Christopher D. Russo, Esq.AttorneyChris Russo was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2006 and started practicing in the area of personal injury in 2007. Mr. Russo has since spent his entire legal career in Polk County and is proud to live and work in this community. He grew up in Lakeland, Florida, attended Lake Gibson High School…
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Lakeland Personal Injury Lawyer For Medical Malpractice Cases
Your life quickly changes when you have a personal injury. Many of these changes are forever and they often impact an entire family rather than just the injured person.
At Russo Law, our Lakeland FL personal injury lawyer can help you with your personal injury case by getting to the right doctors who can help with medical diagnosis and treatment, how your medical treatment is going to be covered, and ultimately the amount of money that you can recover on your personal injury case.
Trucking & Auto
Wreck Injuries
Understanding The Basics Of Personal Injury Claims In Florida
Types of Florida Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle
Misdiagnosis
Failure to make a diagnosis
Wrong diagnosis
Unnecessary procedures
Insufficient aftercare
Vicarious Liability In Florida Personal Injury Cases
What Is Vicarious Liability?
In personal liability cases, vicarious liability is a secondary liability. This form of liability aims to hold all parties that caused you harm fiscally responsible for damages. Typically, cases involving personal injury caused by the employee of a company would seek to place vicarious liability on the company.
From medical malpractice to auto accidents, personal injuries can happen to anyone at any time. Vicarious liability is a way to hold all parties responsible for the part they played in causing you harm.
Personal injury lawyers at Russo Law spend meticulous time combing through evidence that supports your claim. We want to ensure you are awarded due compensation. Being awarded damages for the injuries you’ve suffered helps tremendously on your road to recovery after an accident.
Russo Law understands the inner workings of vicarious liability and is happy to assist you with your case. If you or a loved one is seeking compensation for a personal injury, we want to work with you.
We want to represent you in your personal injury case and bring all parties involved to justice. Call Russo Law today at (863) 243-6166 to schedule a consultation.
Respondeat Superior Doctrine In Florida
Have you ever heard of cases in which a company is sued due to the misconduct of one of its employees? What you’ve witnessed is vicarious liability. In Florida, vicarious liability is governed by respondeat superior doctrine.
Respondeat superior doctrine rules that an employer can be held accountable for injuries its employee caused someone. Many personal injury lawyers seek to prove the vicarious liability of a company in situations where the employee caused harm while on the job.
In these situations, the scope of employment is heavily considered. Most commonly, an employee’s misconduct or negligence that causes a personal injury can be attributed to the company.
While a person’s actions are their own, a company associated with hiring that person assumes some responsibility for that person’s actions while representing the company. Respondeat superior doctrine seeks to place equitable blame on the parties responsible for causing personal injury.
Russo Law can help you with your personal injury regardless of fault. We want to work with you to secure the justice you deserve. Call to schedule a consultation today!
Injured In A Car Wreck? Our Lakeland Auto Accident Lawyers Can Help
It is often said that the decisions that you make today will have an impact on your life tomorrow. This is very true. You will need to make a lot of important decisions throughout your injury case. These decisions might include how you will rearrange your daily schedule, the effect of the accident on your ability to work, and whether you should settle or go to trial.
Who you choose to represent you is also a very impactful decision. Our civil justice system is adversarial in nature and the value that you ultimately get out of your case is often a direct result of actions that you take with the help of your attorney.
Making insurance claims for your injury from the responsible party is not an easy task. We are here to help. If you need car accident injury legal help in Lakeland FL, or if you have another type of personal injury case, we will strive to make the claims process as simple as possible.
We treat every client as an individual – call us today for car accident injury legal support in Lakeland FL.
Why You Need Personal Injury Legal Support in Lakeland FL
Florida law does not prohibit you from communicating with the insurance company yourself. However, unless you understand how the law works and what processes to follow, there’s a risk that you won’t get the compensation you deserve. There are also time limits you must abide by – an attorney will ensure you don’t miss any critical deadlines.
How to file a PIP claim in FL
Hiring an experienced Florida personal injury attorney in Lakeland is one of the best ways to go about maximizing your claim.
Not only will it save you time and hassle, but a personal injury lawyer in Lakeland FL understands how to make the most of the available evidence and they can identify weaknesses in the other party’s arguments. We can help you determine, based on prior settlements, how much your case is worth, and we will ensure that you don’t settle for less than you deserve.
When you hire us, we deal with the insurance company or responsible parties so you don’t have to. We take the weight of those responsibilities off of your shoulders so you can focus on getting back to normal. We can also provide you with options for medical treatment and help you to avoid costly mistakes. All of this translates into getting more value out of your case at the end of the day.
Our personal injury lawyer in Lakeland FL offers a free consultation that is completely private and confidential to get your case started. Most consultations are done by a combination of phone and email but we are also available to meet with you face-to-face.
How Our Personal Injury Attorney Can Help
At Russo Law, we provide personal injury legal guidance across Lakeland, FL. Our team represents plaintiffs in personal injury, car accident, and medical malpractice cases across the area. We are conveniently located on Lakeland Hills Boulevard near Lakeland Regional Medical Center to serve your legal needs.
With over a decade of experience, Attorney Christopher D. Russo has helped thousands of people with complex and sometimes life-changing personal injury cases. No matter the type of personal injury you’re dealing with, he will work tirelessly to ensure you receive the compensation you’re entitled to in the shortest possible amount of time.
Although Attorney Russo can help you with a variety of personal injury claims, his practice areas include car accidents, medical malpractice, wrongful death, trips and falls, dog bites, and insurance claims.
Attorney Russo and the team will thoroughly evaluate the evidence and, if you have a claim, we will determine how much your claim could be worth. We will handle all negotiations for you, so that you can focus on getting better and moving on with your life.
Our location by LRMC is also easy to find whether you are coming from Winter Haven, Bartow, or Haines City. Whether you need medical malpractice or car accident injury legal support in Lakeland FL, we have the knowledge, experience, and determination needed to take on the insurance companies for you.
No Win, No Fee Personal Injury Lawyer in Lakeland FL
From medical bills to accident expenses, you might be worried about how to cover your legal fees. But let us put your mind at rest.
Russo Law works on a contingency fee basis. You don’t owe our car accident attorney or medical malpractice attorney anything unless we win your case. If you’re successful, you will pay an agreed percentage fee, but otherwise, you don’t owe us anything!
Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice Lawyers Serving Polk County
Russo Law serves clients with personal injury and medical malpractice cases in Lakeland and Winter Haven as well as other areas of Polk County including Bartow and Haines City, Florida. Read our personal injury blog for answers to FAQs, or contact our accident attorney to get a free legal opinion on your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Statute 95.11(4)(b) defines the medical malpractice statute of limitations in Florida. This statute dictates that a person has two years from the date of the incident to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
An important consideration is the discovery rule, which extends the time to file a lawsuit if the injury wasn’t discovered right away. In this case, the time to file a medical malpractice lawsuit can be extended to four years.
If you have suffered from a personal injury stemming from medical malpractice, the only way to know would be to seek other medical treatment. Upon follow-up care for a recurring issue, it could be found that your injuries stem from an incident that occurred one year prior, but your injuries weren’t linked to it initially. Then, you would have three years to file your suit since the discovery of the issue didn’t happen until one year post-incident.
A medical malpractice lawyer can help break down the timeframes for your case, especially if you are finding out about injuries due to a previous incident.
If it can be proven that a medical practitioner acted in bad faith, there may be cause to file a lawsuit. Seeking care at a hospital signifies someone has carried out their due diligence in obtaining medical care.
Doctors take an oath upon receiving this designation and should be held accountable. The hospitals that employ them should also be held responsible for their actions. Through this vicarious liability, in which a hospital would be held liable for damages rendered by one of its practicing physicians, you or your family member can seek compensation for damages.
There have been cases in which class action medical malpractice lawsuits have been levied against hospitals. In these cases, several individuals have experienced some kind of negligence or misconduct by the same medical entity.
This kind of medical malpractice lawsuit can often lead to swift changes by bringing together parties to file a lawsuit. Medical malpractice lawsuits often highlight inadequacies and poor-performing medical practices at a given location.
The average medical malpractice payout between 2009 and 2014 was over $325,000. This average includes very high payouts and some low payouts.
However, in 2022, Florida had the second-highest medical malpractice payouts, totaling $382 million. Again, even just by state, it is clear that a medical malpractice lawyer would be extremely beneficial in Florida. Russo Law is committed to assisting every victim of medical malpractice in obtaining justice for their suffering.
Your medical malpractice lawyer will advise you as to what the compensatory damages could be in your particular case. A critical piece in building these kinds of cases is the proof. Often, expert witnesses are needed.
If you have a medical malpractice case but it is only he-said-she-said between patient and doctor, the case isn’t very strong. Evidence, such as medical records, like initial treatments, follow-up treatments, and statements from practitioners that offered proper diagnosis, all help strengthen your case.
If a doctor omits any procedure information, this would be considered medical malpractice.
Florida operates under an informed consent law. This means that doctors have a responsibility to inform the patient about the procedure, why it is performed, any associated dangers or risks stemming from the procedure, any alternatives available to the patient in lieu of the procedure, and who would be performing the procedure.
Doctors who violate the informed consent law can face a medical malpractice lawsuit. It is important to remember that your doctor has a responsibility to carry out their job duties to the best of their ability, and in taking the Hippocratic Oath, they agree to do so. Any deviation from this ideal is cause for concern.
The medical field has a professional standard of care, which is deemed the average level of care someone seeking medical attention should expect.
Any care lower than this standard and causes harm or injury is considered medical malpractice. This kind of deviation from the standard can sometimes be easy to see but hard to prove in a legal case.
Proving that the standard of care received was less than the standard can sometimes be hard to prove because it is more than just someone having a bad time or not liking the staff. Treatment of a patient less than the standard of care implies that it is outside the normal range of treatment generally received and expected.
A breach of this standard of care can cause harm or injury to the patient. Typically, this kind of oversight can result in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Only an experienced medical malpractice lawyer will be able to assess your situation so that you can file suit.