When you lose someone you care about, most of your attention will be devoted to your grief. But if you’ve lost someone due to the actions or neglect of a Florida medical provider, you may naturally wonder what choices you have in order to hold them accountable.
What is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice refers to incidents when a medical provider fails to deliver the reasonable care their patient expects. To qualify as medical malpractice, the incident must meet these qualifications:
- The medical provider had a duty to the patient to provide care.
- The medical provider breached their duty by not acting with reasonable care.
- As a result of the breach, the patient suffered injury or harm.
What is a wrongful death?
Wrongful death does not just apply to medical malpractice. Wrongful death refers to any fatality that occurs as a result of another person’s actions or neglect. Examples of places where a wrongful death may occur include:
- Workplace
- Traffic accident
- Crime scene
- Medical facility
How does medical malpractice lead to wrongful death?
Wrongful death lawsuits can be filed after someone dies as a result of medical malpractice. The most common reasons for filing wrongful death lawsuit include:
- Failure to diagnose
- Misdiagnosis
- Surgery errors
- Treatment errors
Wrongful death claims can be complicated
Both wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuits can be complex. When your lawsuit alleges both have occurred, gathering evidence can be a very harrowing experience. As traumatic and difficult as these experiences are, wrongful death claims and medical malpractice claims have a limited statute of limitations. Any action that you wish to take should be taken quickly.