Jacksonville Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Medical malpractice is an unfortunate fact of lie. The very people we trust the most sometimes make fatal mistakes, have an “off” day, or are just plain sloppy. When most people have a bad day at work, it means the final report may be a day late, the garbage can was not emptied, or the kids at school watched a video. When a healthcare provider has a bad day at work, it may mean the surgical technician did not sterilize the equipment fully, a nurse used a needle twice without thinking, or a doctor prescribed the wrong medication. The difference between a healthcare professional’s bad day and another professional’s bad day is the difference between life and death, or at the very least serious physical harm.

The residents of Jacksonville, Florida have access to over nine colleges and universities, a genuine asset to any city. Some of those colleges and universities produce the finest healthcare providers, as well as the finest attorneys, but even the best schools cannot guarantee their graduates are perfect. In fact, no one person is truly perfect, it is what we in Jacksonville call the human condition. Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone’s mistakes result in physical damage or even death. Many states hold healthcare professionals to a higher standard of conduct than other professionals. Florida is one of those many states.

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider does not deliver the standard of care, skill, and/or treatment that is recognized as appropriate and acceptable by other reasonably prudent healthcare providers in a similar situation under comparable circumstances. When a doctor, nurse, dentist, osteopath, or other healthcare provider earns that title within a higher education setting, he or she is taught various methods and practices of dealing with certain conditions pertaining to their field of study. If the healthcare provider acts against those learned methods and practices, he or she may be guilty of medical malpractice or neglect. The simple fact that the healthcare provider is certified in his or her field makes that person more responsible and accountable for their actions.

In Jacksonville alone, the amount of medical malpractice incidents is astonishingly on the rise. As the population grows older, more and more people require surgery, hospitalization, nursing home care, and office visits. Retirement homes, nursing homes, and other assisted living facilities are the new “hot spot” for medical malpractice or negligent claims. Cases involving the mishandling of the resident’s medical condition by way of the assisted living facilities director, physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals are covered under the Florida Medical Malpractice Law. In addition, there is a special bill of rights for assisted living residents. Seniors are people with valuable knowledge and experience that must be treated with dignity and respect in old age. Not only do retirement home residents have special rights, but also so do their family members. If you believe your parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other family member is subject to mistreatment in an assisted living facility, you have rights on their behalf. The malpractice attorneys of Jacksonville know those rights.

Take into consideration an advanced Alzheimer’s patient, who beyond his or her control resides in a nursing home. The patient is most likely someone’s father, mother, aunt, uncle, or other special family member who had a fruitful life. Maybe he or she was a doctor, nurse, dentist, or university professor; whatever the case, the patient with advanced Alzheimer’s disease is not capable of making his or her own medical decisions. If the assisted living facility makes non-emergency medical decisions for the patient that are not condoned by the family or in the patients best interest, then it is in the family’s best interest to consult a Jacksonville medical malpractice attorney.