Medical errors are a leading cause of injury and death across the nation. If you’ve been harmed due to the medical negligence of a healthcare provider in St. Petersburg, Florida, don’t hesitate to call Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers for help. You may have the right to pursue compensation, and our St. Petersburg medical malpractice lawyers can help you fight to get every cent you deserve.
For more than two decades, Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers has been a passionate advocate for victims of medical malpractice in St. Petersburg and throughout the state of Florida. We know that hospitals and insurance companies tend to believe that they’re above the law. We invest 119+ years of combined experience behind every case we handle to prove them wrong.
We’ve won millions of dollars in life-changing compensation for our clients in cases like St. Petersburg brain injuries, workplace accidents, catastrophic injuries, child injuries, St. Petersburg truck accidents, and many more
Don’t let a doctor or healthcare provider off the hook for their mistake. Don’t let the hospital bully you into taking less money than you deserve. Contact Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers, and have our award-winning legal team stand up and fight for you. Your first consultation is free – so call us today at (727) 314-5988.
How Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help If You’ve Been the Victim of Medical Malpractice in St. Petersburg, FL
What did your doctor do wrong? What was their mistake? What kind of evidence will you need to prove it? What happens when the insurance company fights back and tries to stand between you and the compensation you need to cover the costs of your medical treatment, loss of income, and emotional suffering?
Don’t tackle these issues on your own. Turn to our trusted personal injury attorneys in St. Petersburg for help.
Our personal injury law firm has the resources, depth of knowledge, and experience you’ll need to go toe-to-toe with powerful hospitals, insurance companies, and healthcare providers.
You take this much-needed opportunity to get better while we:
- Investigate the details and circumstances surrounding your medical treatment and injury
- Gather critical pieces of evidence to support and strengthen a claim for damages
- Consult respected medical professionals and experts throughout the claims process
- Prepare and submit necessary claims, affidavits, and supporting documentation on your behalf
- Handle settlement negotiations with the healthcare provider, hospital, and/or insurance company
- Prepare to bring your case to trial if a reasonable settlement deal cannot be reached
We know that you’re in an incredibly difficult financial situation, which is why we represent victims of medical malpractice on a contingency fee basis. We don’t get paid unless we win your case. When we win, our fee is simply a predetermined percentage of your financial award. This means there’s zero risk and zero out-of-pocket costs for you.
Call our medical malpractice attorneys in St. Petersburg to learn more. Your initial case evaluation is 100 percent free.
How Do I Prove Negligence in a Medical Malpractice Case?
Medical malpractice is, at its core, an act of negligence. Ultimately, you’ll have to establish that the healthcare provider owed you a duty of care, breached it, and caused you to suffer harm as a result.
The first step in proving medical negligence – and winning your personal injury case – is by obtaining an affidavit from a medical expert. In the affidavit, the expert confirms that they’ve reviewed your medical records and the issue at hand and believe that your doctor deviated from accepted standards of care.
This establishes that your medical malpractice claim is brought in good faith.
Once your attorney has filed your pre-suit affidavit, they’ll begin to build a negligence action on your behalf.
Duty of Care
Doctors and other healthcare providers are held to heightened standards of care. After all, their patients’ lives and futures are quite literally in their hands.
In Florida, the standard of care for medical professionals is a level of care, skill, and treatment which, in light of the circumstances, is recognized as appropriate and acceptable by reasonably prudent similar medical providers.
A duty of care exists when a doctor-patient relationship exists.
Breach of Duty
Once you’ve established that the doctor owed you a duty of care, you have to prove that it was breached in some way.
Ultimately, a breach of duty refers to a deviation from accepted standards.
Examples might include:
- Failure to diagnose
- Improper diagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Medication errors
- Anesthesia errors
- Failing to order diagnostic tests
- Misinterpreting lab results
- Birth injury
- Premature discharge
- Failing to consider a patient’s complaints
- Surgical errors
Any mistake, error, or omission can potentially be considered a breach of a healthcare provider’s duty of care to you.
Causation
The next step is proving that the doctor’s breach of duty caused your injury. In other words, if the doctor hadn’t made the mistake, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Here, your attorney will rely on medical records, testimony from other medical professionals, video footage, and other evidence to support your claim.
Damages
Finally, the doctor’s conduct must have caused you to suffer some kind of damages. In Florida, this could mean medical bills to treat your injury or illness, the income you’ve lost during your health scare, or even emotional distress from something like a missed cancer diagnosis.
Who Can Be Liable in a St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Claim?
Ultimately, this will depend on the team that was involved in your medical care. Anyone who made a mistake or contributed to your injury can be on the hook for damages – including employers.
Potentially liable parties might include:
- Primary care physicians
- Specialists
- Surgeons
- Emergency room doctors
- Anesthesiologists
- Pharmacists
- Nurse Practitioners (NPs)
- Nurses
- Physician Assistants (PAs)
- Hospital staff
- Hospital administration
- Urgent treatment centers
Our legal team will carefully evaluate your medical care and work to identify anyone who may have put you in harm’s way.
How Much is My Medical Malpractice Case Worth?
No two medical malpractice cases are the same. At the end of the day, the specific details of your case will dictate the amount of money you should be awarded.
Several factors will be relevant when it comes to valuation:
- The mistake or error the medical professional made
- The type of injury you’ve suffered
- Whether your injury is terminal
- Your ability to continue working
- How your earning capacity has changed
- Your age
- How the trauma of the incident has affected you
Generally, you can expect a higher payout in cases involving fatal or catastrophic injuries and where the consequences have debilitating, long-term consequences.
Speak with an experienced personal injury attorney near you in St. Petersburg to discover more about the potential value of your medical malpractice claim. Call Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers to get started by scheduling a free case assessment today.
What Types of Damages Can I Recover in a St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
As the victim of medical malpractice in St. Petersburg, Florida, you may have the right to file an insurance claim or lawsuit seeking compensatory damages.
Compensatory damages include economic awards and non-economic awards.
Economic damages make up for the monetary losses related to your case, including:
- Hospitalization
- Present and future medical bills
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Nursing assistance
- Lost wages and income
- Lost job opportunities
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Funeral and burial expenses in the event of a family member’s wrongful death
Non-economic damages make up for trauma that’s not easily valued, such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Scarring
- Loss of consortium
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Mental anguish
If there’s evidence that a doctor or healthcare provider acted intentionally or with gross negligence, a jury may award punitive damages, as well.
Is There a Time Limit To File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in St. Petersburg, FL?
Florida sets a two-year time limit on most medical malpractice lawsuits.
The statute of limitations only begins to run on the date that you’ve discovered your injury and its relation to your negligent medical care.
However, you won’t have an unlimited amount of time to pursue compensation. The state has a four-year ceiling on these types of claims. So, barring a few exceptions, you’ll have a maximum of four years from the date a medical error is made to pursue compensation for your injuries.
You do not want to let the statute of limitations expire. You give up the right to fight for accountability and recover compensation when this happens.
Protect your rights by contacting our experienced medical negligence attorneys in St. Petersburg for help as soon as you learn about your injury.
Schedule a Free Consultation With a Respected St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Are you struggling with painful injuries or the reality of a terrifying medical diagnosis because your doctor made a mistake? Did you lose a family member unexpectedly because of a doctor’s negligence?
If so, don’t let them walk away without consequence. Call Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers, and discover how our experienced St. Petersburg medical malpractice attorneys can help you fight back.
Benefit from a team with 119+ years of combined experience that’s won millions of dollars in compensation for deserving clients like you.
Reach out to our law office in St. Petersburg, Florida to get started. Your initial case evaluation is free, and our team is always available to take your call.
Our personal injury law firm in St. Petersburg, FL also provides:
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Visit Our Law Office In St. Petersburg, FL
Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyer – St. Petersburg
111 2nd Ave NE Suite 350
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Phone: (727) 314-5988
Hours: Open 24 Hours Daily
