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FLORIDA RECORD

Friday, March 29, 2024

BRYANT & HIGBY: Are Florida jails involved in medical malpractice problems?

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Bryant & Higby issued the following announcement on Aug. 29.

As in most states, a portion of Florida's residents are incarcerated. While living behind bars in county jails or state prisons, inmates often rely on law enforcement officials to help them obtain medical care when needed. As made evident by a recent lawsuit in another state, however, medical malpractice seems to be problematic in many regions.

News headlines have been swarming with stories about prisoners facing serious health situations, in some cases even death, when prison officials failed to provide needed medical assistance. In many cases, inmates had repeatedly requested medical care and complained of various symptoms to substantiate their needs. One man was reportedly suffering from subcutaneous lymphoma, a form of skin cancer, that was misdiagnosed as psoriasis by the medical care providers who attended to him while he was incarcerated.

The inmate's mother testified in court, saying she had gone to visit her son in jail and was shocked at his condition. She described the horror of seeing her son wrapped in gauze (like a mummy, she said) with a hole in his palm so large that she could see through it. The mother said this incident occurred at least three years before her son's health condition was properly diagnosed.

The woman's son was recently awarded more than $1 million in a medical malpractice claim filed in connection with the substandard care he received in prison. Not only Florida inmates may relate to this situation. Many who are not incarcerated have also faced similar medical disasters when care providers failed to properly diagnose their conditions. By filing a personal injury claim with the help of an experienced attorney, injured patients can seek compensation for the damages they have suffered.

Original source can be found here.

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