Victims of Medical Negligence Need To Know Their Legal Options
Every July, Medical Malpractice Awareness Month puts a spotlight on a difficult reality: preventable medical errors can seriously injure patients and leave families searching for answers. Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, hospitals, and other healthcare providers do important work every day, but when care falls below accepted medical standards, the consequences can change a patient’s life.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality says medical errors can occur anywhere in the healthcare system, including hospitals, clinics, surgery centers, doctors’ offices, nursing homes, pharmacies, and patients’ homes. Errors may involve medication, surgery, diagnosis, equipment, lab reports, or communication failures.
When preventable medical errors cause serious harm, patients and families often have to rebuild their lives while trying to understand what went wrong. At The Law Offices of Casey D. Shomo, P.A., we help injured Floridians pursue accountability after negligent medical care. Understanding how medical malpractice claims work can help you make informed decisions during an incredibly difficult time.
Medical Malpractice Is More Than A Bad Outcome
Not every unexpected medical result is malpractice. Medicine is complex, and complications can occur even when providers do everything correctly. A poor outcome alone usually is not enough to prove a case.
Medical malpractice happens when a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care and that failure causes preventable harm. Under Florida Statute § 766.102, a claimant must prove by the greater weight of the evidence that the provider breached the prevailing professional standard of care.
In plain English, that means the case often turns on what a reasonably careful provider would have done under the same or similar circumstances. That is why medical malpractice claims usually require a detailed review of records, timelines, symptoms, test results, orders, and provider decisions.
Healthcare providers who may be involved in medical malpractice claims include:
- Physicians
- Surgeons
- Nurses
- Emergency room staff
- Specialists
- Anesthesiologists
- Radiologists
- Hospitals
- Surgical centers
- Pharmacists and other healthcare professionals
Common Medical Errors That Lead To Florida Malpractice Claims
Medical malpractice can happen in nearly every healthcare setting. No two cases are exactly alike, but certain errors appear more often than others.
Misdiagnosis And Delayed Diagnosis
Accurate diagnosis is often the first step toward effective treatment. When a serious condition is misdiagnosed or diagnosed too late, patients may lose valuable time while their condition worsens.
Delayed diagnosis cases may involve cancer, stroke, heart attack, infection, pulmonary embolism, internal bleeding, or other conditions where timing matters. A delay can reduce treatment options, allow the condition to progress, and lead to permanent harm that may have been preventable.
Surgical Mistakes Can Cause Life-Changing Harm
Surgery always carries risk, but preventable mistakes should not be treated as ordinary complications. A surgical error may be medical malpractice when a surgeon, anesthesiologist, operating room team, or facility makes an avoidable mistake that causes serious injury.
Examples may include operating on the wrong body part, damaging nearby organs or nerves, leaving surgical items inside a patient, using the wrong surgical technique, failing to monitor the patient, or ignoring warning signs after surgery.
Medication Errors
Patients rely on healthcare providers to prescribe, dispense, and administer medications safely. Unfortunately, medication errors can happen when communication breaks down, records are incomplete, dosages are wrong, or providers overlook dangerous interactions.
These errors may involve prescribing the wrong medication, giving the wrong dose, administering medication to the wrong patient, failing to check for allergies, or failing to monitor a patient's response to a drug.
Hospital Communication Failures
Modern healthcare often involves multiple doctors, nurses, specialists, pharmacists, technicians, and support staff. When information does not move clearly from one provider to another, patients can suffer serious harm.
Incomplete handoffs, missing test results, delayed treatment, lost imaging, unclear discharge instructions, and failures to communicate changes in a patient’s condition can all contribute to preventable injury.
The Consequences Can Follow Patients Home
A preventable medical error rarely ends when a patient leaves the hospital or doctor’s office. Many victims face months or years of additional medical care, rehabilitation, financial stress, and emotional trauma.
Depending on the circumstances, medical negligence may cause:
- Additional Surgeries: Patients may need corrective procedures or follow-up operations that would not have been necessary without the error.
- Permanent Disability: Some injuries limit mobility, independence, work ability, or daily functioning.
- Brain Injuries: Oxygen loss, medication mistakes, surgical complications, or delayed treatment can cause lasting neurological damage.
- Organ Damage: Diagnostic delays, medication errors, or surgical mistakes can permanently harm vital organs.
- Chronic Pain: A preventable injury can leave patients dealing with pain that affects sleep, work, family life, and mental health.
- Lost Income: Missed work, job loss, reduced earning capacity, and long-term disability can create major financial pressure.
- Emotional Trauma: Patients may struggle with anxiety, depression, fear of future medical care, and loss of trust in providers.
- Wrongful Death: Some medical errors are fatal, leaving families to seek accountability after an avoidable loss.
Families often carry those burdens alongside the injured patient. What began as a routine medical appointment, hospital stay, birth, surgery, or prescription can permanently alter nearly every part of life.
Florida Malpractice Claims Have Strict Pre-suit Requirements
Florida medical malpractice cases are not filed the same way as many other personal injury claims. Before filing a lawsuit, the injured patient usually must complete a pre-suit investigation and serve a notice of intent to initiate litigation.
Under Florida Statute § 766.106, after presuit investigation and before filing a medical negligence complaint, a claimant must notify each prospective defendant of the intent to initiate litigation. The presuit process can involve investigation, medical review, insurer response, settlement offers, or arbitration offers.
That process is one reason patients should not wait too long to ask questions. Medical records need to be gathered, deadlines need to be calculated, and the case needs to be reviewed by someone who understands both medicine and Florida’s legal requirements.
Deadlines Can Close The Door On A Valid Claim
Florida medical malpractice deadlines can be unforgiving. Under Florida Statute § 95.11, a medical malpractice action generally must be started within two years from when the incident occurred or when it was discovered, or should have been discovered with due diligence. The statute also includes a general four-year outer limit from the date of the incident, with limited exceptions.
That does not mean every deadline is simple. Discovery issues, concealment, minors, presuit notices, and case-specific facts can affect timing. But the larger point is clear: waiting can make a strong case harder or impossible to pursue.
If you suspect negligent medical care caused harm, do not assume you have plenty of time. A lawyer can review the timeline, preserve evidence, and explain which deadlines may apply.
What Should You Do If You Suspect Medical Negligence?
If you believe you or a loved one was harmed by a preventable medical error, taking prompt action can protect your health and your legal rights.
- Keep Getting Medical Care: Follow medical instructions and seek any additional care needed to address your injuries or health concerns.
- Request Medical Records and Test Results: Get copies of treatment notes, imaging, lab results, medication records, discharge papers, and hospital records.
- Write Down What Happened: Record symptoms, provider conversations, dates, names, treatment decisions, and concerns while the details are fresh.
- Save Expense and Income Records: Keep bills, prescription receipts, travel costs, missed-work records, and any documentation showing how the injury affected your finances.
- Avoid Signing Anything Too Quickly: Do not accept a settlement, sign a release, or make formal statements before understanding your rights.
- Ask the Right Questions During A Free Consultation: A focused consultation can help you understand whether the facts point toward malpractice and what needs to happen next.
Medical malpractice cases are built from details. Records, timelines, provider decisions, expert review, and the patient’s outcome all matter.
Casey Shomo Can Help You Demand Justice and Accountability
Medical Malpractice Awareness Month is a reminder that preventable medical errors are not just statistics. They happen to real patients and families who trusted healthcare providers to make safe decisions.
For more than 30 years, Casey Shomo has handled complex medical malpractice cases throughout Florida. He has represented both healthcare providers and injured patients during his career, so he understands how these cases are investigated, defended, and pursued. That experience helps him develop thoughtful legal strategies based on the medicine, the records, and the specific facts of each case.
If you believe you or someone you love was injured because of negligent medical care, contact The Law Offices of Casey D. Shomo, P.A. for a free consultation. Mr. Shomo can review your situation, explain your legal options, and help you pursue the accountability and compensation you deserve.
"My family has been using Casey D. Shomo for many years. They are extremely reputable, always reachable, and keep you updated through the process. I highly recommend him and his staff if you are looking for a knowledgeable attorney." - Samantha H., ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐