Who Is Responsible for Medical Malpractice that Occurs after a Tampa Car Accident?

You’re in a Tampa auto accident that is not your fault and suffer injury. During the course of your treatment one of your medical doctors treating your injuries does something wrong and makes your injuries worse.  Would the at fault driver in your motor vehicle accident be responsible for your worsened condition?  The answer is yes.  

In Florida, the original tortfeasor  is responsible for any foreseeable consequences of their actions that are caused by subsequent tortfeasors.  Original tortfeasor means the person who caused you injury in the Tampa car accident. By subsequent tortfeasor, we're referring to anybody who provides you medical treatment, who violates the standard of care they owe you and causes your injuries to become aggravated or even creates new injuries that were not directly the result of the Tampa car accident.

Under Florida law, it would be your choice whether to sue just the original tortfeasor, the subsequent tortfeasor, or both.  The final decision regarding who to sue will be based on a number of factors. Your Tampa car accident lawyer will be able to discuss these various factors with you.  It is important that you understand these various factors so that you can make a decision that is best for you and your family.

One of the decisions you’ll want to consider is the amount of insurance that the original tortfeasor carries.  If the amount is small relative to the injuries caused by the Tampa car accident, it may make sense to include the subsequent tortfeasors in any lawsuit.  But doing that should not be done without considerable consideration. That's because a medical malpractice claim is very different than an auto accident claim.  Because of the complexities of medical malpractice claim, the jury may become very confused by pursuing both defendants at the same time and that could work against you.

It may be possible to separate the trials so that you have one trial for the Tampa auto accident and another for the medical malpractice claim. The final determination of whether that will be possible often rests with the presiding judge in your case as well as the law at the time of your decision.

It is important then if you feel that medical malpractice has occurred during the course of treatment for a Tampa car accident that you communicate this to your Tampa law firm.  Once your Tampa law firm learns of this potential medical malpractice claim, they will talk with you about whether it makes sense to file a claim against only the original tortfeasor [the preferred course] or against subsequent tortfeasors as well.

Our Tampa car accident law firm has significant experience in both auto accidents and medical malpractice claims. That experience in both areas of law can be very important in pursuing an auto accident claim where medical malpractice has occurred.  It's only with experience in both arenas that allows our Tampa law firm to effectively communicate with you the best way to proceed. If you're in an auto accident and believe medical malpractice may have occurred during your treatment, call our Tampa law firm to discuss the matter with one of our experienced accident attorneys.