Practice Areas Medical Malpractice Delayed Treatment

Boca Raton Attorneys Representing People Harmed by Medical Negligence

In the context of medical care, numerous factors must combine for a patient to achieve a good outcome. For example, patients must receive prompt treatment for chronic and acute conditions and injuries. Delays in treatment do not constitute mere inconveniences; instead, they lead to irreparable harm in many instances. If you sustained losses due to a doctor’s careless delay in providing you with the treatment that you needed, the doctor should be held accountable. At The Grife Law Firm, our Boca Raton medical malpractice lawyers are proficient at navigating the complexities of cases arising out of delayed treatment, and we have the knowledge and resources needed to help you pursue a successful result.

Damages Caused by Delayed Treatment

While obtaining a timely and accurate diagnosis is essential to maintaining a patient’s health, a diagnosis alone is not sufficient. Instead, many illnesses and conditions also require prompt treatment. For example, people suffering from heart attacks and strokes typically must receive immediate treatment to prevent further harm from occurring. Treatment delays should be avoided in patients who have cancer as well since they can allow the cancer to spread and eventually become terminal. Numerous chronic conditions, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hypothyroidism, can have devastating consequences if they are not treated in a timely manner. Many acute illnesses need immediate treatment as well. For instance, a delay in treating a patient suffering from a treatable illness like pneumonia or meningitis can have a devastating outcome.

Elements of a Lawsuit Arising Out of Delayed Treatment

Patients harmed by treatment delays have a right to seek compensation from the providers that caused their harm. Generally, a plaintiff in a Florida medical malpractice case must prove that the defendant committed medical negligence. This requires the plaintiff to demonstrate that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty and that the defendant breached the duty. In a medical malpractice lawsuit, the duty that a defendant owes is the duty to provide treatment that meets the prevailing standard of care. Pursuant to Florida Statute 766.102, this standard is the degree of care, skill, and treatment that a reasonably competent doctor in the same specialty would provide when presented with the same situation.

The plaintiff must also prove that the evidence shows that the defendant’s breach directly led to the plaintiff’s harm. In other words, the harm suffered would not have occurred but for the defendant’s failure to provide treatment that complied with the standard of care. While the defendant’s actions or omissions do not need to be the sole cause of the plaintiff’s injuries, they must be a significant factor in causing them.

Pursuing Compensation for Harm Caused by Delayed Treatment

Plaintiffs who demonstrate that treatment delays caused them to suffer actual harm may be awarded economic and non-economic damages. Florida Statute 766.202 defines economic damages in medical malpractice cases as the financial losses that a plaintiff suffers that would not have occurred without the harm that triggered the filing of the lawsuit. These include past and future medical costs, lost wages, and loss of earning capacity. Statute 766.202 defines non-economic damages as non-financial losses that only arose due to the injury that is the basis of the lawsuit. Such losses may include suffering, pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, and inconvenience.