Legal Duty of Care and Holding Healthcare Professionals Accountable
Pursuing justice after a medical injury will likely include the concept of duty of care. For example, when it comes to Florida healthcare professionals and medical experts, there are specific standards of care that they are required to follow. If you believe you or someone you love experienced a breach of this duty when receiving care in Clearwater, Hudson, or Tampa, discuss the possibility of pursuing financial compensation with a skilled injury attorney.
Medical Jobs and Healthcare Standards
When discussing healthcare professionals, many jobs are included, such as doctors, nurses, and surgeons. All of these professionals are legally obligated to provide a level of care that meets a certain standard when treating patients.
Duty of care expectations are based on the professional training each position has received as well as their experience and the prevailing medical standards that exist within their profession. So, when you receive medical services, you have a right to the degree of skill, care, and diligence that would be supplied under similar circumstances by another reasonably competent healthcare professional.
Of course, if you want to seek justice and be compensated after failing to receive proper care, you must be able to establish that a healthcare professional failed to meet the required standard of care.
- Assessing standard of care. The first step is to establish what the standard of care of the specific medical situation is, including how a reasonably competent healthcare professional with similar training and experience would have performed given the facts of the situation.
- Expert testimony. Often statements from experts are required in order to prove a breach of duty of care. For instance, a qualified Florida medical expert in the same field can provide an opinion on whether the accused medical professional’s actions or omissions are in line with expected job performance. If experts believe the person deviated from the standard of care, this is crucial evidence.
- Determination of negligence. Then, if the actions of the healthcare professional fell below the expected standard of care, such as medication errors, surgical errors, failure to obtain consent, or inadequate post-operative care, the breach in care can be deemed negligent behavior.
- Connection to current injury or illness. And finally, there must be clear evidence of a causal link between the healthcare professional’s breach of duty and the harm sustained by the patient.
Gathering all the evidence you need to prove these factors is not simple, but when you consult an experienced personal injury lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice cases, they can evaluate your case, gather necessary evidence, and guide you through the legal process.
Talk to a Clearwater Medical Malpractice Attorney
Is it time for you to hold a medical professional accountable for your injury or illness? If there is proof that duty of care was breached, the injured party could be eligible for financial compensation. Discuss the particularity of your car with the attorneys at Roman & Roman. With over 100 years of combined experience, our attorneys will fight for a full and fair recovery package. To get started, schedule a free consultation today.
Although the law firm of Roman & Roman has offices in Clearwater, Hudson and Tampa, we handle cases and claims throughout  Florida. We also meet personally with our clients if at all possible, rather than impersonally over the phone or on the Internet.
