Miami Misdiagnosis of Spinal Infection Attorney
Helping Victims of Misdiagnosed Spinal Infections throughout Florida
Doctors and other healthcare providers often misdiagnose spinal infections. They may treat their patients’ main symptom – back pain – and not order the diagnostic lab tests and radiologic imaging necessary to make an accurate diagnosis. Unfortunately, if not diagnosed and treated, spinal infections can lead to very serious conditions, including severe pain and permanent neurological injuries.
If you or a loved one has sought medical care and suffered because a spinal infection was misdiagnosed, you may be the victim of medical malpractice. As such, you could be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, lost income, pain, suffering, and other damages recoverable under Florida law.
An experienced Florida medical malpractice attorney can help you understand your options and decide on the best course of action. The Boyers Law Group attorneys have helped victims of medical malpractice throughout Florida obtain the substantial compensation they deserve for their injuries for over twenty-five years. We are committed to achieving justice and holding negligent healthcare providers accountable.
For expert legal advice from an experienced Florida medical malpractice attorney, call us today at 800.545.9100 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website.
How Are Spinal Infections Diagnosed?
When patients have fevers in conjunction with severe pain and tenderness in a specific part of their spine, doctors should recognize the signs of a possible spinal infection and order the lab tests and radiologic imaging needed to make an accurate diagnosis. Sometimes, the signs and symptoms of a spinal infection can be subtle, and patients may not even have a fever. It is, therefore, important for doctors to always consider a patient’s risk factors for spinal infection, including age, diabetes or a recent history of a urinary infection, among other factors, and order the appropriate tests.
Other symptoms of spinal infection, such as weaknesses in a patient’s arms or legs, inability to feel or control urination, and pain in the chest, neck or abdomen can also be signs of a serious spinal infection. With the proper laboratory tests, including a CBC, as well as blood and urine cultures, and radiologic imaging such as a CT or MRI, the infection can be diagnosed and treated.
Unfortunately, doctors sometimes misdiagnose a spinal infection as a relatively routine orthopedic problem and do not order the appropriate lab or radiologic studies. Their patients’ back pain is treated, but the spinal infection causing the pain is not detected or treated. In these cases, the doctors’ negligent misdiagnosis can mean the difference between their patients’ ultimate recovery and their ending up with a permanent debilitating injury.
How Are Spinal Infections Treated?
If diagnosed early, spinal infections can usually be treated effectively with antibiotics. If the infection results in a spinal epidural abscess (collection of pus around the spinal cord) and discitis (infection of the intervertebral discs with associated inflammation), emergency surgery to decompress the spinal cord may be necessary.
In contrast, when a spinal infection is not diagnosed, compression of the spinal cord can lead to paralysis. The infection can also invade the bone, causing a condition known as osteomyelitis that can eat away at formerly healthy bone and cause permanent damage and disability. As a result, a once healthy, lively individual can end up dependent upon care givers and assistive devices for the rest of their lives.
If you or a loved one has been injured because a spinal infection was misdiagnosed and, therefore, not treated in a timely, effective manner, you deserve answers to questions about your health care, your condition and your doctor’s negligence, as well as compensation for your pain, suffering and losses. The medical malpractice attorneys at Boyers Law Group can answer your questions and help you pursue the financial compensation you deserve.
Call us at 800.545.9100 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website to get expert advice from an experienced medical malpractice attorney you can trust to help you during this difficult time.
Florida Medical Malpractice Lawsuits for Misdiagnosed Spinal Infections
If a doctor misdiagnosed your spinal infection, and you have suffered because of the misdiagnosis, you may be able to bring a medical malpractice claim for damages against them. A medical malpractice claim can hold the negligent healthcare provider accountable for the harm they caused and help you obtain the financial compensation you deserve for the damages you have suffered.
In Florida, medical malpractice is defined as the failure of a healthcare provider to act in accordance with the accepted professional standard of care owed to patients. When a doctor, nurse or other healthcare provider is negligent and fails to act as a reasonably prudent medical provider of the same specialty would act and causes a patient to suffer serious injury or wrongful death, they can be held legally responsible for medical malpractice.
Victims of medical malpractice have the right to pursue substantial compensation for the economic and non-economic damages they have suffered and may suffer in the future because of their healthcare provider’s negligence. If you are a medical malpractice victim, an experienced Florida medical malpractice attorney from Boyers Law Group can help protect your rights and pursue the full, fair compensation you deserve.
What Compensation Can Victims of Misdiagnosed Spinal Infections Get with a Florida Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
If you have been harmed because of a misdiagnosed spinal infection, you may be entitled to substantial compensation for the damages you have suffered and may continue to suffer in the future. These damages can be both economic and non-economic and may include:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental anguish, depression and anxiety
- Medical expenses, including hospital bills, medical procedures, diagnostic tests, doctor office visits, medications, medical equipment and travel expenses for transportation to doctors’ offices and other healthcare facilities
- Rehabilitative therapy and care expenses
- Lost income and diminished earning capacity
- Your family’s loss of your companionship, guidance and assistance
- Other damages recoverable under Florida law
The skilled medical malpractice attorneys at Boyers Law Group work diligently to collect all the evidence needed to build a compelling case demonstrating our clients’ need for substantial compensation. We negotiate aggressively with defendants’ insurance companies and fight vigorously to help you obtain the full, fair amount you deserve.
Boyers Law Group Attorneys Are Committed to Helping Florida Medical Malpractice Victims
The Boyers Law Group medical malpractice attorneys are committed to leaving no stone unturned in the pursuit of justice. We believe that negligent doctors and other healthcare providers should be held accountable for the harm they cause patients and their families. We have successfully prosecuted many misdiagnosis cases and have helped our clients obtain millions of dollars in compensation for their injuries.
If you or a family member has suffered because a spinal infection was misdiagnosed, a skilled medical malpractice attorney from Boyers Law Group can help you hold the negligent physician accountable and help you obtain the substantial compensation you deserve. We have years of successful experience in representing clients in medical malpractice cases and are committed to putting our experience, knowledge, skill and resources to work for you.
We are deeply committed to helping our clients because we know that if you come to us for help, you have suffered a terrible loss and deserve answers and all the compensation the law will allow. Please call us at 800.545.9100 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website to get started on your Florida medical malpractice case today.