Notice of Intent to Sue for Medical Malpractice

These days, everyone who can forward emails or scroll through social media feeds thinks they know more about your health than you do, but the more you learn about medicine, the less simple it is. If you have ever had a medical problem that required treatment by more than one specialist, you might have been surprised to hear your doctors contradicting each other; it is possible that two doctors can examine the same patient and read the same medical chart and have two different views on what to do next.  If you said to your hematologist, “That’s the opposite of what Dr. X told me,” your hematologist will say, “That’s because Dr. X isn’t a hematologist.  I have seen this happen with countless patients.”  Therefore, several stages of the medical malpractice claims process require doctors in the same subspecialty of medicine as the defendant to give their professional opinions on what the standard of care would dictate in the situation where the defendant allegedly erred. If you believe that your adverse outcome after treatment was due to a physician’s error and are considering filing a malpractice claim, contact a Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice attorney.

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Flounders Because of Poor Choice of Physician to Substantiate Plaintiff’s Claims

In 2007, Vaneshia Malcolm went to the emergency room because she was having trouble breathing. Dr. Plantz, the doctor on duty at the ER, diagnosed her with a goiter, which is an enlargement of the thyroid gland; it develops gradually due to insufficient thyroid hormone. He sent her home, and she died later that night because the goiter was obstructing her trachea.

Malcolm’s husband Edward John started the process to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in 2009. The first step is to notify the defendant of the intent to sue. Most defendants offer to initiate settlement negotiations when they receive this notice. Plaintiffs must attach to the notice a statement by a physician, substantiating the plaintiff’s claim that the defendant breached the standard of care, thereby committing malpractice. The physician who writes the statement must never have treated the patient who suffered the alleged malpractice but must have treated patients in the defendant’s subspecialty within the past six years. John’s notice included a substantiating statement by Dr. Dellerman, who had retired from practice as an ER physician in 2001. Therefore, more than six years had passed since he had treated patients in the ER.

Convinced that he had done nothing wrong, Dr. Plantz refused to settle, and the case went to trial. The case eventually resulted in a ruling in Dr. Plantz’s favor. John would have had a better chance of winning his case or getting a fair settlement without going to trial if his lawyer had chosen a more suitable doctor to write the substantiating statement attached to the initial notice of intent to sue.

Set Up a Consultation Today

A personal injury lawyer can help you settle your medical malpractice claim by seeking out a persuasive substantiating statement by a physician of appropriate professional background.  Contact Boone & Davis in Fort Lauderdale, Florida or call 954-566-9919 to explore your potential recovery options today.

Source:

tampabay.com/pinellas/doctor-facing-malpractice-suit-wins-key-appellate-court-ruling-20181114/