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In Florida, a pediatric malpractice claim can be brought against nearly all persons or entities that provide health care. This includes emergency room doctors, physicians, specialists, nurses, anesthesiologists, optometrists, and pharmacists, just to name a few.
Although more fragile, children are not being kept safe all the time, even in the most up-to-date medical facilities. Doctors work long shifts, they attend unexpected or unplanned emergencies and medical errors can happen. However, this does not mean a medical error, of any kind, should be excused, especially those regarding children.
Bringing a pediatric malpractice claim against a health care professional is extremely difficult. To prevail, even more. Several studies have concluded that legal action is being initiated only in about one in ten cases of serious medical negligence, and only in one percent of all adverse medical events.
According to nationwide statistics, only about 30 percent of all medical malpractice cases that proceed to trial result in a verdict in favor of the patient. That means that physicians win about 70 percent of the cases tried in court every year.
In comparison with most injury-related cases, pediatric malpractice claims reach the trial phase more often since medical professionals, and their insurers, are more willing to let things play out in court.
Not every bad medical outcome is negligence, but that does not mean that an error was not made. To prevail in a medical malpractice claim, a few things need to be proven:
The first idea to grasp is that a negative outcome does not necessarily amount to medical malpractice. Even when physicians or nurses act with a competent level of expertise and patient care, things can still go bad. Typically, to make a viable pediatric malpractice case, you need to first demonstrate the level of care and skill that the health care professional who harmed your child should have acted with, based on accepted medical practices in the same community. This can be determined with the help of an expert medical witness and by documenting the medical care records for your particular case, in order to assess whether the medical care provided fell below the accepted standards. Additionally, a medical malpractice attorney can offer you guidance and advice during these investigations.
You need to demonstrate precisely how your child was harmed by the provision of sub-standard care and how the health care professional deviated from that standard of care in treating your child. All of these parts need to be traced and established by a qualified expert medical witness.
There are several common reasons why a medical malpractice attorney would not accept or would not pursue a case:
In conclusion, the vast majority of pediatric medical cases get rejected because the chances of prevailing in court may be slim and don’t justify the cost to litigate.