Miami Medical Malpractice Lawyer
When you place your health in the hands of a doctor, surgeon, hospital, or other healthcare provider, you have the right to expect appropriate and competent care. Unfortunately, medical negligence can cause serious injuries, permanent disabilities, additional medical treatment, and even death. When a healthcare provider fails to meet the required standard of care and that failure causes harm, the injured patient or the patient’s family may have a medical malpractice claim.
At Sotolongo Law, we represent patients and families in Miami and throughout South Florida who have been harmed by medical negligence. Medical malpractice is the firm’s primary area of focus, and Miami medical malpractice lawyer Pedro P. Sotolongo brings more than 20 years of experience in this highly technical area of law. He spent five years defending medical malpractice claims for a large national litigation firm before representing injured patients, giving him firsthand knowledge of how healthcare providers, insurance companies, defense lawyers, and medical experts approach these cases.
That background matters. Medical malpractice is not simply a legal dispute. It is a dispute about medicine, and understanding the medicine can be critical to understanding the law. At Sotolongo Law, we combine knowledge of both.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice, often called medical negligence, involves harm caused by a healthcare provider’s failure to meet the applicable professional standard of care. Florida law places the burden on the injured victim to prove, by the greater weight of the evidence, that the healthcare provider breached the prevailing professional standard of care and that the breach was a legal cause of the injury. Florida defines that standard as the level of care, skill, and treatment recognized as acceptable and appropriate under the circumstances by reasonably prudent similar healthcare providers.
Medical malpractice can occur in many different settings. A patient may be injured by a diagnostic error, medication mistake, surgical error, anesthesia mistake, failure to recognize a developing condition, inadequate monitoring, or another departure from accepted medical practice.
Some cases involve a single provider’s actions. Others involve multiple healthcare professionals, a hospital, an ambulatory surgical center, or another healthcare facility. Florida law also imposes specific duties on certain healthcare facilities concerning risk management, medical staff competence, selection and review of staff, and supervision.
Not every poor medical outcome constitutes malpractice. Medical treatment involves risks, and some complications can occur even when appropriate care is provided. The fact that a patient suffers an injury does not, by itself, establish negligence. The law requires evidence that the applicable standard of care was breached and that the breach proximately caused the injury.
Determining that distinction is one reason medical malpractice cases require careful investigation and medical expertise.
What a Patient Must Prove in a Florida Medical Malpractice Case
A medical malpractice claim requires evidence proving several connected elements. The patient must establish the applicable professional standard of care, demonstrate that the healthcare provider breached that standard, and show that the breach caused the patient’s injury. A medical malpractice case may require determining what a reasonably prudent similar provider should have done under the circumstances, whether the condition should have been identified, whether earlier treatment would have made a difference, and whether the delay caused additional harm.
These questions require testimony from qualified medical experts. They also require an attorney who can understand and evaluate that testimony.
Why Medical Knowledge Matters in a Malpractice Case
Pedro P. Sotolongo’s medical malpractice experience began on the defense side of these cases. During five years of defending medical malpractice claims, he learned how physicians, hospitals, insurers, defense attorneys, and medical experts evaluate allegations of negligence.
That experience provided more than knowledge of legal procedure. It required learning the medicine underlying the cases.
Today, that knowledge helps Sotolongo Law evaluate medical records, identify potentially significant events in a patient’s treatment, communicate with physicians, and work with experts when developing a claim. Medical terminology, diagnostic findings, surgical procedures, laboratory results, imaging studies, and treatment decisions can all become important evidence.
Every lawyer knows the law. Medical malpractice cases also require an understanding of the medicine.
That knowledge is particularly important when a case involves competing medical opinions. A defendant’s attorneys may argue that a complication was an unavoidable risk, that the provider acted appropriately, or that the patient’s underlying condition—not the provider’s conduct—caused the injury. Understanding the medical issues helps us examine those arguments and determine what the evidence actually shows.
Common Types of Medical Errors in Miami
Medical malpractice can arise from many types of negligent care. Some claims involve errors that occur in an operating room, while others involve failures that develop over days, weeks, or months.
Leading medical malpractice cases in Miami include:
- Surgical Errors
- Plastic Surgery Mistakes
- Misdiagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Medication errors
- Anesthesia mistakes
- Birth injuries
- Emergency room negligence
- Failure to monitor a patient
- Failure to recognize a worsening condition
- Negligent treatment
- Inadequate follow-up
- Other departures from accepted medical practice
Negligence in hospital and healthcare facilities may be an issue as well. Depending on the circumstances, a case may involve questions concerning staffing, supervision, credentialing, policies, risk management, or the conduct of healthcare personnel.
The important question is not simply whether something went wrong. The investigation must determine what should have happened, what actually happened, whether the difference constituted negligence, and whether that negligence caused injury.
Corroborating Expert Opinions
Florida medical malpractice law imposes procedural requirements that must be addressed before a lawsuit can be filed. These requirements make medical malpractice cases very different from other kinds of personal injury claims.
Florida Statutes § 766.203 requires the claimant to submit a corroborating expert opinion that reasonable grounds exist to believe that the provider was negligent and that the negligence resulted in injury. The claimant must submit this verified written medical expert opinion corroborating reasonable grounds for the claim when the notice of intent to file a lawsuit is mailed.
Attorney’s Certificate of Good Faith
Florida Statutes § 766.104 separately requires the attorney filing a medical negligence action to conduct a reasonable investigation supporting a good faith belief that negligence occurred. The initial pleading must contain a certificate from counsel stating that the investigation provided a good faith basis for the claim against each named defendant.
This is sometimes referred to as an attorney’s certificate or certificate of counsel. It reflects the fact that Florida law does not permit a medical malpractice lawsuit to be filed simply because a patient believes something went wrong.
The law requires meaningful investigation before litigation begins. Sotolongo Law’s medical malpractice experience is key to overcoming this procedural hurdle that could otherwise cause the case to be dismissed.
Notice of Intent to Sue for Medical Malpractice
Once the required presuit investigation has been completed, the claimant must provide each prospective defendant with a notice of intent to initiate medical negligence litigation before filing a lawsuit. Florida law establishes specific requirements for this process.
A prospective defendant must have at least 90 days after receiving the notice before the injured party can file a lawsuit. During that period, the defendant or its insurer investigates the claim and determines how it will respond. Florida law also provides for certain forms of informal presuit discovery and requires the parties to cooperate in good faith during the process.
The presuit process can therefore involve medical records, expert opinions, communications with the opposing side, and evaluation by insurance companies and defense counsel before a lawsuit is filed.
This is one reason it is important to involve experienced medical malpractice counsel early. Errors in the presuit process can have serious consequences for a potential claim.
Why the Medical Expert Opinion Is So Important
Medical experts can play a central role in establishing whether a healthcare provider breached the applicable standard of care and whether that breach caused the patient’s injury.
Beyond meeting legal requirements, the right expert can also help explain complicated medical issues to a judge or jury. An expert may be asked to address what a reasonably prudent provider would have done, whether the defendant departed from that standard, and how the departure caused the patient’s injury.
Our medical malpractice background helps us communicate effectively with medical professionals throughout this process. We understand that an expert is not simply someone whose name appears on a report. The medical expert must be able to evaluate the facts, explain the medicine, and withstand scrutiny from the opposing side.
Time Limits Can Affect a Medical Malpractice Claim
Florida imposes deadlines for bringing medical malpractice claims. Generally, an action must be commenced within two years from the time the incident occurred or from when the incident was discovered or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence. Florida law also generally establishes a four-year outside limitation from the date of the incident, subject to statutory exceptions, including provisions addressing fraud, concealment, misrepresentation, and certain claims involving minors.
The presuit process can affect these deadlines, and Florida law contains specific rules concerning tolling and extensions in certain circumstances. For example, § 766.104 provides for an automatic 90-day extension of the statute of limitations under specified circumstances to allow for the required investigation.
Because the applicable deadline can depend on the facts of the particular case, someone who believes they may have been injured by medical negligence should not wait to seek an evaluation.
A Boutique Miami Firm Prepared to Take on Powerful Defendants
Medical malpractice cases can put an individual patient or family opposite a hospital system, large medical practice, insurance company, or other organization with substantial resources. That does not change our approach.
Sotolongo Law is intentionally a boutique practice. We believe clients deserve to know who is handling their case and to receive personal attention throughout the process. At the same time, we are prepared to litigate against major insurers and hospital chains when the circumstances require it.
Our goal is to combine the accessibility and personal attention of a small firm with the experience necessary to handle sophisticated medical malpractice litigation.
For Spanish-speaking clients throughout Miami-Dade County, we also understand the importance of communicating clearly with families in their preferred language. Miami’s communities include large Cuban, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, and Argentinian populations, and we are proud to serve Spanish-speaking individuals and families who need help understanding their legal options after a serious medical injury.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the deadline to file a claim in Florida?
The Statute of Limitations in Florida is generally two years from the date the incident occurred or from when the injury was discovered (or should have been discovered) with reasonable diligence, up to four years from when the malpractice occurred. Exceptions do exist for various reasons, so don’t hesitate to contact an attorney to review your potential claim.
How do you prove medical malpractice occurred?
Plaintiffs must show that a healthcare provider breached the accepted Standard of Care for a similar patient in similar conditions.
Who can be held liable for medical malpractice?
In Florida, any healthcare professional—including nurses, technicians, therapists, and physician assistants, as well as the employing hospital or facility—can be held accountable.
What types of errors qualify as medical malpractice?
Frequent topics include surgical errors, misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, incorrect medication dosages, birth injuries, and anesthesia mistakes.
Can a settled case be reopened later?
Many people wonder if they can seek more money if their medical condition worsens after their case has settled. However, once a settlement agreement is signed and finalized, it is generally impossible to reopen the case. Working with a qualified legal team can help ensure the full extent of damage is included in your claim.
Contact a Miami Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If you or a family member has suffered a preventable injury after medical treatment, surgery, cosmetic surgery, hospitalization, or another form of healthcare in Miami, Sotolongo Law can help you understand whether the circumstances may support a medical malpractice claim.
Contact Sotolongo Law today for a free consultation about your potential medical malpractice claim. We will listen to your concerns, explain the legal process, and discuss the options available based on the circumstances of your case. You do not pay an attorney’s fee unless we obtain a recovery for you. When you need a Miami medical malpractice lawyer who understands both the law and the medicine, contact Sotolongo Law. Because We Care®.