Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Florida

doctor facing charges of medical negligence

When you visit a doctor, hospital, or emergency room, you should be able to trust that you are in good hands and are receiving quality care from a knowledgeable and conscientious medical professional. When that trust is broken, though, and you are injured as a result, you have a right to hold the physician or medical facility responsible for your suffering.

At Chiumento Law, PLLC, our dedicated Palm Coast medical malpractice attorneys have been fighting for the rights of injured patients for more than 40 years. With deep roots in Flagler and Volusia counties, we are extremely knowledgeable about the legal histories of local medical facilities, and our lawyers are not afraid to hold doctors, hospitals, and nursing homes accountable when their carelessness causes harm.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured due to medical negligence, you need to act quickly to ensure your legal rights are protected. Florida law puts strict limits on the amount of time you have to file a claim, and it sets forth a specific framework that must be followed for pursuing compensation in such claims. Our experienced Palm Coast attorneys will walk you through this complicated process and discuss all of your options for pursuing compensation.

Schedule a free case consultation today by calling or filling out our online contact form.

How Our Palm Coast Medical Malpractice Lawyers Will Fight for You

When you trust us to fight for your rights in a medical error case, we will put every available resource to work for you. During our initial consultation, we will take the time to discuss the details of your case and review any medical records you have brought with you. After that first consultation, the real work begins. Our skilled legal team will:

  • Immediately launch a pre-suit investigation to show how the doctor’s or health care facility’s negligence led to your injury
  • Solicit expert medical opinions from trusted professionals to determine the extent of your injury
  • Work with financial experts to calculate the real costs that you are facing due to your injury
  • Collect all records related to your injury and keep a detailed log of evidence
  • Take over all communications with the at-fault doctors, medical facilities, and insurance companies to make sure you are not being hounded
  • Aggressively negotiate on your behalf in mandatory mediation and court-ordered settlement conferences
  • Relentlessly fight for your rights in court if you are not offered a full and fair settlement

Unfortunately, you know that not all doctors provide the same level of care. The same is true for attorneys. If you have been seriously injured, you need a medical malpractice attorney who has extensive legal skills in this area and a compassionate bedside manner. At Chiumento Law, PLLC, our goal is to take the burden off of you and your family, so you can focus on recovering from your injury.

Who Can Be Held Responsible in a Medical Negligence Claim?

Each case we handle is different, and every client’s experience is unique. Depending on the circumstances that led to your injury and who was involved, we may pursue compensation from:

  • Surgeons
  • Anesthesiologists
  • Emergency Room Doctors
  • Oncologists
  • Obstetricians
  • Primary Care Doctors
  • Dentists
  • Psychiatrists
  • Hospitals
  • Emergency Rooms
  • Urgent Care Facilities
  • Nursing Homes

To determine who should be held liable in your medical malpractice claim and to discuss your options for pursuing compensation, contact us today. A case consultation with us is free and confidential.

Compensation for Palm Coast Medical Malpractice Claims

A serious injury caused by a doctor or staff at a medical facility can change the course of your life forever. Apart from the pain of the injury itself, you and your family are forced to cope with outrageous medical bills, time lost to hospital stays and therapy appointments, as well as the possibility that you may not be able to go back to work right away, or at all.

Our dedicated Palm Coast medical malpractice attorneys may pursue compensation for:

  • Past and future medical bills – such as for hospital stays, follow-up doctor’s appointments, medication, and assistive medical devices
  • Lost wages – including payment for diminished earning capacity in the future
  • Value of domestic services – such as for child care, housekeeping, or lawn maintenance work that you traditional
  • y have done but now have to pay someone to do
  • Non-economic damages – such as for the pain and suffering you have endured due to your injury
  • Punitive damages – meant to punish the at-fault party in very extreme cases where the injury was intentional

It is important to understand that Florida law caps the amount of non-economic damages a person can recover through a medical malpractice suit. However, our seasoned attorneys have extensive experience with these types of cases. We will be extremely thorough in our estimate of the damages you have suffered, and you can trust that we will pursue maximum compensation to meet your needs.

Common Types of Medical Malpractice Injuries

Over the years, we have successfully represented clients in a wide variety of medical malpractice claims. Although every case is different, some of the more common types of claims include:

FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE OR MISDIAGNOSIS
FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE OR MISDIAGNOSIS
When a careless doctor overlooks or misreads signs of a serious medical problem, you are the one who pays. Every day that you go undiagnosed can allow your condition to grow more serious. And a misdiagnosis can force you to undergo unnecessary treatment while your true condition is left untreated.
BIRTH INJURIES
BIRTH INJURIES
Giving birth can be a dangerous process for both mother and baby. Complications can lead to severe birth injuries such as brain injuries, spinal cord and nerve damage, fractures, and bruising.
MEDICATION ERRORS
MEDICATION ERRORS
You can suffer injuries when you are given the wrong medicine or administered an incorrect dose of the right drug. Medication mix-ups can lead to serious side effects and lasting injuries.
SURGICAL ERRORS
SURGICAL ERRORS
When you go under the knife, surgeons have your life in their hands. One small slip-up can cause massive problems for you in the future. These types of errors can be some of the most horrendous, such as operating on the wrong body part or leaving a medical instrument in the patient’s body.
infections
INFECTIONS
When a patient is not cared for properly, such as after surgery or in a nursing home environment, serious infections can occur. These can be caused by unsanitary conditions or by blatant neglect from the supposed caregivers.
ANESTHESIA ERRORS
ANESTHESIA ERRORS
Anesthesiologists are responsible for controlling your pain level during medical procedures. The drugs they use to do this can be quite dangerous when not monitored properly, or if the anesthesiologist does not thoroughly discuss warnings ahead of time with the patient.
EMERGENCY ROOM ERRORS
EMERGENCY ROOM ERRORS
Even though emergency rooms are generally busy places with a rush of severely injured patients, you have the right to expect the staff to take the proper time needed to help you. Emergency room errors may be attributed to understaffing or due to a distracted medical professional failing to ask about your medical history before deciding on treatment.
WRONGFUL DEATH
WRONGFUL DEATH
In the most tragic of circumstances, medical malpractice can lead to a person’s untimely death, leaving family members and friends in shock. If you have lost a loved one due to a medical error, our attorneys can work with you to identify what types of compensation you may be able to pursue.

What Do You Have to Prove in a Medical Mistake Claim?

Medical malpractice is a specific area of personal injury law that generally includes four elements that your lawyer must prove in order to have a case. These elements are:

  • Duty: This means the doctor or other health care provider had a duty to you as the patient.
  • Breach: In a medical malpractice claim, you must prove that the duty to use was breached.
  • Causation: You also must show that the breach of that duty is what caused your injury.
  • Damages: Your lawyer will argue that you deserve to be compensated for the injury.

That may seem like a simple explanation, but these types of cases are generally quite complicated. That’s why it is extremely important to have a knowledgeable medical malpractice attorney working on your case from the beginning.

Common Types of Serious Medical Neglect Injuries

Unfortunately, when clients come to us after being harmed by a medical professional, they have often suffered what’s known as “catastrophic injuries.” As defined by Florida law, catastrophic injuries include permanent impairments caused by:

Spinal cord injuries resulting in severe paralysis of a limb or the trunk of the body
Spinal cord injuries resulting in severe paralysis of a limb or the trunk of the body
Amputation of an arm, leg, hand, or foot
Amputation of an arm, leg, hand, or foot
Severe brain injuries or closed-head injuries
Severe brain injuries or closed-head injuries
Complete blindness
Complete blindness
Loss of reproductive organs, causing infertility
Loss of reproductive organs, causing infertility

No matter what type of injury you or your loved one has suffered, you will need an experienced Palm Coast medical malpractice attorney on your side if you want to pursue full and fair compensation. That’s because unfortunately, even when a health care provider acknowledges a mistake, the provider’s insurance company will try to force you to take the lowest possible settlement offer. A skilled attorney will build a strong case for maximum compensation and be prepared to square off against insurance companies.

How Long Do You Have to File a Medical Malpractice Claim in Florida?

clockAlthough the injuries you have suffered due to a health care provider’s negligence may haunt you forever, Florida law does limit the amount of time you have to file a medical malpractice claim.

  • Generally, you have two years from the time you were injured or from the time you discovered your injury (or should have discovered it with due diligence) to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Florida. However, there is a time limit of four years total from the date of the incident.
  • If your health care provider tried to hide or misrepresent facts to delay the discovery of the malpractice or injury, the statute of limitations is extended two years from the time the injury is discovered (or should have been discovered with due diligence). However, there is still an overall time limit of seven years for filing a medical malpractice claim.
  • The law makes exceptions for claims brought on behalf of injured children before their eighth birthday.

The process for filing a medical malpractice claim is complicated and requires an immense amount of legal work, so it is important that you get started on your claim as soon as possible.

Contact Our Palm Coast Medical Malpractice Lawyers Today

When you and your family are coping with a serious injury caused by a medical professional, it can be overwhelming to think about the long legal road ahead. At Chiumento Law, PLLC, our compassionate Palm Coast medical malpractice attorneys understand the immense pressure you are under, and we will do everything in our power to take the burden off of you.

We start by offering a free, no-obligation consultation. In this initial meeting, we will discuss the details of your case, talk about your options for pursuing compensation, and answer any questions you may have for us.

You don’t pay legal fees unless and until we recover compensation for you. We handle medical negligence claims on a contingency fee basis, which means we don’t charge you legal fees upfront. Instead, we do all the work, then receive our payment when we are successful.

Visit us, or we can come to you. We have three offices conveniently located in Palm Coast and Deland. However, our attorneys can also visit you at home or in the hospital, whatever is most convenient for you and your family.

Contact us today to get started on your case.

We’re Proud to be Involved in the Community

Chiumento Law, PLLC has contributed to schools and other organizations that have made a difference in the community and take pride in portraying an active role in our community. Flagler and Volusia Counties hosts an array of events and we are proud to be a part of many of them!

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