South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
Under Florida law, health care providers owe a duty to their patients. This duty requires doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to provide a certain level of care to their patients. When a medical professional fails to live up to this duty, and a patient is injured as a result, the patient may be able to pursue compensation through a South Florida medical malpractice lawsuit.
Medical malpractice claims can be complex, and they often raise several unanticipated issues. One of the most critical early decisions that an injured patient must make is which parties to name as defendants. Of course, the medical professional whose negligence resulted in the patient’s injuries is an obvious choice. However, there may be other parties that can be named to improve a plaintiff’s chance of recovering compensation for their injuries.
This stands true for all Florida personal injury cases. And a common source of liability is an at-fault party’s employer. For example, under the doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer can be held liable for the negligent acts of their employee. Thus, employers are routinely named as defendants in cases involving an employee’s negligence. However, most medical professionals are legally classified as contractors rather than employees, making a respondeat superior claim difficult, if not impossible.
Injured patients may be able to pursue a claim against the party that allowed the negligent medical professional to work at the facility where the plaintiff’s injury occurred. A negligent credentialing claim is similar to a negligent hiring claim. For example, if a surgeon made an error while operating on a patient at a hospital, the patient may be able to name the hospital as a defendant under a negligent credentialing claim.
Notably, a negligent credentialing claim is not based on vicarious liability. Instead, it proceeds under a theory of primary negligence. In other words, the party issuing credentials to the medical professional was negligent in granting the professional the necessary credentials to use their facility. To establish a claim of negligent credentialing, an injured patient must show that:
- The facility had a duty to appropriately credential the applicant;
- The facility breached that duty;
- The patient was injured as a result of the facility’s breach; and
- The patient suffered damages as a result of the facility’s breach.
Whether negligent credentialing is an issue in a case comes down to the specific facts of each case. Anyone who has been injured due to the negligence of a Florida medical provider should speak with an attorney to discuss their case and possible options.
Do You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer?
If you or a loved one has recently been injured due to the negligence of a Florida medical provider, contact the attorneys at Friedman, Rodman & Frank, P.A. Our dedicated Florida medical malpractice lawyers diligently work to pursue full and fair compensation on behalf of our injured clients. We handle all types of medical malpractice claims, as well as other Florida personal injury cases, including car accident cases and slip and fall claims. To learn more, and to schedule your free consultation today, call 877-448-8585.