Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
With 48 years of experience in personal injury law, Leesfield & Partners has successfully represented victims in medical malpractice cases that could easily fuel anyone’s iatrophobia.
From negligent cruise ship doctors who searched the internet for what to do after they ignored a black box warning label medicine administered to a patient to an obstetrician who used controversial techniques on a laboring mother, Leesfield & Partners has witnessed some of the most egregious medical negligence cases imaginable.
If you ever find yourself in this situation, it’s important to know what your options are and where to turn to for help.
Annual Data on Medical Malpractice Injuries in the United States
A study from The British Medical Journal (BMJ), a leader in medical research, news and education, that was published in 2016 estimated that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Medical errors account for approximately 250,000 deaths annually. The total number of medical malpractice victims, however, is much higher than that. Other studies have predicted that millions of people in the U.S. live with the consequences of medical errors, though not all of these incidents result in lawsuits. Claims resulting from these errors lead to an estimated range of between 15,000 to 20,000 medical malpractice claims each year.
Victims of medical malpractice can file a lawsuit within two years from the discovery of the injury and no later than four years from the alleged date of the incident. However, if the injury is discovered later, the two-year period begins when the patient reasonably should have discovered the injury. Before filing a medical malpractice claim, the patient can obtain a certificate of merit from a qualified medical expert that attests to the validity of their claim and that the accused doctor’s negligence is the likely cause of their injury.
If the patient is partially at fault for the injury (for example, by failing to follow a doctor’s post-procedure instructions), their potential compensation may be reduced. This is called comparative negligence. If a patient does not discover issues arising from medical care they received until after the four years from when the medical malpractice took place, then there is still grounds for recourse via the seven-year statute of repose. For minors injured in medical malpractice cases, the statute of limitations is extended until just before they turn 8 years old.
Those seeking compensation for injuries in medical malpractice cases should consult personal injury attorneys with relevant experience litigating medical malpractice cases. These attorneys can launch an investigation into the circumstances leading to the patient’s injuries and gather evidence such as medical records and testimony from witnesses and staff.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners has represented hundreds of victims through their medical malpractice cases since it was established in 1976. Our attorneys pursue the maximum compensation to achieve the best possible outcome for clients. In nearly five decades of personal injury practice, the firm has secured well over $120 million for injured clients and their grieving family members in such cases.
Carlos A. Fabano, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Lawyer has invaluable experience litigating these types of cases. In addition to medical malpractice cases, Mr. Fabano also represents clients injured or killed in various practice areas of personal injury such as premises liability, construction site accidents and defective products.
Previous Cases
Previously, Leesfield & Partners represented a young woman and her son in a medical malpractice case, obtaining a multi-million-dollar settlement for the family. In that case, the woman’s husband was ignored by ER doctors when he needed medical attention. The firm secured a settlement within 10 months while the claim was in a pre-suit period.
While on a cruise ship, a 16-year-old Leesfield 7 Partners client was suffering a stroke. Despite her clear signs and her family’s insistence, doctors disregarded them on the basis that teenagers “don’t have strokes.”
Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured a multi-million-dollar settlement in that case.
In a case in which a doctor used controversial labor techniques on a mother giving birth, Leesfield & Partners secured a $24.1 million award for the family. The Central Florida woman was being treated by an obstetrician as she labored for days. After unsuccessful induction, the doctor used a vacuum extractor on the woman for over 45 minutes before ordering nurses to apply fundal pressure, a technique involving pressure to a mother’s abdomen to push a baby down the birthing canal.
The technique is dangerous as it can result in uterine rupture, a rare but life-threatening complication. As the pressure was applied to the laboring mother in this case, the uterus ruptured and cut off oxygen supply to the baby who was born with cerebral palsy.
The award, handed down by a jury following a three-week-long trial, is the largest of its kind in Seminole County, Florida history.
Another birth trauma case handled by Leesfield & Partners resulted in an over $10.2 million recovery for the family.
For the family of a 39-year-old mother, Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured a $4.3 million settlement after doctors failed to treat a brain cyst that resulted in brain herniation. In addition to brain injuries, the cyst also caused cardiac arrest and the woman’s death.
The firm secured over $8.7 million for a client injured in a medical malpractice case.
In conjunction with another firm, alters, Boldt, Rash Brown & Culmo, Leesfield & Partners obtained a $3.2 million verdict for the care of a woman severely injured in a medical malpractice case.
