South Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) have a stressful job. They have to make quick assessments and decisions accordingly. When EMTs make mistakes, they can cause serious injuries to a patient. If you or someone close to you has been injured due to an emergency responder’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At our Law Offices, our Miami medical malpractice attorneys can assess your case and help you understand all of your options.
Two parents took the advice of Lauderhill emergency responders, who told them that their baby would “poop out” the remote control battery he swallowed and thus did not immediately take their son to the hospital. In fact, the emergency responders told the mother that if they took their child to the hospital, they would be told the same thing.
The mother inspected the child’s next two bowel movements, but there was no sign of the battery. The next morning, the child vomited, and she called poison control, who told her to take the child to the hospital immediately. At the hospital, X-rays confirmed that he had a button battery in his throat. When his saliva interacted with the battery lodged in his esophagus, it corroded and damaged his throat. As a result, he suffered serious medical complications, which required multiple surgeries and hospitalization for three months.
The parents filed a lawsuit against the city of Lauderhill. The city offered the couple $475,000 to settle the case, one of the largest personal injury settlements in the city’s history. As for the paramedics who gave the bad advice, a city spokesperson said they have been retrained.
Emergency responders, like any other medical professionals, have a duty to respond to situations in a safe and reliable manner. When a person is injured due to the negligence of an EMT, that individual may be able to file a medical malpractice claim against the at-fault party. Under Florida law, a medical malpractice lawsuit is appropriate when an injury or death results from the EMT’s failure to use the level of care that a reasonably prudent EMT would have used in the same or similar circumstances.
The amount of compensation an injured person will be entitled to receive will depend on the nature and extent of their injury. Here, the child suffered a permanent injury due to the emergency responder’s negligence, which surely factored into the city’s settlement offer. We can assess the facts of your case, evaluate your injuries, and help you determine a dollar amount that makes sense in your case.
If you or someone close to you has been injured due to the negligence of an emergency responder, you need to seek the help of a skilled Miami medical malpractice attorney who can help. At our Law Offices, we are committed to holding negligent parties accountable for the harm that they cause. We are here to answer your questions and address your concerns. For more information about your legal rights and options, call us at 1-877-499-HURT (4878) or reach out to us online today.
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