According to some estimates, upward of 80% of the information reaching our brains comes through our eyes. As a result, a loss of sight, be it an unfortunate natural occurrence or blindness caused by medical malpractice in Jacksonville, FL, can profoundly affect your abilities and quality of life.
In the latter circumstance, a medical malpractice attorney in Jacksonville from Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers can help gather the evidence you need to prove a healthcare provider’s liability for your hindered vision.
For assistance, contact our office to schedule a free initial consultation. You can call us at (904) 396-1100.
How Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With Your Medical Malpractice Claim in Jacksonville, FL
Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers have fought for patients injured by malpractice in Jacksonville, Florida, for over a decade. Our attorneys have over a century of combined legal experience fighting medical professionals and their malpractice insurers.
If you were injured by a healthcare provider’s negligence, our firm provides the following legal services:
- A review of your situation and a discussion regarding your legal options for seeking compensation
- Evidence gathering to bolster your insurance claim
- Negotiations with your healthcare providers and insurers to try to resolve your claim
- Filing a lawsuit if opposing parties refuse to settle
Any form of visual impairment or loss can affect virtually every aspect of your life. Contact our law firm for a free consultation with a Jacksonville personal injury lawyer to discuss your options for pursuing fair compensation.
How Do Medical Errors Cause Blindness?
An error by a doctor, nurse, or medical facility can cause vision loss. Medical errors typically fall into the following three categories:
Diagnosis Errors
You might lose your vision because the doctor misdiagnoses or fails to diagnose your condition or injury. For example, an ophthalmologist might fail to conduct an eye pressure test, leading to permanent eye damage due to a delayed diagnosis of glaucoma.
Treatment Errors
A doctor’s unskilled or incompetent treatment might result in blindness. For example, a provider performing plastic surgery on your face might accidentally damage the nerves controlling the eye muscles, paralyzing them.
Miscommunication
Communication breakdowns between doctors or among staff members can lead to injuries. For example, a doctor might operate on the wrong eye because a nurse marked one instead of the other. They may even perform the wrong surgery altogether because of a mix-up of records.
What Causes Medical Malpractice in Jacksonville, FL?
Medical malpractice requires more than a medical error. The law understands that some risks are inherent in providing medical care. For example, a doctor does not commit a medication error if you suffer blindness due to a known side effect that was disclosed and discussed thoroughly with you.
Your lawyer must prove that the medical error was unreasonable to establish malpractice. In other words, you can pursue claims for conduct that failed to meet the professional standard of reasonable care under the circumstances. Thus, you might have a malpractice claim if your doctor failed to follow medical protocols or was drunk during your appointment.
We also handle all types of medical malpractice cases, including:
- Anesthesia Errors
- C-Section Injuries
- Cancer Misdiagnosis
- Cardiologist Malpractice
- Dropped Patient
- Emergency Room Errors
- Forceps Injuries
- Gynecologist Malpractice
- Hospital Malpractice
- Infant Brain Damage
- Neurosurgeon Malpractice
- Never Events
- Ophthalmologist Malpractice
- Optometrist Malpractice
- Orthopedic Surgeon Malpractice
- Radiological Errors
- Surgeon Malpractice
- Urologist Malpractice
What Can Affect the Value of My Malpractice Case?
The value of a malpractice claim can depend on many factors, the most influential among them being the severity of your injury. Total and permanent vision loss, for instance, would generally justify far greater compensation than temporary blindness or a loss of vision in only one eye.
However, other things can also impact what your medical malpractice claim is worth, including your ability to work, the identity of the at-fault provider, the nature of the error, and more. You should consult an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Jacksonville to learn more about the damages you can pursue.
What Compensation Can I Seek in a Florida Medical Malpractice Claim?
You can seek compensation for economic and non-economic losses. Economic damages are meant to cover the cost of your failed medical treatment, the expense of corrective medical care lost wages, and other financial losses.
Non-economic damages involve the more personal impacts of vision loss on your quality of life. For example, you can seek compensation for your inability to engage in your hobbies and the emotional suffering you may feel as a result.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Medical Malpractice Attorney in Jacksonville?
Most medical malpractice attorneys charge a contingency fee, an agreed percentage of any settlement or jury award received after settling or winning the case. The exact amount depends on the compensation recovered from the malpractice insurer and/or medical provider.
What Is the Deadline To File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Florida?
In Florida, you generally have two years to file a medical malpractice lawsuit (with some exceptions). The time starts when you discover (or should have reasonably discovered) that your blindness resulted from a medical error.
You must act quickly because Florida requires lawyers to perform a “reasonable investigation” before filing, in which they must consult a relevant professional to verify that your case involves negligence.
Contact Our Jacksonville Medical Malpractice Attorneys For a Free Initial Consultation To Discuss Your Vision Loss
Blindness from medical errors can result in significant financial costs and diminish your quality of life. Contact Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your injuries and how we can pursue compensation for your medical provider’s mistake.
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