How is Liability Determined in St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Cases?
Before determining liability in medical malpractice cases, potential claimants must be able to demonstrate that there was some form of professional negligence by a medical provider and causation of injury, damage, or harm to the victim. Therefore, it is critical to consult with an attorney who has had success establishing liability in St. Petersburg medical malpractice cases.
Assuming the elements required to demonstrate fault are met, there is a pre-lawsuit process in Florida in which there is an exchange of information. In that process, attorneys typically determine precisely how much liability insurance there is for a specific doctor. If the case is strong enough, the rules and the laws push the parties toward a settlement. In most medical malpractice cases, even the most strong medical malpractice cases for alleged victims who want full or close to full compensation for their injuries and damages, end up in a lawsuit after the 90-day pre-suit period.
What Liability Insurance do Doctors Have?
While the liability insurance for most doctors is at least $250,000, if it is a bigger facility like a hospital, they often have more insurance and the ability to pay above their insurance in most cases. Liability insurance available for compensation for alleged victims is not a huge problem in Florida. However, many believe that the required $250,000 limit is typically inadequate for the severity of injuries seen from alleged victims of medical malpractice, especially if the claim involves a wrongful death.
How Signing an Informed Consent Form Affects the Medical Malpractice Case
In Florida, informed consent forms–also known as assistance forms–are standard to sign in almost every case. The laws in Florida say that the physician is responsible for ensuring that the patient has been adequately informed with respect to consenting to any operation treatment or invasive procedure. In some cases, that informed consent document presented to the patient would be sufficient in terms of the information provided and the risks, benefits, and outcomes of the procedure.
One concern that patients often have when they contact a law firm concerning their medical malpractice case is about the informed consent document for the procedure that they signed, which may list many standard, adverse outcomes. Commonly, it includes infection, bleeding, and other types of issues that could often happen after some form of treatment. In some situations, this could bar the patient from bringing a claim for medical malpractice. However, as long as the medical professional’s negligence is responsible for the adverse outcome, the individual could still bring a claim.
Complications with Liability in Medical Malpractice Cases
Some things that make liability complicated when it comes to medical malpractice stem from whether or not the physician met the professional standards of care. Some people think of these standards as the protocols concerning the assessment of a patient and how to treat that patient. The standards of medical care are not something that is always written down in a book or in some form of legal document. Sometimes the standards of care could be based on the opinions of other doctors who practice the same way.
Establishing liability in medical malpractice cases in St. Petersburg may be complicated because the standards of care for every provider, forms of assessment, or treatments are not necessarily standardized. Many times, attorneys have to seek another provider to assess the local standard of care. When they are not able to find a local provider or doctor to tell them what the local standards of care are, they need to go outside of the area.
Contact an Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorney
There are many intricacies when bringing a medical malpractice case to court. Establishing liability in a St. Petersburg medical malpractice case could be done with the extensive network of professionals an experienced attorney could rely on for objective medical opinion. When you are ready, reach out to a lawyer who could represent your case in court.
