Medical Malpractice Victims in Florida Fight Uphill Battle For Justice
May 23, 2013
Cleveland, OH (Law Firm Newswire) May 22, 2013 – Florida is not the only state where patients will need to fight harder for justice, only to have the rug pulled out from under them.
“It’s extremely troubling to hear about what is happening in other states, like Florida, when it directly affects the rights of medical malpractice victims. For instance, Florida now wants to require a higher burden of proof in medical malpractice lawsuits and would block litigation against hospitals for malpractice if it was committed by individuals who are not employees —- which would mean most of the doctors,” explained Christopher Mellino, a Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer. “You really have to wonder if politicians ‘get’ what it means to be so badly injured that you need care for the rest of your life. Or if they grasp the concept of injustice as it applies to a medical malpractice victim.”
Florida’s archaic point-of-view on how to handle medical malpractice lawsuits goes against the very grain of what justice is all about. Simply put, if an individual goes to the doctor for something, expecting to be treated appropriately and get better, but instead comes home in a wheelchair, someone must be held responsible for that. Certainly the patient did not do anything to land themselves in a wheelchair.
“If the doctor did something that caused catastrophic injuries, why on earth would they be let off the hook? In Florida, the latest proposal is to also ‘forgive’ nursing home mistakes that cost someone their life. The bottom line is why should doctors get a free pass to make mistakes and then have someone look the other way? If that is the definition of justice, the victim certainly does not see it that way, and neither do hundreds of medical malpractice lawyers,” Mellino added.
Tort reform is one of those issues that no one seems to agree on, particularly if the individual is a politician or medical malpractice insurer. “Neither of these parties seem to grasp what it means to be completely disabled for the rest of your life because a doctor messed up. Neither of these parties seem to understand that the victim then gets worked over twice and left to fend for themselves through no fault of their own. There is something seriously wrong with this picture,” said Mellino.
Rather than shut out victims of medical malpractice by, in essence, branding them with a red letter V, the powers that be need to step up to the plate and take responsibility for their errors. To do anything less perpetrates devastating injustice.
To learn more or to contact a Cleveland medical malpractice attorney, or visit http://www.mellinorobenalt.com.
Mellino Robenalt LLC
200 Public Sq., Suite 2900
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Call: (216) 241-1901
