The number one ranked hospital for the any matter related to eye care in the United States of America is Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, located at the University of Miami Health System. In fact, they have been ranked number one for the 17th time this year. While that may seem extremely appealing to many prospective patients, medical malpractice is always possible. Even in a hospital that you may believe has an excellent track record, medical negligence can happen. Health care providers are only human, and human error is quite possible despite the amount of education, skill, and knowledge that the medical provider may have. In fact, did you know that the third leading cause of death amongst Americans is medical malpractice? Yes, thousands of individuals are killed every year by medical errors that could have been prevented. It is a crazy thought to believe that you may have already been a victim of medical malpractice and not even have known it. How? Well, a realistic statistic is that misdiagnosis by healthcare providers happens to around four million people every year in the US. While some of these misdiagnoses will not pose a problem to the person, some delays in treatment could be deadly, particularly for patients that suffer from chronic conditions and diseases like pneumonia or cancer, where time is of the essence.
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Hospital offers the following treatments and specialties where medical malpractice lawsuits can surface:
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Cataracts
- Corneal and external diseases
- Diabetic retinopathy
- General eye care
- Glaucoma
- LASIK and laser vision correction
- Neuro-Ophthalmology
- Ocular Oncology
- Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Throughout all the years that we have been in operation at Percy Martinez Law Firm in Miami, FL, we have managed many medical malpractice cases at our personal injury law firm. We know that even the most prestigious medical centers can commit medical negligence. All of these services offered here can be a place where a patient becomes a victim of medical malpractice and have means to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice.
How Can a Patient Become a Victim of Medical Malpractice?
The only way for a patient to become a victim of medical malpractice and have a viable malpractice lawsuit in Florida is (1) there must have been a doctor-patient relationship, (2) the doctor 
must have been negligent during their actions/omissions, and (3) the patient must have suffered severe damages as a direct link to the doctor’s negligence. If none of the three elements can be proven, then there would not be a case for a medical malpractice lawsuit. It is up to the victim to prove the negligence that the medical provider committed. Below will be listed some ways that a patient at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute can become a victim of medical malpractice:
- Failure to diagnose lawsuit: Diagnostic issues are a huge factor in medical malpractice occurrences. As mentioned before, errors with diagnosis encompass a large number of medical malpractice cases around the US. When you seek treatment for an eye condition, doctors have a responsibility to determine if any other illnesses are present. If they fail to notice symptoms or fail to provide proper testing that could help determine what it is you have, they could be held negligent for not having done so. A failure to diagnose the proper condition you have can lead to the incorrect path of treatment.
- Incorrectly reading test results lawsuit: When a medical professional orders tests to be performed on their patient, they expect accurate results. While these results are often accurate, there are times where lab mix-ups occur. Someone’s blood may have been placed on the file of another patient, and they are provided with an incorrect diagnosis. Perhaps, the doctor misread the lab results due to a lack of experience. Regardless of how it occurs, misreading test results never ends with good results. What if you were given a medication for a supposed condition you had that only made you worse because you didn’t even have that condition they claimed you did?
- Delaying treatment lawsuit: A delay in treatment could be fatal. A delay in treatment could occur as a result of various different sources like a doctor’s lack of experience with a certain condition, a failure to recognize symptoms of a patient, miscommunication, not providing the patient with the indicated tests, and more. If the patient has a serious condition like cancer, a delay in treatment could create a domino effect. If cancer is not immediately taken care of, it could easily spread to other areas of the body and become more aggressive. It is imperative that doctor’s work quickly but diligently when determining the course of treatment for their patients.
Understanding how you can become a victim of medical malpractice can help you mitigate the possibilities of that occurring. It is imperative that the comprehension of how medical malpractice functions, the possible locations where it can take place, and who can commit medical negligence is thoroughly understood with the assistance of a skilled medical malpractice lawyer from Percy Martinez Law Firm in Miami, FL. This is just a small list of the possible medical malpractice occurrences that could happen.
Ophthalmology Medical Malpractice
These following areas of ophthalmology malpractice are the most common locations where medical malpractice takes place for patients seeking eye care:
- LASIK eye surgery lawsuit: This has become an extremely popular method to correct vision. Due to its expensive nature, many patients opt-in going to a doctor that may not be as reputable as they should. Because this operation requires extreme precaution and detail, not every eye doctor can perform it. In addition, patients have to be checked out to see whether they are good candidates for this operation because not everyone is. Medical providers can be held responsible for the damages that you suffer if they do not determine whether you are fitted to undergo this surgery.
- Glaucoma lawsuit: Glaucoma is a disease that attacks the eye by placing high levels of pressure in the fluid that fills the eye. Often times, doctors are unable to properly diagnose this disease, resulting in permanent damage to the patient.; they can start to lose their eyesight.
- Cataracts lawsuit: Cataracts surgery has become a common practice for many doctors. Despite the prevalence of this operation, sometimes, the most errors occur in commonplace settings. Because of their confidence in performing the surgery and comfortable mindset, they might not pay too much mind to the surgery and slip. They begin to lack carefulness and could commit medical negligence.
These three areas are where the most medical malpractice cases for ophthalmology occurs.
Medical Malpractice Information Regarding Eye Care in the US
Below will be graphs, information, and facts on medical malpractice with eye care:
- The areas of LASIK eye surgery, glaucoma, and cataracts are the main instances where medical malpractice occurs during eye care
- In 2017, a man was awarded 1.7 million dollars after a Maryland eye doctor performed an operation on the wrong eye
- A survey conducted between the year 2006 and 20015 reported that from the 90,743 medical malpractice liability claims, about 5% were towards eye doctors
- 24% of claims that were closed, ended with a payment for the victim
- About 66% of the claims were either dismissed or dropped
- 50% of all total claims for medical malpractice were for cataract and the cornea surgeries
The following table provides information on the medical malpractice cases by Subspecialty in 2016
| Subspecialty | Cases | Judgment for Plaintiff | Judgment for Defendant | No. Of payments to Plaintiff | Median payment US$ | Mean payment US$ |
| Retina | 15 (22.1%) | 8 (53.3%) | 7 (46.7%) | 4 (26.7%) | 12 790 465 | 17 255 077 |
| Traumatic | 15 (22.1%) | 8 (53.3%) | 7 (46.7%) | 6 (40%) | 712 974 | 640 823 |
| General | 9 (13.2%) | 4 (44.4%) | 5 (55.6%) | 4 (44.4%) | 1 672 612 | 2 358 139 |
| Pediatric | 8 (11.8%) | 4 (50%) | 4 (50%) | 3 (37.5%) | 1 149 386 | 880 993 |
| Glaucoma | 6 (8.8%) | 3 (50%) | 3 (50%) | 2 (33.3%) | 1 193 189 | 1 193 189 |
| Oculoplastic | 6 (8.8%) | 3 (50%) | 3 (50%) | 3 (50%) | 1 023 004 | 3 202 720 |
| Neuro-ophthalmology | 3 (4.4%) | 3 (100%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (33.3%) | 201 451 | 201 451 |
| Oncology | 3 (4.4%) | 2 (66.7%) | 1 (33.3%) | 2 (66.7%) | 670 772 | 670 772 |
| Cornea | 2 (2.9%) | 1 (50%) | 1 (50%) | 1 (50%) | 603 100 | 603 100 |
| Unknown | 1 (1.5%) | 0 | 1 (100%) | 0 | N/A | N/A |
| All cases | 63 (100%) | 36 (52.9%) | 32 (47.1%) | 26 (38.2%) | 887 310 | 3 810 824 |
*Information provided by Jama Network
While ophthalmology medical malpractice is less prevalent than in other areas in medicine, it still happens to victims, allowing them to file medical malpractice lawsuit for ophthalmology.
Some information that you might find interesting about this hospital is the following:
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Medicare Fraud accusation can be read more here.
Medical Malpractice at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Personal Injury Lawyers
Ophthalmology medical malpractice does not happen as often as other medical malpractice areas, but it can occur to patients. If you believe that medical negligence was present in your visit to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, consult with one of our expert Miami, FL medical malpractice attorneys at our Miami location of Percy Martinez Law Firm. Did an eye doctor cause you to go blind? Did they fail to diagnose your eye disease? Did they operate on the wrong eye? Call us today and find out what action we can pursue according to your case. We work with expert witnesses and medical malpractice investigators to compile all necessary evidence to establish your case.
References:
- https://umiamihealth.org/bascom-palmer-eye-institute
- https://www.google.com/search?q=Bascom+Palmer+Eye+Institute&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdkYbC3PHcAhXGqlkKHY7oAsgQ_AUIDCgD&biw=1906&bih=925#imgrc=XCY-Zb9xlSFJEM: – image
- https://www.floridabar.org/news/tfb-journal/?durl=%2Fdivcom%2Fjn%2Fjnjournal01.nsf%2FAuthor%2FF7BC2200718A2A2685256D550074A2C3
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161642017320067
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2547108
- https://www.google.com/search?q=eye+medical+malpractice&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjXp-m68PHcAhVkoFkKHc5BBs0Q_AUICygC&biw=1906&bih=925#imgrc=TQaVtavkk67h-M: – image