Clearwater Medical Malpractice Attorney

Bryan Caulfield Has 25+ Years Of Experience Helping Patients

When defined simply, medical malpractice means that a patient was unreasonably harmed by a doctor or medical professional who deviated from his or her duty to standard care. If you or a loved one suffered serious injury due to a medical professional's negligence, Attorney Caulfield can help you in your fight to recover maximum compensation for your injuries. With 25 years of experience in the legal field, he is more than capable of handling your case, whether it involves medical negligence or physician errors.

How Can You Benefit from Working with Our Firm?
The skill of an attorney who has handled 4,800+ cases
The experience of a lawyer who has recovered millions of dollars
The compassion of a firm that is ready to help you 24/7
Highly specialized knowledge of a Board Certified Injury Lawyer
You pay nothing unless we recover for you

Begin your case today with a free case evaluation. Attorney Caulfield is available 24/7 to answer your call, so reach out to him anytime! Call (727) 308-6060 and make sure to ask for Bryan!

Basic Requirements For A Medical Malpractice Claim

Rules surrounding medical malpractice lawsuits vary state to state and hospitals employ skilled defense teams. In order to pursue maximum compensation, it is imperative to retain the services of an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Clearwater, FL!

A medical malpractice claim must have certain elements in place in order to be pursued. Attorney Bryan Caulfield can thoroughly investigate the details surrounding your injury and build a solid case for your compensation. With his background as a medical malpractice lawyer, he is more than prepared to navigate even the most complex claims.

Generally speaking, a medical malpractice claim must have the following in place:
Proof of a doctor-patient relationship: This means you formally hired the doctor, and didn’t just overhear a physician’s advice in an informal setting.
Proof of physician negligence: This goes beyond patient dissatisfaction. The physician must have deviated from standards of care in order to prove negligent.
Proof of injury caused by negligence: It must be proved that the patient was injured due to the medical negligence and not due to a pre-existing condition.
Proof that injury led to specific damage: The injury must have elicited physical pain, mental pain, further medical bills, and/or lost wages to be eligible for compensation.

How Long Do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Claim?

Since medical malpractice injuries are not always discovered at the time they are sustained, like receiving injuries in a car accident, the statute of limitations to file a medical malpractice claim works differently than other personal injury claims. According to Fla. Stat. Ann. § 95.11, you have two years from the date you discovered or should have reasonably discovered, your injury with the maximum timeframe to file a claim being four years. If you have questions on how the statute of limitations may affect your case, contact our firm today for a free consultation.

Types of Medical Negligence

Medical negligence appears in many forms, from physician errors to lack of staff. However, as Attorney Bryan often points out to his clients, the basis of medical negligence is that a doctor grossly deviates from the standard level of care set by the medical association.

The following are four basic elements of negligence:

Duty: Any time a hospital, healthcare Facility, or medical Professional accepts a patient into care, a duty exists.
Breach of duty: healthcare providers who fail to conform to the standard of care established by the medical community have breached their duty.
The breach of duty caused injury: the above breach of duty was the proximate cause of injury; and
Actual damages occurred: The plaintiff suffered actual physical injury and other losses because of the breach of duty.

Any medical malpractice claim must contain those four basic elements for medical negligence to have occurred. Even in more specific fields, those four elements can be applied.

Common Examples of Medical Negligence

These are examples of medical negligence:

Misdiagnosis: A correct diagnosis is critical in treating any patient. Some typical cases of misdiagnosis include failure to diagnose cancer, misdiagnosis of diabetes, failure to recognize meningitis and failure to diagnose appendicitis.
Delayed diagnosis: Properly treating a patient often relies on timely diagnosis. If a doctor fails to diagnose an illness that another physician would have reasonably diagnosed, injury or illness may result. In some cases, timely diagnoses are not made because a doctor is overwhelmed by his or her workload.
Negligent long-term treatment: When a patient receives a diagnosis that involves long-term treatment, it is vital that the diagnosing doctor follow up and monitor the patient. A failure to provide a patient with proper long-term treatment can result in injury or death.
Birth injury: If an OB/GYN or other physician or surgeon makes negligent mistakes during childbirth, both mother and baby could suffer serious harm. In particular, when infants are victims of birth injuries with lasting effects, a Tampa child malpractice attorney can help the family fight for lifelong coverage of the medical costs and compensation for pain and suffering.

Proving Medical Negligence

In order for your malpractice case to be successful, you must be able to prove the existence of negligence. For more than 25 years, Attorney Bryan Caulfield has been serving malpractice victims throughout Pinellas County. As a result, Bryan knows how to build a strong case against doctors, hospitals, and healthcare providers. He can thoroughly review your case and recommend a sound course of action to be pursued on your behalf.

As a Clearwater medical malpractice lawyer, Bryan Caulfield is proud to provide assistance to patients who sustain injuries because of the following types of physician errors:

Failure to diagnose or treat a condition: Many conditions require early diagnosis so that treatment can begin immediately. If a physician fills to properly identify and treat a condition, he or she may cause a patient unnecessary injury or harm.
Medication errors: When used responsibly, medication can save lives. But if a doctor prescribes the wrong medication or dosage is given to a patient, it can cause further injury and even death.
Failure to monitor: Certain conditions require constant monitoring and attention. If a physician fails to properly monitor you, a lawyer can help you file a Clearwater malpractice lawsuit.
Failure to obtain informed consent: It is the responsibility of physicians to inform patients about the risks associated with any possible procedures or treatments. Failure to do so is negligence.

Common types of medical malpractice include a failure to diagnose properly, improper treatment, and failure to warn a patient of risk. In most states, claims of medical malpractice must be addressed fairly quickly. In Florida, this statute of limitations is two years.

Get Started on Your Case Today!

Bryan D. Caulfield is more than capable of handling your medical malpractice case. With years of experience and numerous honors from the likes of Super Lawyers®, Million Dollar Advocates Forum®, and others, he is the medical malpractice attorney in Clearwater, FL to be trusted to exhaustively investigate and aggressively represent your case.

Get started on your case with a free case evaluation. Call (727) 308-6060 and ask for Bryan.