St. Petersburg Stroke Lawyers

St. Petersburg Stroke Attorneys

You assumed a hospital was a hospital, that whichever one they rushed you to could do whatever your stroke required. Most people do. Finding out later that the building you were taken to could not perform the one procedure that might have saved your brain is a special kind of anguish.

Our St. Petersburg stroke lawyers investigate whether a patient ended up at the wrong level of stroke care for the stroke they were having, and hold the responsible parties accountable. The Fernandez Firm has recovered over $100 million for Florida clients across 30 years, including hospital negligence cases tried to verdict.

You pay nothing unless we win.

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Does It Matter Which Stroke Center a Pinellas Patient Is Taken To?

Yes, and it can matter enormously. Not all stroke centers are the same, and Pinellas County has hospitals certified at different levels. A Comprehensive Stroke Center can treat any type of stroke, including performing a thrombectomy, the procedure that physically removes a large clot from the brain.

A Primary Stroke Center provides initial emergency stroke care and clot-dissolving medication, but many cannot perform that clot-removal procedure and must transfer patients who need it.

For a patient having a large-vessel stroke, the difference between those two levels can be the difference between recovery and permanent disability. If a patient who needed a thrombectomy was taken to, or kept at, a hospital that could not perform one, and time was lost as a result, that can be the basis of a claim.

We investigate whether the level of care matched the stroke, and where any delay occurred.

What Is the Difference Between a Primary and Comprehensive Stroke Center?

A Comprehensive Stroke Center has the staff, imaging, and neurointervention capability to treat the most severe and complex strokes around the clock, including large-vessel strokes that require mechanical clot removal. A Primary Stroke Center is equipped to rapidly diagnose stroke, give the clot-dissolving drug commonly called tPA, and stabilize patients, but it may need to transfer the most complex cases elsewhere.

Both levels serve a real purpose. The problem arises when a patient’s stroke exceeds what the receiving hospital can handle, and the system does not adjust fast enough.

In a county like Pinellas, with both comprehensive centers such as Orlando Health Bayfront and primary-level programs, whether a specific patient reached the right level of care in time is not academic. It is often the difference the case turns on.

Measured against the standard of care, a failure to recognize that a patient needed a higher level of stroke care, or a delay in getting them there, can be negligence.

Who Is Responsible When a Patient Ends Up at the Wrong Level of Care?

Responsibility can fall on the emergency responders who chose the destination, the first hospital that failed to recognize the need to transfer, or the physicians who managed the case, and often more than one of them. Identifying the right defendant is one of the most important parts of these cases.

The first hospital may fail to identify a large-vessel stroke that required transfer to a comprehensive center. It may recognize the need but move too slowly to arrange the transfer. Or the imaging that would have revealed the severity may have been delayed or misread.

Each of these is a distinct failure point, and each can involve different responsible parties. We map the entire timeline, from arrival through any transfer, to determine where the care broke down and who owned that step.

If you believe a St. Petersburg hospital failed you, you can also file a complaint with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which licenses and inspects hospitals statewide. A complaint does not affect your right to also pursue a claim.

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What Kinds of Hospital Negligence Cases Has the Fernandez Firm Won?

The firm’s record is built on holding hospitals accountable when their failures cause lasting harm, including cases that took years of litigation to resolve.

In one Tampa hospital negligence case, we secured $3.57 million at trial, after four years, because the hospital would not offer fair value until a jury was ready to rule. Our largest result, a $36.7 million verdict upheld on appeal, involved life-threatening brain injury caused by medical negligence. A stroke case built on a level-of-care mismatch rests on the same core proof: that a preventable failure caused permanent damage, and that we were prepared to try it.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in your case.

Why Bring a St. Petersburg Stroke Case to the Fernandez Firm?

Because proving that a patient reached the wrong level of stroke care requires understanding how these hospitals and their certifications actually work, and the resources to pursue multiple possible defendants. This is not a case most firms are built to handle.

Florida requires a pre-suit investigation before a malpractice suit can be filed. Under Florida Statute §766, your attorney must investigate, obtain a sworn expert medical opinion, and formally notify each defendant, who then has 90 days to respond before a lawsuit can proceed in Pinellas County’s Sixth Judicial Circuit. When more than one provider or facility is involved, that notice must be handled correctly for each.

Who Will Handle Your Case?

When you hire the Fernandez Firm, Frank F. Fernandez III or Jennifer Gentry Fernandez will personally handle your case. Your file will not be passed to an associate or managed by support staff.

Frank has tried medical malpractice cases throughout Florida for more than 30 years, including in Pinellas County. Florida Trend Magazine has named him to its Legal Elite, and he has been recognized as a Top Attorney by Tampa Bay Magazine..

Jennifer Gentry Fernandez has litigated medical negligence cases since 1994, initially defending doctors and hospitals, and now representing only patients and families. She is a peer-selected plaintiff medical malpractice Super Lawyer, has been named a Top Attorney by Tampa Bay Magazine since 2017, and was named to Tampa Style‘s ‘Top Women in the Law 2026.

In September 2022, Frank and Jennifer received the Florida Justice Association’s Krupnick Award for perseverance and the relentless pursuit of justice.

St. Petersburg Stroke Malpractice FAQs

Real questions St. Petersburg families ask before they call.

The hospital couldn’t do the clot-removal procedure my family member needed. Can we sue?

Possibly. If a patient had a large-vessel stroke requiring a thrombectomy, and the hospital could not perform one and failed to transfer them quickly to a center that could, that delay can support a claim when it caused avoidable harm. We investigate whether the level of care matched the stroke and where time was lost.

What’s the difference between a primary and comprehensive stroke center, and why does it matter to my case?

A Comprehensive Stroke Center can treat the most complex strokes, including physically removing large clots. A Primary Stroke Center gives clot-dissolving medication and stabilizes patients but often must transfer complex cases. If your stroke needed comprehensive-level care and you did not reach it in time, that gap can be central to your claim.

The ambulance took my dad to the closest hospital instead of a comprehensive stroke center. Was that wrong?

It depends on the facts and the protocols in place. Taking a patient to the nearest hospital is often correct, but for certain severe strokes, reaching a comprehensive center quickly matters more than proximity. We review the responders’ decisions and the hospital’s response to determine whether the choice met the standard of care.

How long do I have to file a stroke malpractice claim in Florida?

In most cases, Florida gives you two years from the date of the accident or injury to file suit. Before you can file, Florida law requires the Chapter 766 presuit process, investigation, a sworn medical expert opinion, and a formal Notice of Intent to Initiate Medical Malpractice served on each defendant, which takes months to complete. Exceptions apply for fraud and for cases involving minors. Contact us promptly so we can confirm the deadline that applies to you.

What is the pre-suit process for a St. Petersburg stroke malpractice claim?

Florida requires a pre-suit investigation under Florida Statute §766 before a lawsuit can be filed: your attorney investigates, obtains a sworn expert opinion, and formally notifies each defendant, who has 90 days to respond. Only then can the case proceed in the Sixth Judicial Circuit. When multiple facilities are involved, this must be done correctly for each.

Can both the first hospital and a transfer hospital be responsible?

Yes. If a delay happened at the first hospital, or a transfer was mishandled, more than one facility may share responsibility. We identify every potentially liable party across the full chain of care during our investigation.

What compensation can I recover in a stroke case?

Current and future medical costs, including rehabilitation and long-term care, lost income and earning capacity, and compensation for pain, disability, and reduced quality of life. In cases involving death, surviving family may recover funeral costs and the loss of the person’s support and companionship.

Will my case settle, or will it go to trial?

Most malpractice cases settle, but usually only after the defense sees the plaintiff is genuinely prepared for trial. We build every case as if it is going before a Pinellas County jury, which is what drives a fair settlement rather than a low one.

What Does This Cost You?

Nothing up front. We advance the cost of investigation, expert witnesses, and litigation, and our fee comes as a percentage of what we recover, only if we win. If we do not recover for you, you owe us nothing.

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Tell Us What Happened

Frank Fernandez, St. Petersburg Stroke Lawyer

If you or a loved one suffered a stroke and ended up at a hospital that could not provide the care the stroke required, talk to us before you accept anything from the hospital or its insurer. We will review the full timeline and tell you honestly what we see.

St. Petersburg Office: 365 Central Ave #840, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (727) 451-9919

Call (800) 222-8163, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.