Medical Malpractice Attorney in Casselberry, Florida
You went to the doctor to get better — and instead, the care you received made your condition worse. When a physician, surgeon, nurse, anesthesiologist, hospital, or clinic breaches the standard of care, the harm is more than physical. It’s a deep betrayal of trust, followed by a frustrating reality: you’re suddenly up against a medical facility, an insurance carrier, and a defense team trained to deny responsibility.
Medical malpractice cases in Florida are also not “ordinary” injury claims. Chapter 766 requires strict pre-suit steps before a lawsuit can even be filed. That’s why you need an experienced medical malpractice attorney — not a generalist — with the resources to investigate, consult medical experts, and prove what happened using medical records, expert testimony, and a litigation strategy built for complex medical negligence.
What Counts as Medical Malpractice in Florida?
Not every bad outcome is malpractice. Medicine is complex, and even appropriate treatment can lead to complications. But medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the legally required standard — and that deviation causes preventable injury, worsens an illness, or leads to wrongful death.
If you suspect medical malpractice, the legal process generally comes down to four core elements: Standard of Care, Breach of Duty, Causation, and Damages.
Breaching the “Prevailing Professional Standard of Care”
A meritorious medical malpractice claim requires proof that the medical provider did not act like a reasonably prudent provider would have in the same circumstances. In other words, the question isn’t “Did something go wrong?” It’s: Did the doctor, hospital, or medical professionals fail to adhere to accepted medical care?
That breach might involve a diagnostic error (misdiagnose, overlook, fail to monitor), a surgical mistake (operate on the wrong-site surgery, retained foreign object), a medication error (wrong medication, overdose, drug interaction), or failures in clinical care (neglect, premature discharge, hospital-acquired infection).
Causation: Linking the Error to the Injury
Florida law also requires proof that the breach caused the harm — not merely that the patient was already sick. For example, a delayed diagnosis can be devastating if a missed cancer diagnosis results in a later-stage progression, or if an ER failure to diagnose stroke symptoms causes permanent disability.
This is where medical experts and an expert witness are critical. We establish causation by reviewing records, timelines, imaging, labs, orders, and whether the medical provider’s decisions foreseeably worsened the outcome.
Florida’s Strict Pre-Suit Requirements (Chapter 766)
Most people don’t realize you generally can’t just sue immediately after a medical error in Casselberry. Florida’s medical negligence laws require a structured pre-suit investigation, including expert review and formal notice procedures. If those steps are mishandled, a case can be dismissed before it ever reaches a jury.
The Affidavit of Merit
Before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, Florida requires a good-faith investigation supported by a qualified medical expert opinion — often called an Affidavit of Merit. In practice, that means we must hire a doctor in the same or similar specialty to review medical records and confirm there are reasonable grounds to allege negligence.
We handle the full HIPAA-compliant records process, including requesting and organizing records so the reviewing physician can evaluate whether there was a deviation from the prevailing professional standard of care.
The 90-Day Pre-Suit Investigation Period
After expert support is obtained, Florida law requires a Notice of Intent and triggers a 90-day investigation period where the defendant and insurance carrier evaluate the claim. During this time, the defense may request additional information and decide whether to deny liability, request further investigation, or discuss settlement. We manage this entire phase — including the legal strategy, record review, negotiations, and preparation for litigation if they refuse to take responsibility.
Common Medical Negligence Cases in Casselberry
As Casselberry medical malpractice lawyers, we see patterns that repeat across hospitals, clinics, and skilled nursing facilities. Below are some of the most common medical malpractice cases:
Surgical Errors
Surgical malpractice can involve wrong-site surgery, retained foreign objects (leaving instruments inside the body), negligent post-operative monitoring, and preventable complications such as sepsis or hospital-acquired infection. It may also involve anesthesia errors, including improper administration, failure to monitor, or anesthesia awareness.
Misdiagnosis and Failure to Diagnose
Diagnostic failures can be catastrophic: missed stroke symptoms, heart attack misdiagnosis in the ER, delayed cancer diagnosis, or failure to order appropriate testing. When a physician overlooks key signs, delays treatment, or discharges a patient too early, the window to treat can close fast — and damages can escalate.
Birth Injuries
Birth injury cases often require specialized review of fetal monitoring, labor management, and delivery decisions. Claims may involve shoulder dystocia, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), or injuries such as Cerebral Palsy or Erb’s Palsy tied to preventable OBGYN negligence or delayed intervention.
Medication Errors
Medication malpractice includes wrong dosage, wrong medication, dangerous drug interactions, pharmacy dispensing errors, and failure to account for allergies or contraindications. These incidents can trigger acute reactions, overdose, and long-term complications — all while medical bills and medical expenses climb.
Investigating Claims Against Casselberry Hospitals
Casselberry malpractice cases often require confronting large systems with sophisticated defense counsel. Our process is built to investigate claims involving major local medical facilities — including experience dealing with the legal teams and insurance carriers connected to systems.
We focus on facts: medical records, policies and protocols, staffing, charting, orders, timelines, and whether the care was substandard, negligent, or reckless.
Damages: What Can You Recover?
A medical malpractice claim is ultimately about proving damages — what this error cost you and your family, financially and personally. This is the job of a Casselberry personal injury lawyer with experience in medical malpractice cases.
Economic Damages (Typically Not Capped)
Economic damages often include:
- Past and future medical bills
- Life care planning and rehabilitation
- Lost wages and loss of earning capacity
- Out-of-pocket medical expenses and related costs
Non-Economic Damages (Pain and Suffering)
Non-economic damages address intangible losses: pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium.
Florida’s law around caps has been highly contested. The Florida Supreme Court has struck down prior medical malpractice noneconomic damage caps as unconstitutional in key decisions.
At the same time, Florida’s statutes have continued to evolve — including legislative changes reflected in the current version of § 766.118.
Our approach is simple: we build the strongest possible damages case and fight for fair compensation, challenging improper attempts to limit recovery whenever the law allows.
Important Deadlines: The Statute of Limitations
Time limits can bar even the strongest medical malpractice claims. Florida generally applies a two-year limitations period tied to discovery — with a strict outer limit in most cases.
The 2-Year Discovery Rule
You generally have two years from the date you knew — or should have known — that malpractice likely occurred. That can be very different from the date of treatment, especially in delayed diagnosis and surgical error cases.
The Statute of Repose (The 4-Year Hard Stop)
Even if you didn’t discover the malpractice right away, Florida law typically imposes a four-year deadline from the date of the incident — with limited exceptions (including fraud, concealment, and special rules for minors).
If you suspect a claim, acting now protects your options.
Contact Our Casselberry Medical Malpractice Attorneys Today
Kennon Law attorneys can see why your claim was denied and help you file an appeal. If the insurance company is acting in bad faith and denying a legitimate, well-documented claim, we may also be able to file a bad-faith insurance lawsuit on your behalf. Contact us today for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Often, yes. Informed consent covers known risks — it does not excuse negligence, substandard care, or a breach of duty. A consent form is not permission to be careless.
It depends. Liability can involve a physician, surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurse, clinic, or hospital — and may include issues like employee vs. independent contractor, vicarious liability, and systems failures. We investigate all potential defendants.
Most medical malpractice attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay upfront fees; the fee comes from a recovery. Florida also has specific constitutional and Bar-related rules that can affect fee structures in medical liability claims (often discussed in connection with “Amendment 3”).
We explain fees clearly during your consultation so you can make an informed decision.
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Have questions or need legal assistance? Contact Kennon Law today for expert guidance on personal injury and insurance claims.
