Pictures and Your Medical Malpractice Claim

The saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” is especially true in a personal injury case, particularly the heart-wrenching cases of medical malpractice or medical negligence. We go to doctors so they can heal us, and we trust that they know what they are doing. While most of the time all goes well, sometimes negligence or even malicious actions can leave you injured because of the medical treatments you received.

As a Florida personal injury attorney with extensive experience helping patients collect significant compensation for medical malpractice claims, I create the strongest case possible for my clients by collecting the most powerful evidence. This evidence includes documentation and expert testimony, but it also includes photos.

Proving medical malpractice or negligence

In order to demonstrate medical malpractice or negligence, you must demonstrate all of these “4 Ds”:

Duty: The medical provider had the duty to provide care, which is to say that there is an established patient-doctor relationship, not just a casual remark from a medical professional you happen to know
Dereliction of that duty: The physician or medical provider failed to follow standards of acceptable medical practice, such that another competent and prudent medical provider would follow
Direct or proximate cause: The injury can be directly or closely connected to the medical negligence
Damages: There is a clear injury for which patients can seek compensation

If you live anywhere in Florida and you believe these four conditions apply to you, contact me at (954) 448-7288, 24/7 for a free consultation to discuss your case.

Types of malpractice or negligence

Medical malpractice or negligence can occur in a variety of ways, and sometimes more than one instance occurs in the same case. Some examples of types of negligence or malpractice include:

Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
Surgical errors
Anesthesia errors
Pharmaceutical errors
Failure to treat
Infections
Childbirth injuries to mother or child

Courts are careful in weighing malpractice or negligence against the general risk in any medical intervention. Doctors are human, after all, and can make mistakes. So it is critical for us to collect clear evidence of malpractice or negligence, demonstrating dereliction of duty (point 2 of the 4 Ds), and then support with strong evidence the damage that was done to you.

Many people see multiple medical providers in the course of an illness or injury. Through our discussion, I will gather the information necessary to see if more than one provider has been negligent and has contributed to your suffering. I leave no stone unturned to help my clients receive the compensation they deserve.

Building a strong case

In a medical malpractice or negligence case, you can sue for any of the following situations that apply:

Medical expenses, current and future
Expenses related to mental health, current and future
Lost wages and future lost earnings
Property damage
Other expenses caused by the accident, such as necessary changes to your home to accommodate your injuries
Pain and suffering: physical, emotional, and relational
Loss of companionship in the case of serious permanent injury or death

We will need to collect concrete evidence of your expenses, property damage, accommodations, and more, but there is no better evidence than photographs. You will want to include pictures of your injuries, if they are visible, but also include pictures of how the malpractice has impacted your life.

For example, if a surgeon nicked a nerve during an operation, which has left you with limited mobility now, think through all the ways this has affected your life.

Did you used to enjoy sports? Were you an avid runner, skier, or rock climber? Provide pictures of you performing those activities, as well as pictures of your limitations now: inability to climb stairs without help, needing a walker or wheelchair, etc. If you needed to add a ramp to your house, include a picture of that or any other modifications.

Are you unable to play with your kids now? Show pictures of you throwing the ball with your children or walking on the beach with them previously, as well as pictures of yourself with your kids now, doing what you can do–maybe reading a book or talking to them from your bed.

Were you an avid cook with Instagram photos of your beautiful meals? Show those delicious pictures. Then include a picture of you unable to reach the counters, or if you had the kitchen remodeled to have lower counters and cabinets, show pictures of that, as evidence of the tremendous expense paid to accommodate your limited mobility.

We can help

We will talk this through together, address each limitation that you now experience, and develop a strategy using photos and documentation to demonstrate how the medical failures affected your life. Every case I take on becomes personal to me, as if one of my own friends or loved ones had been injured, and I work vigorously to uncover every possible expense or complication for my clients to help them get the maximum settlement for their loss. I will go to court if necessary, and I have a track record of winning significant awards. Contact me today from anywhere in Florida at (954) 448-7288 to schedule your free consultation.