West Palm Beach Medical Malpractice Lawyers
How Medical Malpractice Happens—and Why It’s Often Overlooked
Medical malpractice occurs when a health care provider’s action or inaction deviates from the accepted standards of medical practice resulting in an injury to a patient. In other words, medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or nurse fails to exercise reasonable care in prescribing and/or delivering treatment to a patient.
Unfortunately, medical malpractice is much more common than you may think. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, treatment errors and mistakes made in the provision of health care to Medicare patients are reported by hospitals in only 14% of the cases. This means that 86% of these errors go unreported. Hospital medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Preventable adverse events lead to the death of 210,000 to 400,000 patients who seek care at hospitals each year. Moreover, 1 out of every 8 patients nationally suffers a potentially avoidable complication during a hospital stay.
If you or someone in your family suffered serious harm because of medical malpractice, you may be able to seek compensation. With the right Florida medical malpractice lawyer, you can take legal action backed by experience, resources, and a focus on pursuing the compensation you deserve.
What is a Medical Malpractice Claim
Medical malpractice is a specific area of personal injury law that allows an injured patient to seek compensation from a healthcare provider when that healthcare provider’s negligence causes their injury. Lawsuits that arise from a healthcare provider’s negligence can be known as medical malpractice or medical negligence claims.
In general, a plaintiff must be able to prove the following elements to succeed in a medical malpractice lawsuit:
- Duty: Healthcare provider owed the patient a duty of care;
- Breach of the duty of care: Healthcare provider breached the duty of care by failing to behave as another healthcare provider in the same field and in a similar geographic area would have behaved under similar circumstances;
- Causation: Healthcare provider’s breach of the duty of care caused the patient’s injury; and
- Damages: Patient suffered harm and actual damages as a result of the negligence
Medical Harm Is More Common Than People Think
Medical malpractice victims rarely get a straight answer from the people who caused the harm. You may be told nothing went wrong or that the outcome was just a risk of the procedure. But research tells a different story.
National Data Paints a Disturbing Picture
- Harvard researchers found that 18% of hospitalized patients are injured during the course of their care.
- The Office of the Inspector General reports one in seven Medicare patients is harmed during hospital stays.
- Up to 400,000 people die each year due to avoidable medical mistakes, according to estimates from patient safety organizations.
These figures don’t include those who live with chronic pain, disability, or financial ruin after a preventable error. Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys investigate claims throughout the West Palm Beach FL area to find out what actually happened—because most patients never get a clear explanation from the hospital.
What Medical Malpractice Law Requires in Florida
Not all medical injuries qualify as malpractice. Florida medical malpractice law sets a specific legal standard: a healthcare professional must have breached the recognized “standard of care,” and that breach must have directly caused harm. Section 766.102 of the Florida Statutes describes the standard of care owed by a healthcare provider as; the level of care, skill and treatment that is recognized as appropriate by other similarly positioned healthcare provider given all relevant circumstances.
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Medical Malpractice Cases Require More Than Evidence of Harm
To bring a valid claim under Florida law, you need to:
- Prove the provider failed to act as a reasonably careful provider would have in the same situation
- Obtain an affidavit from a qualified expert stating that malpractice likely occurred
- Provide notice to all intended defendants before filing
- Complete a mandatory 90-day pre-suit investigation period
Our medical practice attorneys in West Palm Beach handle every aspect of this process, including working with other medical professionals and specialists to confirm whether the facts support a case. This is not like filing a standard personal injury case—it requires detailed preparation, legal ability, and expert insight.
Who Can Be Liable in a Medical Malpractice Claim?
While many people think about medical malpractice lawsuits as a way of holding doctors accountable, many different parties can be liable in a medical malpractice claim, including but not limited to:
- Physician
- Surgeon
- Nurse
- Hospital or doctor’s office staff worker
- Hospital itself
- Laboratory
- Laboratory technician and/or
- Pharmacist
Examples of Medical Mistakes That May Justify a Case
Not every error is grounds for a lawsuit. But many of the malpractice claims we review in the West Palm Beach FL area involve clear breakdowns in care that could—and should—have been avoided.
Types of errors we investigate:
- Surgical errors, including wrong-site procedures, retained surgical items, and post-operative infections
- Anesthesia errors, such as over- or under-dosing, failure to monitor vitals, or oxygen deprivation
- Medication mistakes, including incorrect prescriptions, dosage errors, or drug interactions
- Delayed diagnoses, especially of conditions like cancer, heart attacks, and strokes
- Missed infections, especially when sepsis signs are overlooked
- Emergency room negligence, including failure to admit or monitor patients in distress
- Premature discharge of unstable patients, often driven by insurance company protocols
- Lack of informed consent, where risks were not explained before a procedure
Our medical malpractice lawyers handle a wide range of claims, including those involving primary care providers, specialists, and other medical staff across hospitals, urgent care centers, and outpatient clinics. We investigate whether the provider followed the standard of care, work with medical experts to analyze the decisions made, and build the case from the documentation up. When the records show that a different course of action would have avoided the harm, we take legal steps to hold the provider, and often the facility or insurance company, accountable.
Who Can Bring a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Florida?
Outcome. To move forward, you need legal standing, meaning you have a recognized legal right to bring the claim based on your relationship to the patient. In some cases, that requires acting through the estate or as a court-appointed representative if the patient is incapacitated or deceased.
You may have the right to file if you are:
- The injured patient
- A legal guardian for someone who is incapacitated
- The personal representative of someone who died due to malpractice
How Our Medical Malpractice Attorneys Handle Eligibility Questions
Legal standing isn’t always straightforward, especially when multiple relatives are involved, or the person directly affected can’t file on their own. Our medical malpractice attorneys assess the situation, determine who has the legal right to bring the claim, and explain how Florida law handles recovery rights. We advise on how to proceed when families disagree, when probate hasn’t been opened, or when guardianship is needed to move forward.
What Damages Can Be Recovered?
When a claim meets Florida’s legal standard, compensation can include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost income and reduced future earnings
- Pain and suffering, including emotional trauma
- Rehabilitation and long-term care costs
- Funeral expenses, in wrongful death cases
- Other direct financial losses caused by the malpractice
Our personal injury lawyers calculate damages based on clear, provable losses. We work with medical and financial experts to demonstrate the full cost of the error—especially in cases involving a serious injury or lifelong care needs.
Why Medical Malpractice Cases Are So Complex
Medical malpractice cases are not handled like auto accidents or slip-and-fall claims. Florida has specific laws governing medical malpractice claims that make them more difficult, more expensive, and more demanding on both attorneys and clients.
Key challenges include:
- Medical records are dense, inconsistent, and can be incomplete
- Providers rarely admit fault, even when the facts are clear
- Expert witnesses need to be highly credentialed and prepared to defend their conclusions
- The law protects providers from lawsuits that don’t meet very specific criteria
Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys know how to screen cases quickly, coordinate with specialists across medical fields, and take aggressive action when the evidence shows the standard of care was violated.
Wrongful Death and Medical Negligence
When malpractice leads to death, the case becomes a wrongful death claim under Florida’s civil statutes. Wrongful death cases involve different procedural requirements and damage caps.
What Our Attorneys Do in Wrongful Death Cases
- File claims on behalf of the estate and eligible surviving family members
- Assist in initiating or coordinating with probate proceedings
- Identify which relatives qualify for compensation under Florida law
- Establish the link between the medical negligence and the death
We handle wrongful death cases caused by anesthesia errors, surgical complications, misdiagnosis, and other forms of malpractice that should have been avoided with proper care.
How Long You Have to File a Medical Malpractice Claim
Florida gives you two years to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, starting from the time you knew—or should have known—that the injury was caused by a medical mistake. But even if you didn’t find out right away, there’s a hard cutoff: you generally can’t file more than four years after the actual treatment or procedure, no matter when you discovered the problem. This four-year limit is referred to as the statute of repose.
Exceptions and Extensions
- Cases involving fraud or concealment may qualify for extra time
- Minors under eight may have an extended deadline
- Wrongful death cases follow their own two-year timeline from the date of death
If you’re unsure when the clock started in your case, contact our team as soon as possible. We routinely evaluate claims in the West Palm Beach FL area where deadlines are tight—and delay could prevent filing altogether.
What to Expect from the Case Process
Medical malpractice cases follow a formal legal process that begins long before a lawsuit is filed.
Our firm manages:
- Record collection and organization
- Expert review and affidavit preparation
- Pre-suit notices and statutory compliance
- Settlement negotiations
- Litigation and trial, if necessary
Unlike other legal services that refer these cases out or avoid them altogether, we’re fully equipped to see yours through. Our firm includes trial lawyers with the experience and legal ability to pursue medical malpractice cases in court when necessary.
What Sets Our West Palm Beach Malpractice Attorneys Apart
Not every law firm is prepared to handle the demands of medical malpractice litigation. Med mal cases require in-depth medical knowledge, strategic planning, and the tenacity to challenge hospitals and insurance companies that rarely settle early.
Clients choose us because:
- We have a proven record of results in malpractice litigation
- We maintain relationships with respected medical experts
- We prioritize case screening to avoid wasting your time
- We offer clear guidance and aggressive representation
- We are recognized by national trial lawyers and legal organizations for our professionalism and legal ability
Whether your case involves a private physician, a large hospital, or a breakdown involving multiple healthcare professionals, our attorneys provide the clarity and commitment needed to pursue accountability.
How Our Malpractice Attorneys Work With Medical Experts
The success of a medical malpractice claim can hinge on expert testimony. We work with board-certified professionals in surgery, emergency medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and other specialties depending on the facts of the case.
Expert review includes:
- Evaluating timelines of care
- Identifying breaches in protocol
- Assessing decision-making under accepted standards
- Explaining how negligence caused harm
Collaboration with qualified medical experts strengthens your case and provides the insight needed to prove the injury resulted from substandard care, not just a complication or poor result.
Serving West Palm Beach Medical Malpractice Victims
Our firm represents patients and families throughout West Palm Beach who have been harmed by preventable medical errors. Whether the treatment took place in a hospital, outpatient clinic, nursing facility, or private practice, we handle the entire investigative and legal process from start to finish.
If your case involves multiple providers or complex care settings, our attorneys coordinate the full review and determine where the breakdowns occurred—and who should be held accountable.
What Happens When You Contact Us
We begin with a conversation. You tell us what happened. We ask the right questions. If your case qualifies for review, we begin gathering the records and involving the right experts.
If it doesn’t meet Florida’s requirements for malpractice, we explain why—and we do it respectfully, without pressuring you into anything.
There’s no cost to speak with us, and no obligation to proceed.
Talk to a West Palm Beach Medical Malpractice Attorney Today
Medical malpractice cases are complex—but not impossible. If a preventable error caused a serious injury or death, you don’t need to figure out what to do on your own.
Call Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel at (561) 655-2028 to speak with a West Palm Beach medical malpractice attorney. We’ll review your situation, help you understand your legal options, and move forward with a plan that puts facts first.
