Sarasota Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Providing Personal Attention Combined with Aggressive Representation

The one thing you want to keep in life is your health. To help keep us healthy, we look to doctors and medical professionals for checkups, shots, and more. Doctors, nurses and other medical staff all understand and should live by the axiom "above all, do no harm."

When we go to the doctor, we expect him or her to treat us with care, caution and competence. We rarely consider that doctors and other medical professionals may make mistakes, but they are human and mistakes do happen. Unfortunately, the consequences of these mistakes can be serious or even fatal. Over 200,000 Americans die annually because of medical malpractice, and medical malpractice affects over a million Americans non-fatally every year.

You are entitled to the best possible care when you visit a doctor or hospital, and if a physician, nurse or staff person's negligence injures you or a family member, you are entitled to compensation. Sarasota injury attorney Maria Gerber started Gerber Law ten years ago with the goal of helping people fight civil injustice and recover monetary damages for negligence. Gerber Law can help you recover for injuries resulting from any type of medical malpractice.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Simply because you have had a negative medical outcome does not necessarily make you a victim of medical malpractice or negligence. For example, the fact that an elective procedure did not turn out the way you hoped and expected does not mean your doctor did not do his or her job correctly. Maria Gerber can explain to you what medical malpractice is and help you understand whether you have a valid medical malpractice claim.

By investigating pertinent medical records or other materials thoroughly, Gerber Law can find out what happened to you and why. Ms. Gerber pursues justice by using experts in the medical field, and she understands how hospitals and insurance companies operate in these cases. Attorney Gerber wants to prevent hospitals and insurance companies from manipulating you into accepting a settlement that is much less than you deserve.

Types of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice can be the result of any number of injuries, such as adverse reactions from the wrong drug, improper procedures or even misdiagnosis. These injuries can be life-long or even cause death. Some examples of medical malpractice include:

• Failure to administer anesthesia correctly. Improper anesthesia administration can cause severe injury and can even be fatal. Some patients have even experienced the torment of remaining awake and paralyzed during painful surgeries because of improper anesthesia.

• Failure to perform surgery correctly. From operating on the wrong organ to leaving surgical equipment inside the body, surgical errors happen far more frequently than they should and can cause serious injury or death.

• Misuse of prescription drugs. If a doctor prescribes you the wrong medication, the wrong dosage or a dangerous or recalled drug, the results can be disastrous. Allergic reactions, convulsions, internal bleeding or renal failure are just some of the ways an improper prescription drug can harm you.

• Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose cancer or other diseases. A serious illness diagnosis can turn your life upside-down, and many serious illnesses, such as cancer, have painful and dangerous treatments. If a doctor misdiagnoses you with an illness like cancer and you begin treatment, not only have you gone on an emotional roller coaster, but also you have exposed yourself to radiation and potentially poisonous chemicals that could make you sick or kill you. If you do have cancer or another serious illness and a doctor fails to diagnose it when he should, the delay could cost you your life.

• Emergency room errors. The emergency room is the front line for traumatic injuries at a hospital. Any emergency room mistakes can seriously impede your survival of and recovery from traumatic injury.

• Birth injuries. Thousands of babies die or suffer serious physical and cognitive impairments because of negligence during delivery or pregnancy. Your child may need constant care and supervision for the rest of his or her life, as well as expensive medical equipment and special education.

Medical Malpractice Statistics

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death after cancer and heart disease in the U.S. Over 225,000 people die each year due to hospital errors nationwide. Additionally each year across the country:

• 106,000 die from adverse effects of medication
• 80,000 die from infections in hospitals
• 20,000 die from various errors
• 12,000 die from unnecessary surgery
• 7,000 die from medication errors

What type of Compensation am I Entitled to?

Gerber Law can help you get compensation for the following:

• Medical bills
• Prescriptions
• Lost wages
• Future lost wages
• Necessary physical rehabilitation
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of companionship
• Funeral expenses in wrongful death cases
• Future medical costs and/or care

With offices in Sarasota and Venice, Florida, Maria Gerber and her staff at Gerber Law are readily available to provide their clients with personal attention and excellent service. Maria offers personal, yet aggressive representation. She knows that a personal injury can be very emotionally difficult and that the death of a loved one because of someone else's negligence is devastating. Maria is a personal injury victim herself, so she understands what victims and their families go through following a serious injury. She helps her clients with her experience, knowledge and aggressive legal representation.

Contact Gerber Law today for a FREE consultation if you or a family member has suffered an injury from medical malpractice. Unlike large companies, she treats her clients in a personal and caring way. You will always work directly with an attorney. Gerber Law serves the southwest coast of Florida.