Professional malpractice isn’t just a “bad experience.” It’s a breach of trust, a preventable harm, and an avoidable disaster that can derail a person’s health, career, family life, and financial stability. Whether that malpractice occurs in the medical field or another field that can directly affect someone’s health, the malpractice can be grounds for a lawsuit.
A malpractice lawsuit often starts with an insurance claim. That claim can morph into a lawsuit if liable insurers are unwilling to offer a fair settlement. When the lawsuit begins, the next steps can be to continue negotiating. Eventually, the case may go to court, at which time the injured party’s attorney will work to convince a jury to award fair compensation to their client.
As you might suspect, resolving a professional malpractice claim or lawsuit is significantly more complicated than the above description suggests—we wanted to provide you with a digestible, big-picture preview of how your case might unfold. When you actually need to file a malpractice claim or lawsuit, hire a Fort Lauderdale, FL, medical malpractice attorney who is fully capable of leading your case from start to finish.
Call Englander Peebles today at (954) 500-4878 or contact us online, and we will reach back out to you.
Key Takeaways About Malpractice Lawsuits
- Professional malpractice occurs when a professional fails to meet the standards of their field, and that failure harms someone.
- Malpractice victims commonly file an insurance claim before filing a lawsuit; however, these claims often escalate because insurers deny, delay, or minimize payouts.
- Many personal injury firms handle a wide range of professional malpractice cases, from medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, mental health professional negligence, pharmacy errors, and engineering malpractice that results in structural failures (and injuries).
- Medical malpractice is one of the most commonly litigated forms of malpractice due to the severity, frequency, and complexity of medical errors.
- Recoverable damages in professional malpractice cases can include medical costs, lost income, future care, mental health care, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, and, in severe cases, wrongful death damages.
- You should hire your professional malpractice attorney from Englander Peebles as soon as possible, as lost evidence, faded witness testimony, and missed deadlines can be catastrophic to your case prospects—as catastrophic as the injuries that inspire these cases.
What Is Professional Malpractice?
Professional malpractice occurs when a licensed professional fails to provide the level of skill, care, or diligence expected of someone in their field. When that failure directly harms someone, that victim has grounds to seek compensation through a malpractice lawsuit.
Many people are most familiar with medical malpractice. It is the type of professional malpractice that most frequently results in catastrophic injuries (and fatal ones), so the attention is warranted.
That said, many types of professionals can cause catastrophic harm when they cut corners, ignore protocols, act carelessly, and disregard others’ safety.
Professional malpractice cases can arise from:
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse and neglect
- Mental health professional malpractice
- Pharmacy errors
- Engineering malpractice (which may manifest as roof collapses, elevator accidents, bridge collapses, fires, deck collapses, and other life-threatening events)
Simply investigating possible professional malpractice can be a considerable undertaking. Successfully securing compensation for victims of professional malpractice is even more difficult than identifying the malpractice, and that’s why you should allow the Englander Peebles team to lead your case.
In South Florida, where the population is dense and often in a state of rapid growth, professional malpractice can affect more victims than it would elsewhere. For instance, if a bridge collapses in Florida, more vehicles and pedestrians might be on that bridge than in less populous, bustling locales.
The same is true of Florida’s healthcare system, which is uncommonly stressed by a high in-state population and a disproportionate number of elderly residents. Yet, a high number of patients is no excuse for one in 25 patients developing an infection as a result of their medical care, as one example of all-too-common medical malpractice.
While the Englander Peebles team can help with any type of professional malpractice that has caused harm to you or your loved one, medical malpractice is the type of professional malpractice we handle most often. It is also the type of professional malpractice that causes the most significant harm to the greatest number of Floridians.
Therefore, let’s quickly examine what, exactly, medical malpractice is.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice
If you understand what medical malpractice is, you may better understand what professional malpractice is as a whole. Once we define the line between unavoidable medical errors and medical malpractice, you can do the same in other professional industries.
Medical malpractice is about preventable errors—errors that would never have happened if one or more medical professionals had done their basic duty to protect the patient. Some of the most common forms of medical malpractice include:
- Failure to diagnose (which can go hand-in-hand with ignoring or minimizing patient symptoms
- Delayed diagnosis
- Misdiagnosis that leads to the wrong treatment
- Surgical errors
- Anesthesia mistakes
- Medication errors or incorrect pharmaceutical decisions
- Birth injuries to mothers or newborns
- Failure to monitor a patient’s condition
- Inadequate communication among medical staff
- Failure to order necessary tests
- Hospital-acquired infections caused by protocol failures
One study found that more than 31 percent of physicians are sued at some point in their careers (and the actual figure is likely higher, since responding physicians presumably had more years of practice ahead of them). It gives you an idea of the scale of medical malpractice, which is a chronic threat to the safety of South Floridians of all ages and income brackets.
How Malpractice Cases Usually Begin
If you want to know what happens in a malpractice lawsuit, you must know how these cases typically begin. Most malpractice victims start their journey long before a lawsuit is filed. In fact, the majority begin by filing an insurance claim, not a lawsuit.
Here’s how the early stages typically unfold:
Recognizing that something feels wrong
Most people don’t immediately say, “I just experienced malpractice.” Instead, that suspicion tends to arise after significant reflection and critical thought. Eventually, victims realize that something about the professional service(s) they received was not right.
Seeking a second medical opinion
When the malpractice involves medical care, the victim often seeks a second opinion. This is when many victims first discover that their original provider made a preventable mistake.
Contacting a malpractice lawyer
Englander Peebles helps the victim of malpractice understand whether the professional’s mistake meets the legal definition of malpractice and whether compensation can be available for the victim’s damages.
Filing an insurance claim
Professionals who might commit malpractice typically carry professional liability insurance. Before filing a lawsuit, your Florida malpractice lawyer may submit a detailed claim to the insurance carrier, explaining the error and the resulting harm you have suffered.
Waiting for the insurer’s response
Sometimes insurers deny professional malpractice claims. Sometimes they delay, thinking the claimant might drop their claim in response to the silent treatment. Sometimes insurers offer settlements that don’t even cover the victim’s medical bills.
When insurance companies operate with this kind of bad faith, the victim of malpractice has little recourse but to file a lawsuit.
How (and Why) Malpractice Claims Can Become Lawsuits
Once an insurer proves its intention not to provide the compensation the victim of malpractice deserves, our attorneys discuss with our client the possibility of filing a lawsuit. We might explain to that client that we are up against:
- The insurer denying their policyholder’s wrongdoing
- The insurer minimizing the victim’s injuries or losses
- The insurer delaying for months in a blatant attempt to avoid paying
- Settlement offers that are far too low to cover medical care and future needs
A lawsuit may also be necessary when the malpractice victim’s damages far surpass insurance companies’ coverage limits. This is often the case when a victim is catastrophically or fatally injured.
Once a lawsuit is filed, the case enters a more formal process with deadlines, court rules, discovery requirements, and a judge overseeing the matter. That’s when victims truly see the value of hiring a law firm with experience, talent, and grit—qualities Englander Peebles is known for in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami legal communities.
Common Recoverable Damages in Malpractice Cases
Malpractice victims may be eligible to recover damages that cover both financial losses and non-economic harm, which can include:
- Medical bills
- Costs of future medical care
- Lost income
- Loss of earning capacity
- Rehabilitation and therapy costs
- Mental health counseling
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Home modification costs
- In-home nursing care
- Wrongful death damages for surviving family members
One detail that often shocks clients: future care can be the single biggest category of compensation. Injuries from medical mistakes (and other types of professional malpractice) often require ongoing treatment for years—or a lifetime—and a lawyer must accurately calculate and document these costs.
How a Professional Malpractice Lawyer from Englander Peebles Will Build Your Case
Building a malpractice case is a sophisticated, evidence-driven process that is best handled by those with a blend of medical knowledge, investigative experience, and legal know-how. At Englander Peebles, we treat these cases like long-term projects that require precision and care at every stage.
Our team will build your case step-by-step by:
Collecting and Analyzing Medical Records
Medical records are the backbone of any winning malpractice case. In medical malpractice cases, such records can serve as both evidence of negligence and proof of the harm the victim has suffered.
Consulting with Experts
Nearly all malpractice cases require testimony from experts in the same field as the negligent professional. These experts strengthen the case by explaining what should have happened—and how the negligent professional fell short.
Interviewing Witnesses to the Malpractice (or Those Who Have Seen Its Effects on You)
These witnesses might include hospital staff, caregivers, family members, or others who observed the negligence or its aftermath.
Negotiating with Liable Insurers
Even once a lawsuit has begun, insurers may be willing (or even eager) to settle. We often find that once the insurance company recognizes we are willing to go to trial, they may finally accept a fair offer out of fear they might lose more money at trial.
If we do need to take your case to trial, you can be confident knowing the courtroom is like a second home to the attorneys at Englander Peebles.
Frequently Asked Questions: Malpractice Law Suit
Because we have heard these questions from many victims of professional malpractice, we suspect that you might want to know:
1. How long does a malpractice case take?
Malpractice cases are among the most complex personal injury claims and can take months or even years to complete. Yet, the aggressive, efficient approach from Englander Peebles means our clients never wait unnecessarily long for a resolution.
2. Do all malpractice cases go to trial?
No. Many cases settle out of court. But preparing every case as if it will go to trial is the Englander Peebles way.
3. Can I sue on behalf of a family member who died from malpractice?
Yes, you may be eligible to do so. Florida’s wrongful death laws allow surviving family members to pursue compensation when they meet the legal conditions for doing so.
Justice Can’t Wait When Professional Malpractice Leaves You Hurting, Call a Trusted Lawyer Today
Malpractice cases move fast, and the law does not wait for anyone. Florida’s statute of limitations for malpractice can be strict, and in some cases, victims may have as little as two years to take legal action. Time can run out before you realize the deadline has passed, and that is one of several reasons to reach out to us right away.
Englander Peebles is ready to step in the moment you call. And because we work on a contingency fee basis, you can hire us without paying anything upfront. There is no financial barrier, no long wait, and no reason to delay.
If you believe malpractice played a role in your injury—or the injury of someone you love—call Englander Peebles, a trusted Fort Lauderdale, FL, personal injury lawyer, today at (954) 500-4878 or contact us online to complete your free, no-pressure consultation.