Fort Myers UTI Attorney
Cystis (bladder infections) and pyelonephritis (kidney infections) are the most common kinds of urinary tract infections. UTIs are common infections that happen when bacteria, often from the skin or rectum, enter the urethra, and infect the urinary tract. Some people are at higher risk of getting a UTI. For example, these infections are more common in females. Their urethras are shorter and closer to the rectum. This configuration makes it easier for bacteria to enter the urinary tract. Medical negligence usually causes infections, especially if they happen at hospitals. Some medical treatment teams fail to fully account for the aforementioned risk factors. Instead of taking the proper precautions, they put the patient’s health and safety at risk. Other medical teams fail to properly supervise patients and promptly react to signs of infection. UTIs spread quickly and almost as quickly become life threatening, especially if the victim has a pre-existing condition.
If negligence, or a lack of care, caused injury, an experienced Fort Myers UTI attorney at Kohn Law can obtain substantial compensation for victims. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. This compensation is available, but insurance companies don’t simply give it away. Instead, an attorney must fight for it in court.
Negligence Basics
We touched on the basic elements of a negligence case in Florida above. Now, let’s look at these elements in greater detail.
- Duty: Doctors, who are legally responsible for the conduct of the medical team, at least in most cases, have a fiduciary duty to protect their patients from infection. They must disregard all other priorities, such as making a profit, and do whatever it takes to improve the patient’s health.
- Breach: Usually, the judge determines the appropriate legal duty. Breach is a fact question that jurors usually answer. There’s usually a difference between a one-time lapse and a breach of duty. If no one is at a nurse’s station for a few minutes, that’s probably not negligent. If no one is at the station for a few hours, that’s probably negligence.
- Cause: In court, a victim/plaintiff must establish legal and factual cause. Legal cause is foreseeability (possibility) of injury. If an ambulance is involved in a car accident, that’s a foreseeable injury. Car wrecks are always possible. Factual cause is a connection between the lack of care (breach) and the resulting injury (damages). Victim/plaintiffs must prove factual cause by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not).
- Damages: Usually, victims must be tangibly injured to receive compensation. There’s a difference between a tangible injury and a visible injury. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not a visible injury. But as all victims and family members know, PTSD is real.
Comparative fault may be the most common insurance company defense in negligence claims. Basically, this legal doctrine shifts blame from one party to the other one. For example, if negligence causes a fall, the insurance company might argue that the victim didn’t watch where s/he was going.
Damages Available
We mentioned the available damages above as well. Now, let’s look at negligence damages in more detail.
Economic losses, such as medical bills, are usually straightforward. Victims are entitled to compensation for past and reasonable future medical expenses. Many personal injuries, like the aforementioned fall injuries, never entirely heal.
To determine a fair amount of noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering, most Fort Myers UTI attorneys multiply the economic losses by two, three, or four. Some factors to consider in this multiplier include the victim’s motivation to settle quickly, the strength of the victim’s claim, and the strength of any insurance company defenses.
In extreme cases, additional punitive damages might be available as well. Jurors may award these damages if there is clear and convincing evidence that the defendant intentionally disregarded a known risk.
Count on a Dedicated Lee County Lawyer
Injury victims are usually entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced Fort Myers UTI attorney, contact Kohn Law. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.
