When someone is hurt or dies in a hospital, nursing home or due to a health care professional’s negligence or inaction, it may be time to consider a medical malpractice lawsuit. These cases are especially devastating as you put your trust into a professional who should be doing everything they can to help you or your loved one recover. Doctors, hospitals, hospital staff, nurses, technicians and dentists are all capable of committing malpractice.

How a Florida Malpractice Lawyer Can Help You

Medical malpractice is a type of personal injury and it’s important to seek representation from a lawyer who is experienced handling these cases. It’s not uncommon to receive a settlement offer for a paltry sum or money or have your claims ignored. If you were hurt during medical treatment, it’s important to remember that you have rights.

When considering which Florida medical malpractice lawyer to represent you, there are a number of things to consider before you make your decision. Is the lawyer board certified in civil trial law (the highest level of professional achievement available)? Most lawyers who claim to be personal injury attorneys are not board certified, so it is important to determine that. Is the lawyer you are considering pre-eminent in his or her field has he or she written extensively, lectured, taught or been recognized as being at the top of the field in trial law?

Does the lawyer regularly litigate and try medical malpractice case? If so, find out what kind of results that lawyer has had in court. What is the settlement history of the lawyer? Is the potential attorney a member of The Best Lawyers in America? Has he or she been selected for inclusion in Florida SuperLawyers, Florida Legal Elite and “Top Lawyers” in the South Florida Legal Guide? Does the lawyer hold an “A-V” rating (highest possible rating for ability and ethics) by Martindale-Hubbell? Does the lawyer have a 10.0 rating by AVVO.com? These are a few things that you want to consider when selecting a personal injury lawyer in Florida. Leighton Panoff Law’s John Elliott Leighton has all of these qualifications and routinely litigates and tries major personal injury cases throughout Florida, having obtained some of the state’s highest verdicts. Max Panoff litigates and tries complex medical negligence cases with Mr. Leighton and has extensive experience recovering substantial recoveries against health care providers.

Mr. Leighton was the lead attorney in the largest verdict in Seminole County, Fla. history, a $24.1 million medical malpractice verdict in the case of Shoaf v. Geiling. (Source: Orlando Business Journal, 6/20/2005.)  In that case, medical mistakes by the doctor and nurses resulted in birth trauma that left a young girl with cerebral palsy. Additionally, he has obtained multi-million dollar recoveries in many other medical malpractice cases throughout Florida as well as in Texas and Illinois.

Recently Mr. Leighton obtained a $9,000,000 recovery for a woman who suffered permanent brain injury following a complication of surgery. The failure to properly monitor and treat her was tragic. She and her family now have the resources with which to have lifetime care, educate their children, and provide a firm financial future.

Mr. Leighton has represented many children whose deliveries were performed negligently, causing birth trauma. Mr. Leighton recently obtained a settlement of $3,750,000 for a child who suffered nerve injuries due to a traumatic delivery in Central Florida. In another, the hospital and physicians failed to recognize that the mother was high risk and had an infection. Instead of immediately delivering the baby, they delayed and even transferred the mother to another hospital before the baby was finally delivered. The delay resulted in oxygen deprivation to the child, resulting in cerebral palsy, developmental delay, and blindness. A confidential settlement was obtained from the hospital and physician. In another case, Mr. Leighton represented the surviving spouse who lost his wife because of a surgical error. His wife delivered their child through caesarian section surgery. The surgeon failed to remove the placenta from the patient after delivery of the baby. Hours later, our client`s wife developed a high fever and dramatic infection which led to her untimely death. A confidential settlement in excess of $1.5 million was obtained to secure the financial stability of this family.

Medication errors frequently result in tragedy.  Mr. Leighton won a $2,750,000 recovery for a woman who was given two medications that were never supposed to be given together, causing her serious injuries.  In another, the hospital gave too much of a commonly administered medication that resulted in severe bleeding.  In yet another case, Mr. Leighton obtained a substantial settlement on behalf of a man who was treated in the emergency room.  The nurse gave him an injection in the wrong place which resulted in a serious neurologic injury.

Often the health care providers do not properly communicate with one another.  Mr. Leighton recovered a $3 million settlement on behalf of a family whose mother died because the surgeon never communicated with the other physicians about the woman’s serious medical condition, and then left town, only to have the woman die because she did not receive needed treatment.  These are precisely the types of preventable medical mistakes Leighton Panoff Law lawyers seek to prevent through our civil justice system.  When the errors occur, our goal is to help our clients obtain the very best compensation available.

John Leighton’s record for victims of medical mistakes include verdicts and settlements of $24.1 million,  $11.25 million, $9 million, $8 million (arbitration award), $5.5 million, $5 million, $4.3 million, $3.75 million, $3.65 million, $3 million, and $2.75 million, and are just examples of the recoveries he has obtained for victims of medical mistakes.

The Firm prides itself on public education as well as aggressive client representation.  John Leighton regularly authors articles on medical safety, including “The 5 Most Common Medical Mistakes and How You Can Avoid Being a Medical Mistake Victim,” published in the 2016 issue of the South Florida Legal Guide.  Mr. Leighton recently published an article, “Why You Are Safer On The Highways Than In A Hospital: Medical Errors Kill (a lot) More People,” in the South Florida Legal Guide.  The article explains why the health care system is so dangerous to patients and why the civil justice system is the best way to protect victims of medical mistakes:

Why You Are Safer on a Highway Filled With Drunks Than in a Hospital

The medical malpractice attorneys and staff of paralegals and nurses at Leighton Panoff Law are here to help you. We’ll go over the details of your case, walk you through the process and protect your rights.

Do I Have a Case?

If you have been hurt by the actions of a health care professional, or their inaction, there are four primary requirements to prove before you can file a claim. We’ll investigate your case to determine if it meets these requirements:

• A doctor-patient relationship was established. This means the health care professional was treating you and working as your physician in some capacity.
• The doctor or health care provider/hospital was negligent. We must also prove that the doctor or professional acted in a way that was not competent, causing you harm or suffering. To prove this, we look at the standard of treatment for your case.
• The negligent action or inaction (mistake) caused you harm. This can be difficult to prove if you or your loved one was already sick or injured before treatment, although a medical expert can testify on your behalf to show the professional’s treatment directly led to the injury.
• Real damages were incurred. Finally, we will show that there are specific damages with your claim, which may include additional medical expenses, mental anguish, pain and suffering, reduced earning capacity or lost wages.

All four of these requirements must be in place to have a valid malpractice claim. You most likely do not have a valid case if the doctor or hospital treated you according to the standard of care, for example, or if you were not harmed if they deviated from this established standard of care.

Leighton Panoff Law only handles and pursues meritorious cases against physicians and health care providers. We owe that to our clients and the community It is important to the medical profession that meritorious claims are brought (to protect people and encourage safer medical practice) and that those which are not meritorious are not pursued (because medical professionals should not be accountable when they have not caused harm).

Remember, time is very important in these cases as there is a statute of limitations and Florida law protects health care professionals if you fail to file a lawsuit within a certain period of time. Contact our medical malpractice attorneys in our Miami or Orlando offices as soon as possible so we can file a claim before time runs out to get you the compensation you deserve.

 

Disclaimer: The information about past verdicts and settlements of the firm’s cases are based on the unique facts of each case. These amounts reflect the gross recovery in each case (before attorneys fees, expenses and medical costs are deducted). Although these results were obtained by our firm, they may not indicate the success or value of any other case as each case is unique. By clicking on Verdicts and Settlements you are acknowledging that every case is different and each case must be evaluated on its own merits. The information contained here has not been reviewed or approved by The Florida Bar.