you think Nora’s case would take?” “Again, that is difficult to predict at the outset. The two main factors that will influence her case timeline are how long it will take to get to maximum medical improvement, and whether the insurance companies will be reasonable. “Once Nora reaches maximum medical improvement and we understand her damages, we’ll submit a demand letter to the insurance companies. “As you know, her claim would involve two insurance providers: the provider for her former doctor’s practice and the provider for the hospital where the hysterectomy surgery was performed. “If the providers are reasonable, the case will move along quickly. If either of them is unwilling to negotiate a settlement, we’ll take them to court. If we need to go this route, the length of the trial will set the pace for the resolution of the case. “The good news is, the insurance companies know who we are. They know we have a long, successful track record of bringing cases like Nora’s through trial. “If you move forward with us, the insurance companies are likely to come to the negotiating table to avoid a trial, because the last thing they are going to want is a jury deciding how much you should be compensated. “Either way, we’ll be ready. That’s why it’s always a good idea to hire a personal injury lawyer who is experienced in winning medical malpractice cases at trial.” Nora and Danny looked at each other and nodded. They hired us that day, and we are pleased to say we got Nora over nine times the combined amount the insurance companies initially offered her.Call Our Nassau Medical Malpractice Lawyers Today
We hope the information on this page has answered some of your questions about your medical malpractice claim. Even so, every case is unique, so we encourage you to take advantage of our free legal consultation to get answers about your specific case today. Don’t waste any more time worrying about taking on your medical malpractice case alone. Call us for your free consultation today.Frequently Asked Medical Malpractice Questions
What determines a medical malpractice case?
People who come to see us with medical malpractice cases often want to know if they have a case. With the experience that we have had in medical malpractice cases, we go through three steps to evaluate that. One is liability, meaning did the damage happen, did the doctor, the hospital, the nursing staff engage in conduct that was negligent, or in the medical malpractice language, did it fall below the standard of care for that particular event? If that answer is yes, we go to step two. Step two is called causation. What that means is did the acts or inactions of the healthcare provider cause the injury? If you don’t have it, then there’s no case. If it did, then we go to step three. That is damages. Did the bad acts cause the damages we’re complaining about, the damages that we’re talking about with the client? That may sound obvious. Sometimes it’s not, though, in a complicated case.
Damages, unfortunately, have to be substantial. Malpractice cases are very expensive cases. Because the expenses come out of the client’s share of a recovery, the damages of the case have to be large enough, substantial enough, to support the case. The very last thing that we want to do is bring a case if there aren’t enough damages. We explain it fully with the client at the front end because the last thing we want to have happen at the end of the life of a case if that we get paid and our client does not. Our attorney fee percentage is off the gross recovery, meaning the expenses come out of the client’s recovery off the top and the client basically gets what’s left. If we’re getting the overwhelming majority of the case or we suspect that’s going to be the case, then we tell that client we cannot help. There are other means of addressing the case through administrative complaints with the agency for healthcare administration and we go through those types of things, as well. We would not be able to handle a malpractice case unless the damages are substantial enough. If you have a case, whether the damages are great or maybe not so great, come call us so we can point you in the right direction. We could educate you about your case, and figure out a plan that suits you best.What common mistakes do people make in their medical malpractice cases?
We have handled many medical malpractice cases in northeast Florida where we practice, including Duval County, Nassau County, and surrounding areas. Looking back over those cases, there is one mistake that is head and shoulders above other mistakes that we see made. That is people wait too long to get to a lawyer. Florida’s Medical Malpractice Act has a two-year statute of limitation period, meaning you have two years from the date that you suspected something negligent happened to bring a case. Two years goes by very quickly. Many times, we will get a case where much of that period has gone. It doesn’t leave much time to evaluate cases. These cases are expensive and before a lawyer will advance those costs, he’s got to have some idea of what the case is about. If you don’t give a lawyer enough time, you’re going to lose the services of that lawyer perhaps. You’re limiting his ability to do an effective evaluation. That’s the main mistake that we see being made.
The other is not getting medical care to address the problem that the healthcare provider inflicted upon you, for whatever reason. Sometimes, that is put upon the injured plaintiff, ironically, at a trial. If you’ve suffered a medical malpractice in Nassau or Duval County, don’t wait. Call immediately. We will sit down, and at a very minimum, educate you about medical malpractice, the ins and outs of it, and the practicalities of suing your own doctor, if that’s the case. We’ll figure out a plan that makes sense. Call us and we’ll sit down and chat.How do you determine the value of my medical malpractice case?
Sooner or later, a client will ask about the value of the case. We always tell them we don’t know because the mechanics of valuing a case come about as you get into the case. There are certain aspects of the case that factor in, such as the severity of the injury, whether that injury is going to produce long lasting effects that affect your ability to engage in your normal daily life, and whether you are out of work because of it. As such, valuing a case takes time.
We can begin to establish a value range once we’ve gathered information, collected evidence, and have a better handle on what the loss is according to the state’s damages. If you feel like you’ve had a loss due to a medical negligence or a healthcare provider in Nassau County or Duval County or the outlying areas, call us. We’ll sit down, we’ll go through it, and we’ll figure out a plan that suits you best.
How long does it take to resolve a medical malpractice case?
We are often asked how long it will take to wrap up a malpractice case. In northeast Florida, Nassau County, Duval County, and the surrounding areas, it takes 9 to 14 months at an absolute minimum, probably longer, simply because malpractice cases are expensive and complicated. There are lots of things that have to happen before you are even allowed to file a lawsuit. It takes an extremely long time to penalize cases. We’re required, under most circumstances, to hire professionals to evaluate the cases. An affidavit is needed that says there’s a reasonable prospect of a malpractice. That takes time, so 9 to 14 months is really a baseline to go to have the case prepared. Once the case is filed, you can expect a couple of years in litigation on average. These are very complex cases. They’re very complicated cases. These are questions we handle at the very beginning in initial conferences with clients so that their expectations are set appropriately. These are not cases that are over and done with quickly in a couple of weeks. If you have suffered a loss due to the negligence of a healthcare provider, or a doctor, or hospital, call us. We’ll go over things and see how best we can help you.
How much does a medical malpractice lawyer cost?
Often in the initial conference with clients regarding a potential medical malpractice claim, we end up talking about fees. It’s a very unique conversation because the medical insurance industry back in 2004 passed a constitutional amendment that drastically reduced the attorney fees that we would be allowed to charge. The lawyers recognized it for what it was very quickly on both sides, the plaintiffs and the defendants. A waiver document was created simply because malpractice cases are complicated. They’re expensive. They’re time consuming. They’re labor intensive.
Lawyers who do this cannot function without the fees being back to historically percentages that the former Supreme Court laid out. It’s a scale of 30%, 40% and some other percentages in larger cases. The labor restores that to fees basically 30% and 40% and there are different percentages in other kinds of malpractice cases. That’s the attorney fee cost. There are litigation expenses, court costs, expenses of the case that can be pretty high that can end up in six figures and complicated cases, cases that go to trial, certainly will be in that range. Those are all good questions to be asking, questions that get answered at the initial conference. If you have a malpractice case in Duval County, Nassau County, or any of the surrounding areas, call us. We’ll sit down. We’ll go over this and a lot more. We’ll figure out a way to best help you.Should I speak to the insurance company regarding my medical malpractice case?
When we meet with clients, we discuss with them whether it’s a good idea to talk to the insurance company. There are two answers to this. One is yes and that has to do with their own insurance companies that are helping to pay bills and most wages and things like that. You have a responsibility to cooperate with your own insurance company. You want to because you want them to take care of the matters that come under their policy. With regards to the insurance company for the other side, however, whether it’s the hospital or the doctor or the nurse or what have you, the answer is emphatically no. They have the interest of the healthcare provider in mind, not yours. All of their efforts to obtain information is for the benefit of their insured, not yours.
When we meet with clients, in the very first conversation, we tell them you will not talk to the other side’s insurance company. We tell them, if they get contacted, to give the insurance representative our contact information. At that point, it is illegal for the insurance company to talk to you about the case. They will call our office and then we will have a line of communication from our office to theirs, which is the way it should be. If you have a medical malpractice case which has occurred in Nassau County, Duval County, or any of the surrounding areas, call us. We’ll sit down. We’ll go over those things and a whole lot more. We’ll figure out how best to help you.
Do I have a medical malpractice case if I wasn’t informed about a procedure that took place?
Medical malpractice cases come in different forms. Do you have a case when the doctor didn’t tell you the procedure that he or she performed? The short answer is yes. Again, malpractice cases are complicated but that is what’s called an informed consent case. Healthcare providers cannot perform anything upon you unless they tell you what they’re going to do, the risks and benefits of it, and get you to consent to the procedure before it happens. If they do not do that, that is what is known as a breach of a standard of care, meaning it’s a negligent action or inaction. If you are hurt by it, you can prosecute a medical malpractice claim. If that has happened to you in Nassau County or Duval County or any of the surrounding areas, call us today. We’ll sit down and talk about it and see how best we can help you.
What are communication errors regarding a medical malpractice case?
Many times, clients will not understand what happened in their medical malpractice case. A communication error that we often see is that an assistant or a nurse practitioner will see something and either not communicate it to the treating physician, miscommunicate it to the treating physician, or communicate it properly and a treating physician not see it. All of those provide a basis for a medical malpractice claim. There are procedures and methods of communication that healthcare providers are very familiar with and they should follow them in each and every case. Many times, for whatever reason, they don’t or it hasn’t been followed and it can be to the detriment, sometimes very severely, of a patient. We had a case rather recently within the last year when that happened. A lady was on home health and she did not have her meds done appropriately. The nurse saw it and reported it to the supervising physician. The physician did not look at it. This lady was catastrophically injured as a result. We successfully prosecute that claim. That’s what a communication error is. If you have something like that, call us and we will sit down with it. We’ll go over it and see how best we can help you.What should I do if my wound got worse after seeking medical help?
Sometimes, we get calls where a patient has been treated for something and their wound has gotten worse since the treatment. The first thing we tell that client is get medical care from someone else. If you’re not satisfied with the treatment that you’ve been getting and things seem to be getting worse, get a second opinion. That happens all the time in the medical field. Get a second opinion because it may be the doctor is not doing things properly. It may be that the doctor is doing things properly and your wound is getting worse for some other unrelated medical reasons. Getting a second opinion can help you be educated about your own circumstances.
If something wrong has happened and the second doctor can help you, then you can certainly switch doctors. If you think something like that has happened in Duval County or Nassau County where we practice or the outlying areas, call us today. We’ll sit down. We’ll go through that. We do a lot of counseling with people who are not satisfied with their treatment. Whether it constitutes a medical malpractice case or not, the counseling is educational. It can help you at a minimum. If there is a malpractice case, then certainly we can sit down with you, help you, and figure out what’s best for you.Will my medical malpractice case go to trial?
One question that we always get asked sooner or later without fail from all clients is whether or not we are going to go to court with a case. In our experience, the majority of our cases do settle before going to trial. The reason for that is this: you have a seasoned lawyer representing you. Hopefully, you have a seasoned insurance representative, as well. If everyone is doing their job appropriately and properly, we’re going to be in a range of value, and because that is so, in most cases, the majority of cases will settle.
That’s not to say they all will. We will make our evaluation of the case. If it’s not in the same range as the other side, then we have a conversation with the client and recommend that we could do better at trial, then we go to trial. The reality is most cases do settle before we go to trial because they are prepared. They are worked up and they are prepared to go to trial. The other side knows that. The chances of a case settling before we get to trial increases. If you have a medical malpractice case in Duval County, or Nassau County, or any of the surrounding areas, give us a call. We’ll sit down. We’ll talk about it, see what you have, and see how best we can help you.
How do I choose the right medical malpractice lawyer?
Medical malpractice cases are very specialized personal injury cases. It is extremely important that in your search for the right medical malpractice attorney you find one with experience. These are some of the most complicated cases that you could ever be involved in. They are difficult to handle for those who are not well-versed in the laws connected with medical malpractice. There are a set of laws on the books in Florida that govern and control medical malpractice cases. Always ask your lawyer: Are you familiar with the Florida Medical Malpractice Act? Have you handled medical malpractice cases? How many? Have you handled one similar to the one I have?
Typically, these are not cases for young inexperienced lawyers. You need a lawyer who’s been through it, been in the trenches, has filed these claims, has navigated through the Medical Malpractice Act and knows what to do. Because if mistakes are made, the claim can be lost. Time is short in medical malpractice cases so it is extremely important that you get a very experienced lawyer who can help you through this process. If you suffered what you think is a loss at the hands of a healthcare provider, hospital, doctor, call us right away. We will sit down and go over things and see how best we can help.Client Reviews
“Paul, handled a internet fraud case for me. He was diligent, sympathetic, and incredibly sharp. He turned a horrendous situation into something that we could live through.”
– Marshall
Read More Reviews 