Lakeland Medical Malpractice Lawyers
When a hospital error or dangerous transfer delay alters your life, you need experienced legal advocates in your corner. At The Fernandez Firm, our Lakeland medical malpractice lawyers have recovered over $100 Million for Florida clients over the past 25 years.
Navigating Lakeland Regional Medical Center’s Trauma Center Changes
Lakeland Regional Medical Center’s recent Level I Trauma Center designation and its previous provisional status bring complex questions regarding the standard of care provided to patients in Polk County.
Our legal team investigates critical issues tied to hospital transitions, including:
- Transfer-Delay Cases: Evaluating whether dangerous delays in transferring severe trauma cases to Tampa, Orlando, or Gainesville harmed your prognosis.
- Standard of Care Verification: Assessing whether care delivered during the provisional or official Level I transition met required medical standards.
- Recent Case Success: Including our representation of a 57-year-old Polk County, Lakeland resident who suffered severe brain damage from an evolving stroke due to a mismanaged hospital transfer, resulting in a $3 Million recovery.
Speak With a Lakeland Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today
Complex medical negligence claims require immediate investigation. If you or a loved one suffered because of a delayed transfer or substandard hospital care in Polk County, contact our team today.
- Free, Confidential Consultation
- No Recovery, No Fee Guarantee
Does It Matter That Lakeland Regional Just Became a Level I Trauma Center?
It depends on the facts of each case.
If you or your loved one was treated before the upgrade and needed care only available at a Level I Trauma Center, the question is whether the transfer happened quickly enough. Delay in recognizing the need for a higher level of care, or a delay in arranging a patient’s transfer, may provide a legal basis for a medical malpractice claim.
If your case happened during or after the upgrade, a different question applies. A provisional designation means the state has approved the classification, but full national verification hasn’t happened yet. Once a Level I Trauma designation is state-approved, staffing levels, equipment, and specialist availability must still genuinely support the level of care the hospital is providing in-house.
We have years of experience investigating malpractice cases involving delays in needed patient care. Once retained, we will request all records to find out what happened in your case.
What Types of Cases Do We Handle in Lakeland?
We represent injured Polk County clients in a broad range of medical malpractice claims, including wrongful death, stroke and resulting brain injuries, surgical errors, missed or delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis errors, birth injuries, anesthesia mistakes, pressure injuries and hospital bedsores developed due to nursing negligence.
How Do You Know If a Doctor or Hospital Was Negligent?
You may have a malpractice case if a provider’s medical treatment fell below the standard of care, that is, what a reasonably competent provider in the same medical specialty would have done under similar circumstances, and that failure caused you actual harm.
A bad outcome alone is not enough to support a legal action. Florida law requires a clear deviation from accepted medical practice.
We review all relevant medical records and consult independent experts to evaluate whether malpractice occurred, at no cost to you.
If you believe a Polk County health care provider or facility was negligent, you may also file a complaint with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which licenses and regulates Florida providers. Filing a complaint does not affect your right to pursue a legal claim.
What Has the Fernandez Firm Recovered for Clients?
A $36.7 Million birth injury verdict, upheld on appeal, represents our single largest result. That case took years of preparation, and a willingness to fight five appeals before and after going to trial.
- $6.3 Million — Brain injury in Pinellas County, suffered by a pediatric patient due to several health care providers’ negligence
- $5.3 Million — Judgment for permanent nerve injury against Lakeland area hospital
- $4.25 Million — Florida stroke injury due to misdiagnosis
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in your case.
Why Choose the Fernandez Firm for Your Lakeland Medical Malpractice Case?
Because we know how to read what a trauma designation actually means, not just what a press release says.
A transfer-delay case requires comparing the timeline of a patient’s deterioration against when a transfer was requested and completed. A provisional-status case requires understanding what national verification would have required and whether the hospital met it anyway. Both take real investigation, not assumptions.
Florida’s pre-suit process under Florida Statute §766 makes these cases procedurally complex. The law requires a pre-suit investigation, a sworn expert opinion, formal notice of the claim, and then a 90-day response window before a lawsuit can proceed in Polk County.
Who Will Handle Your Lakeland Medical Malpractice Case?
Frank F. Fernandez, III, and Jennifer Gentry Fernandez personally handle each case accepted by the firm, including all cases filed in Polk County.
Frank Fernandez has tried medical malpractice cases throughout Florida for more than 30 years. He has been selected as a Super Lawyers for the past ten years, named to Florida Trend Magazine’s Legal Elite and recognized nationally as one of the Best Lawyers in America.
Jennifer Fernandez was a distinguished member on Stetson University’s National award-winning trial team before bringing that preparation to malpractice litigation. Tampa Bay Magazine has named her a Top Attorney multiple times and she has been consistently recognized as a medical malpractice “Super Lawyer” since 2017.
Lakeland Medical Malpractice FAQs
What Lakeland families ask before they call.
My loved one was transferred from Lakeland Regional to Tampa for trauma care, and there was a delay. Is that something I can pursue?
Possibly. We evaluate how quickly the need for transfer was identified, how promptly the transfer was arranged and completed, and whether any delay caused actual harm. A delay at any of these stages may support a medical negligence claim.
Does Lakeland Regional’s new Level I status mean it’s automatically better equipped than before?
Not necessarily. The designation only reflects the State’s approval, not the full national verification process. We look at actual staffing and resources at the time of treatment, not just the designation.
My case happened a couple of years ago, before the upgrade. Does that change anything?
It can actually be more straightforward in one sense. At that time, the hospital was clearly a Level II trauma center, so a delayed transfer for injuries beyond that level is easier to evaluate against an established standard of care.
How do I find out if a transfer delay actually affected the outcome?
This determination typically requires a qualified medical expert to review and compare your loved one’s condition, clinical progression, and treatment timeline against the applicable standard of care.
As part of our investigation in every malpractice case we handle, we retain medical experts to perform this type of analysis at no cost to you.
What if Lakeland Regional treated the case in-house instead of transferring, and something went wrong?
That’s worth examining closely, especially for complex trauma cases. We look at whether keeping the patient in-house reflected genuine capability or whether a transfer should have occurred regardless of the hospital’s new designation.
What is the pre-suit investigation process?
Florida requires an investigation, a sworn expert opinion, and formal notice to each defendant under Florida Statute §766 before a lawsuit can be filed. The defendant then has 90 days to respond.
What damages can I recover?
You may be able to recover past and future medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. Wrongful death claims may also include funeral expenses and loss of companionship.
How long do I have to file?
Under Florida law, victims of medical malpractice generally have two years from the date of the injury, or from when they discovered or reasonably should have discovered the negligence, to file a lawsuit.
Before filing suit, you must retain a qualified medical expert to review the case, obtain an affidavit supporting your claim, provide formal written notice to each at-fault party, and participate in a 90-day pre-suit investigation period.
Will my case settle or go to trial?
The majority of our cases resolve through negotiated settlements, often because opposing counsel knows our reputation and trial record. We have spent decades litigating against many of the same defense firms representing major healthcare providers throughout Polk County.
They understand that we prepare every case for trial from day one. That commitment, and our willingness to follow through, frequently leads to more favorable settlement results for our clients.
What Does This Cost You?
Nothing up front. We advance all costs for obtaining your medical records, investigating your case, retaining expert witnesses and filing suit. You pay us nothing for fees and costs unless we win. We Don’t Get Paid Unless You Win!
Tell Us What Happened in Lakeland
Bring your records, or just describe what happened. We’ll tell you plainly what we see.
Lakeland Office 100 S Kentucky Ave #285, Lakeland, FL 33801 (863) 230-8066
Call (800) 222-8163, available 24 hours a day.
Find Out What Happened in Your Case
The Fernandez Firm – Lakeland Office
100 S Kentucky Ave #285
Lakeland, Florida, 33801
(863) 230-8066