A Specialized Care Lawsuit
If a dentist has committed an act of negligence that is covered by a specialty care lawsuit, then the patient may sue the dental practice. In Florida, if a patient comes to a Florida oral surgeon in need of emergency treatment, and the primary practitioner does not promptly give a referral to another specialist, the patient can sue for compensation. The law allows the patient to demand payment from the professional that he or she thinks should have done something about the emergency before coming to them. As soon as the plaintiff receives payment from the defendant, the claim is valid.
The Florida statute on this matter is found in Article XXX of the statutes on civil actions.
That article states that when a skilled person comes to a licensed practitioner in need of emergency care, the professional is presumed to have waived his or her rights against recovery. However, once the specialist reasonably believes that the patient no longer needs emergency treatment, he or she is presumed to have waived his or her rights against recovery. So, if a specialist does not give the proper referrals to another specialist, the patient is entitled to compensation.
This can be complicated, however. Let’s say that you have been a patient of a Florida oral surgeon for quite some time.
Because of your problem, you have been told repeatedly by the surgeon that you need to see someone at the oral hospital because your condition requires immediate surgery. At the time of your visit to the hospital, however, the hospital has merely sent you to the emergency room. So, after your stay in the emergency room, you file a specialty care lawsuit on your behalf against the hospital.
Once you file the claim, the court must decide whether or not it will allow it to proceed.
To make this decision, the court must consider what kind of harm the professional was perceived to have caused you. It must also consider whether you have any standing to pursue the claim. Normally, the claims process works best when the patient does not have a direct relationship with the professional who harmed them. However, when a person suffers an injury from a physician or other medical professional, they can sometimes pursue a claim against that medical professional on their own.
In most situations, a hospital is going to fight any claim on your behalf. That is because the cost of hiring a lawyer to fight a claim is expensive. The professional simply accepts the hospital’s position and looks for compensation on your behalf. The fact that a claim has merit is enough to get the hospital’s lawyers involved in a dispute.
But let’s assume that you have a personal relationship with the surgeon who allegedly injured you. In that case, the claim must first be sent to the physician.
From there, the physician will look over the case to determine if he or she has a case. Once it is determined that a claim has merit, the surgeon must determine who should pay for the treatment.
Once the claim has been sent to a third-party arbitrator, both sides are allowed to present their case and evidence to their arbitration panel. If the panel rules in favor of the patient, then the claim may go forward. But if the panel rules against the patient, then the claim may be denied.
The details of the process are important.
It is crucial that you understand what happens once you file a claim against a medical professional. The information provided should give you a clear picture. The details of the process must be easily accessible so you know how to go about filing your claim in a timely manner. When a claim is denied, it is important that you take action to right the wrong.
