Fort Lauderdale Professional Malpractice Lawyers

Skilled Fort Lauderdale Professional Malpractice Lawyers Serve Clients in Palm Beach County, Broward County, and Across Florida

If you or a loved one experiences malpractice from a Florida professional, you might not know what step to take next—or if there’s even anything you can do. The Fort Lauderdale Professional Malpractice Lawyers at Lawlor, White & Murphey provide renowned legal representation for professional malpractice cases throughout Florida. Call today for a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer with ample experience handling this type of case.

Just about every career path you can think of requires some amount of specialized training and education. Training is particularly rigorous in fields that have an impact on the major areas of people’s lives, including their physical health, mental wellbeing, and finances. We all want to know that we’re in good hands when we turn to a doctor, dentist, lawyer, or accountant.

That’s why it can be so devastating when someone we put our trust in fails to live up to the standards of their profession. Not only can the discovery of a serious professional error leave us reeling, that error may also cause a deterioration of health or a significant monetary loss.

Where to Turn When You Experience Malpractice

If you think you’ve been the victim of professional malpractice, you should sit down and talk to an experienced professional malpractice attorney in South Florida. All licensed professionals are required to provide their clients work that is both ethical and meets certain standards, and if they fail to do this, it’s important to hold them accountable.

Of course, just being injured or suffering damages is not enough to prove professional malpractice. You must be able to show that the professional violated the applicable standard of care and that this was the cause of the injury. Knowing whether you’ve been the victim of professional malpractice can be difficult to determine if you don’t have a background in this complex area of law, which is why you need a personal injury lawyer with ample experience handling this type of case.

At Lawlor, White & Murphey, we understand the complexities of professional malpractice cases and have an excellent track record of recovering compensation for those who have suffered physical injuries or financial damages. Our Fort Lauderdale legal team has experience covering a wide range of cases, including medical malpractice, legal malpractice, and accounting malpractice.

Medical Malpractice

You may already know that heart disease and cancer are our two leading killers, but you probably haven’t heard that medical negligence is responsible for the third most deaths in the US. Medical malpractice is both a serious and costly problem in our country. In fact, in 2012, $3.6 billion was spent in medical malpractice payouts. Roughly $204,000 of that came from Florida—the fifth highest for this type of payout out of all 50 states.

Some of the most common malpractice cases involve:

• Doctor or surgical errors
• Birth injuries, including Erbs Palsy and brain injury
• Hospital errors
• Failure to diagnose cancer or other diseases in a timely manner
• Prescription and medication errors
• Foreign objects, such as sponges, left in a patient’s body after surgery
• Negligent prenatal care
• Anesthesia errors

A medical error can cause serious physical injuries or disabilities that affect you and your family for the rest of your lives. In some cases, medical mistakes or negligence can even cause the death of a patient. Survivors of medical malpractice may face steep medical bills, loss of wages if they can no longer work, long-term pain, and a decreased quality of life. Anyone who has suffered mentally, physically, or financially due to a health care professional’s error should seek the compensation they need to get their life back on track.

Legal Malpractice

At Lawlor, White & Murphey, we take all our clients’ cases seriously and work hard to get the best possible outcome, but we know that you may have worked with lawyers in the past who abused your trust. How do you know if your lawyer’s actions constituted malpractice? Some examples of legal malpractice include:

• Failure to know and apply the law
• Failure to file documents on time
• Failure to know about a deadline or inform client of that deadline
• Failure to explain the meaning of a document to a client before it was signed
• Settling for much less than your case was originally estimated to be worth
• Settling your case without your authorization
• Talking about details of your case with the opposition
• Misusing your money (i.e. using the money you paid as a retainer for something other than your case)

Legal malpractice can be difficult to prove, and you can’t accuse your lawyer of malpractice simply because he or she didn’t win your case. Rather, you have to be able to prove that your attorney owed you a duty to act properly, that they breached their duty, and that their actions hurt you financially. You also need to be able to prove that you would have won the underlying case if your lawyer had not mishandled it. Since proving this can get complicated, it’s important that you work with an attorney who has experience in this specific area of personal injury law.

Accounting Malpractice

A financial document isn’t something you can afford to make mistakes on—which is why many people hire accountants in the first place. But what if your accountant is the one who makes errors and ends up costing you a significant amount of money? If you believe that your accountant’s negligence has led to financial losses, they may be liable for accounting malpractice. Some reasons for malpractice include:

• Failure to provide accurate advice regarding accounting manners
• Failure to follow reasonable standards of care in accounting manners
• Poorly kept financial books
• Failure to file proper tax returns
• Errors on tax returns
• Fiduciary misconduct

As with legal malpractice, you must be able to prove certain key elements for a financial professional to be held liable. You must show that the accountant had a duty to you, that they breached that duty, that you suffered a financial loss, and that the financial loss was proximately caused by your accountant’s negligence. Working with a knowledgeable professional malpractice attorney is the best way to ensure that you have a strong defense in this type of case.

Committed Fort Lauderdale Professional Malpractice Lawyers Today

At Lawlor White & Murphey we have handled a wide range of professional malpractice cases, including medical, dental, legal, accounting, architecture, and engineering.

Although not every unfortunate outcome is the result of professional or medical malpractice, if you feel that something is not right, you should consult with our experienced Fort Lauderdale Professional Malpractice Lawyers as soon as possible. Contact us today by filling out our convenient online contact form here.