Do you believe an orthopedic surgeon’s negligence caused your injuries? Surgery comes with risks, but you expect surgeons and medical staff to give you the proper standard of care. When a surgeon’s negligence leaves you with serious injuries in Miami, FL, you have the right to seek fair compensation for your losses.
Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer has represented injured patients in Miami-Dade County for nearly a decade. Contact our law office for a free case review with a Miami orthopedic surgeon malpractice lawyer to discuss your case. We work on a contingency-fee basis; you pay nothing out of pocket for the legal representation you deserve.
How Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help with an Orthopedic Surgeon Malpractice Case in Miami, FL
Medical malpractice claims are among the most challenging personal injury claims. When a surgeon’s mistake causes you injury, you face an uphill battle to recover fair compensation. Juries often give surgeons and medical providers the benefit of the doubt — and can be suspicious of medical malpractice plaintiffs. An experienced Miami personal injury lawyer will help you prove that a surgeon or medical professional caused your injuries.
Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer was founded by Boris Lavent, who has been recognized as a Top 40 Under 40 attorney by the National Trial Lawyers. The American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys has recognized him as one of the 10 Best Attorneys for Client Satisfaction.
When you trust Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer to handle your malpractice case in Miami, Florida, you can count on our legal team to:
- Provide the personal attention, guidance, and legal advice you need
- Perform a careful investigation into your surgery to determine how and why your injuries occurred
- Work with medical and financial experts to build the strongest negligence case possible
- Use expert testimony to establish the standard of care, your surgeon’s negligence, and the true extent of your injuries
- Negotiate on your behalf to reach a fair settlement offer that considers all your current and long-term losses
- Present a compelling case to a jury if the insurer will not treat you fairly
Contact Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer today for the legal representation you need following a botched surgery. During your free consultation, we will discuss your case and how we can help.
What is Orthopedic Surgeon Malpractice in Miami, FL?
Orthopedic surgeons specialize in treating the musculoskeletal system, including the muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and joints. These specialists treat arthritis, osteoporosis, and injuries or medical conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system, like spinal stenosis, hip dysplasia, and orthopedic trauma.
When an orthopedic surgeon makes a serious mistake during treatment, it may be considered malpractice. Medical malpractice occurs when a health care provider fails to deliver the proper level of care, resulting in injuries. There are many forms of medical negligence, ranging from errors in diagnosis and treatment to surgery and chronic illness management. While any type of physician or medical provider can commit medical malpractice, claims against surgeons are the most common.
Malpractice claims against orthopedic surgeons often involve one of the following types of errors or injuries:
- Missed diagnosis of fractures
- Vascular and nerve damage, such as injury to the sciatic nerve during hip surgery
- Placing the wrong prosthesis during joint replacement
- Delay in surgery
- Deciding against surgery when warranted
- Failure to monitor the patient during surgery
- Inadequate communication between the surgeon and other providers or the patient
- Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary thromboembolism, serious post-surgical risks
- Wrong site or wrong patient surgery
- Post-operative infections
- Failing to follow up with the patient
According to one study on orthopedic malpractice claims, 9.5% of claims (60) resulted in the patient’s death. These deaths were due to septic shock, pulmonary thromboembolism, cardiogenic shock, and hemorrhage at the surgical site. Over 90% of the claims involved permanent impairment. Most claims were due to nerve injury during surgery, particularly sciatic nerve injuries.
About 40% of surgery-linked claims against orthopedists are related to hip or knee surgery. Add leg and femur procedures, and this increases to 47%. Other common surgical claims include the arms and shoulders (10%), elbows and forearms (4%), spine, wrists, and hands (15%), and feet and ankles (17%).
How Common is Orthopedic Surgeon Malpractice?
About 69% of all physicians in Florida have been sued for malpractice. However, specialists are more likely to be sued than primary care physicians. The rate of malpractice claims varies significantly by specialty.
Surgeons are the top specialty for medical malpractice lawsuits. In a recent survey, 85% of surgeons said they had been sued, including 76% of orthopedists.
According to a study on orthopedic malpractice claims between 2002 and 2013, malpractice occurred in about 50% of cases. Most malpractice was linked to surgery that involved the patient’s permanent impairment. The study found that while orthopedic malpractice rarely causes death, it often leads to life-changing impairment.
Surgery itself is the second leading cause for medical malpractice claims in the U.S. Medical liability insurance company Coverys reported that 25% of claims between 2014 and 2018 were surgery-related. Diagnosis-related claims accounted for 32% of claims.
Of these surgery claims, 78% (2,579 claims) were related to the surgeon’s performance during the procedure. The remaining 12% were related to other phases of surgery, such as pre-op care and follow-up care.
Among surgical specialties, general surgery resulted in the most surgery-related malpractice claims (22%). Orthopedic surgery was the second-leading surgical specialty for malpractice claims at 17%, followed by neurosurgery at 8%.
Of the claims, 29% were related to surgical injuries that were permanent and significant or worse. 9% were related to a patient’s death.
About 39% of these surgical malpractice claims alleged a surgeon’s lack of technical skill while 27% alleged failure in communication or clinical judgment. Aside from the surgeon’s performance during surgery, other causes for surgery malpractice claims included leaving a foreign object in the body (7%), unnecessary procedure (4%), wrong site or patient (3%), and delay in surgery (3%).
What Is My Orthopedic Surgeon Malpractice Case Worth?
The value of your malpractice case depends on factors unique to your claim.
The following factors may impact your claim’s value:
- The severity and type of negligence
- The seriousness of your injuries
- Whether multiple providers share blame
- The strength of your evidence and negligence case
- Whether you suffered permanent and significant impairment, disability, or disfigurement
Whether your case settles or goes to court can also impact its value. Most malpractice cases result in confidential settlements outside of court. Proceeding to court may result in a higher award than a settlement, but juries often side with physicians in malpractice lawsuits.
The average medical malpractice payout in Florida was recently $268,466. However, this average includes strong cases involving catastrophic injuries and death, which can skew the figure. This average cannot be used to estimate the value of your case or what you may ultimately recover.
The best way to estimate the value of your case is to schedule a free consultation with an experienced Miami orthopedic surgeon malpractice attorney at Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer.
What Compensation Can I Recover for Medical Malpractice in Miami, Florida?
If your negligence case is successful, you are entitled to recover money for the damages you suffered. This may include three types of damages: economic, non-economic, and punitive.
Most orthopedic malpractice claims involve economic damages for financial losses and non-economic damages for personal losses.
You be able to recover the following damages through a medical malpractice claim:
- Medical bills, including future medical expenses
- Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
- Disfigurement and scarring
A jury sometimes awards punitive damages to punish the defendant for gross negligence or wanton disregard for human life. These damages are rare in general, but they are very uncommon in medical negligence cases.
There is no cap on economic or non-economic losses you can recover for medical negligence in Florida.
How Do I Prove Surgeon Negligence in a Medical Malpractice Case in Miami, FL?
A successful malpractice claim against an orthopedic surgeon requires proving the following elements:
- There was a doctor-patient relationship.
- The surgeon was negligent and deviated from the standard of care.
- This negligence caused your injuries.
- Your injury led to quantifiable damages.
Proving medical negligence is incredibly difficult and requires expert testimony. Expert opinion is necessary to establish the standard of care for your case. A medical expert will help the jury understand what a reasonable surgeon would have done in your treatment. The expert will also demonstrate how the surgeon deviated from this standard.
Proving causation is often the hardest element in a medical malpractice case. You must show with reasonable medical certainty that the defendant’s failure to provide the proper standard of care caused your injury.
Given the complexity of malpractice claims, it’s crucial to seek counsel from a skilled Miami medical malpractice lawyer with experience proving malpractice claims.
How Long Do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Florida?
Florida’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice is two years. This begins on the date you discovered or should have discovered the injury. If you miss this deadline, you will be barred from recovering anything through a malpractice lawsuit.
Do not delay in pursuing your claim. These types of cases require intensive investigation to gather evidence and prove causation. Contact Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer as soon as possible to preserve your claim.
Contact a Medical Malpractice Attorney in Miami for a Free Consultation
Do you have serious injuries after an orthopedic procedure? Lavent Law Personal Injury Lawyer is here to help you fight for the fair compensation you deserve. Contact our law firm today for a free case review with a Miami orthopedic surgeon malpractice lawyer ready to help.
Address
Phone