Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyer | Negligence in Health Care

When you put your health—or the health of someone you love—in the hands of a doctor, nurse, or hospital, you expect competent, careful treatment. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. Medical malpractice can cause life-changing harm, and the path forward can feel daunting.

I’ve spent my career holding healthcare providers accountable when their negligence injures patients. These are complex, high-stakes cases, but for me, they come down to something simple: if someone’s mistake caused you harm, you deserve answers, accountability, and compensation.

What Counts as Medical Malpractice in Florida?

Medical malpractice happens when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care and that failure causes injury. In every case, we have to prove four things:

  1. Duty of Care – The provider owed you competent medical treatment.
  2. Breach – They failed to meet that professional standard.
  3. Causation – Their failure directly caused your injury.
  4. Damages – You suffered physical, emotional, or financial harm.

FAQ: What are examples of malpractice?
Misdiagnosis, surgical mistakes, medication errors, birth injuries, anesthesia errors, failure to treat a diagnosed condition, and emergency room mistakes are among the most common.

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The Most Common Medical Malpractice Cases I Handle

  • Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis – When early detection could have made the difference, but the provider missed or misread the signs.
  • Surgical Errors – Wrong-site surgery, wrong procedure, leaving instruments inside the patient, or causing nerve damage.
  • Medication Errors – Prescribing the wrong drug or dosage, ignoring drug interactions, or overlooking allergies.
  • Birth InjuriesCerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries, fractures, and maternal harm during labor or delivery.
  • Anesthesia Errors – Overdose, underdose, failing to monitor vital signs, or missing important medical history.
  • Failure to Treat – Diagnosing a condition but not treating it promptly or appropriately.
  • Emergency Room ErrorsMisdiagnosing heart attacks or strokes, improper triage, or failing to order necessary tests.

Damages in a Florida Medical Malpractice Case

If malpractice caused your injury, you may be entitled to recover:

  • Economic Damages – Medical bills (past and future), rehabilitation, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, long-term care costs.
  • Non-Economic Damages – Pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life.
  • Punitive Damages – In rare cases, for reckless or egregious misconduct.

FAQ: Are there limits on damages in Florida?
Yes—Florida caps non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. The limit depends on whether the defendant is a practitioner or a non-practitioner.

Florida’s Filing Deadlines

You generally have two years from the date of the malpractice—or from the date you discovered it—to file a claim.

FAQ: Are there exceptions?
Yes—if fraud or concealment by the provider delayed discovery, the time limit may be extended.

How I Approach These Cases

Medical malpractice claims require deep investigation, expert testimony, and meticulous preparation. Here’s how my team and I work:

  • Comprehensive Review – We gather and analyze your medical records, consult with leading experts, and evaluate whether malpractice occurred.
  • Meeting Florida’s Pre-Suit Requirements – We prepare all necessary notices and expert affidavits before filing.
  • Negotiating for You – Many cases resolve before trial, but we prepare every case as if it’s going to court.
  • Taking it to Trial – If the only way to get justice is through a jury verdict, we’re ready.

FAQ: Will my case go to trial?
Many resolve in settlement, but we build every case for the courtroom to maximize leverage and results.

Contact Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa Today

If you or a loved one has been injured due to medical malpractice, don’t wait. Contact

Cases involving surgical errors, birth injuries, and hospital negligence can be among the most complex in personal injury law. Our attorneys have experience handling cases like the tragic death of a young patient following a bone marrow transplant, where families deserve answers and accountability.

Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about your legal rights. Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys are ready to fight for the compensation you deserve, so you can focus on healing and moving forward with your life.

 

Frequently Asked Question Videos

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The Most Common Medical Malpractice Claims Explained | Rafferty Domnick Cunningham Yaffa
The Most Common Medical Malpractice Claims Explained | Rafferty Domnick Cunningham Yaffa

Video Transcript

The most common types of medical malpractice cases that we see here at RDCY really fall into two main categories. We see a lot of birth injury traumas where you have lifelong injuries caused to newborns during the delivery process. Either too much force is used or the baby is allowed to be in the birth canal for too long and the baby goes into distress and because of the oxygen deprivation because of the lack of oxygen to the brain. The babies then suffer lifelong injuries. We also see a lot of stroke cases where when you have a stroke and there are two different types of main strokes that we see. We see ischemic strokes which are strokes where there’s a blockage in the brain and then we see hemorrhagic strokes where there’s a bleed and often when somebody shows up at the hospital. There’s a specific window of time within which uh TPA can be given. It’s a clot busting drug. We see a lot of stroke cases where people appear at the hospital within the appropriate window to receive that clot busting drug and they don’t receive it and as a result they don’t end up making the same recovery that they otherwise would have made.

What Counts as Medical Malpractice? | Rafferty Domnick Cunningham Yaffa
What Counts as Medical Malpractice? | Rafferty Domnick Cunningham Yaffa

Video Transcript

We get calls all the time about whether or not I have a medical malpractice claim or not. Unfortunately, sometimes, even with the most appropriate medical care, there are bad outcomes. And just having a bad outcome does not mean automatically that you have a valid medical malpractice claim. In Florida, there are very strict requirements that we have to abide by before we can ever even pursue a medical malpractice claim.

First and foremost, we have to have an expert on board and we have to have an expert write an affidavit basically saying that the target defendant, the doctor or the nurse that we’re going after fell beneath the appropriate standard of care. Uh because again because you can have a bad outcome even with appropriate care. You need to have an expert in place that can say I’ve reviewed the medical records and this doctor or this nurse did not comply with the applicable standard of care and as a result you have a valid reason to move forward and pursue a medical malpractice case. It’s not like an auto accident or any other type of general negligence case where you can just file a lawsuit the day after a crash. You actually have to comply with Florida statute and presuit notice requirements before you could ever pursue a medical malpractice claim.

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