Sarasota Stroke Lawyers

Sarasota Stroke Attorneys

You may have trusted your doctor to see the stroke coming before it ever happened. When a preventable stroke strikes someone whose warning signs were sitting in their own medical chart, the grief comes tangled with a hard question: should this have been caught?

Our Sarasota stroke lawyers investigate strokes that a doctor’s earlier care could have prevented, and hold providers accountable when they missed the chance.

The Fernandez Firm has recovered over $100 million for Florida clients across 30 years, including physician and hospital negligence cases tried to verdict.

You pay nothing unless we win.

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Can a Doctor Be Sued for Failing to Prevent a Stroke?

Yes. Many strokes are not sudden bolts from the blue. They are the predictable result of a known, treatable condition that a doctor was supposed to manage. When a provider failed to diagnose or properly treat that condition, and a stroke followed, that failure can be malpractice.

This matters especially in Sarasota, home to one of the oldest populations in the country. Older adults have a high rate of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm often shortened to AFib, which is one of the leading preventable causes of stroke.

AFib lets blood pool and clot in the heart, and those clots can travel to the brain. Doctors are expected to screen for it, recognize it, and, when appropriate, prescribe blood-thinning medication that dramatically lowers stroke risk. When that standard care does not happen, a preventable stroke can follow.

We investigate whether your stroke was one a competent provider should have prevented.

What Kinds of Prevention Failures Lead to a Stroke Claim?

The most common failures involve missing atrial fibrillation, not treating it, or mismanaging the medication meant to prevent a clot. Each can support a claim when it causes a stroke that proper care would have avoided.

A doctor may fail to investigate symptoms like an irregular pulse, palpitations, or dizziness that point to AFib. A provider who diagnoses AFib may fail to prescribe anticoagulation when the patient’s risk clearly calls for it, something studies show happens more often with older patients, even though they benefit most.

And a patient already on blood thinners may be mismanaged: the wrong dose, missed monitoring, or a dangerous drug interaction that either allows a clot or causes a bleed. Measured against the standard of care, any of these can be negligence.

These cases often turn on the primary care or cardiology records from the months before the stroke, not just the day it happened.

How Do You Prove a Stroke Should Have Been Prevented?

You prove it by showing what the doctor knew, or should have known, and what a competent provider would have done differently. The evidence is largely in the records that predate the stroke: office visits, EKGs, medication history, and lab results.

We gather the primary care and cardiology records that show whether AFib was present, whether it was recognized, and how it was treated, then work with medical experts who can testify to what the standard of care required. If the records show an irregular rhythm that went uninvestigated, or a clear indication for anticoagulation that was ignored, that gap between what should have happened and what did is the heart of the case.

If you believe a Sarasota provider or facility failed your family, 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 Negligence Cases Has the Fernandez Firm Won?

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

In one hospital negligence case, we secured $3.57 million at trial, after four years, because the defense would not offer fair value until a jury was ready to rule. Our largest result, a $36.7 million verdict upheld on appeal, involved catastrophic brain injury caused by medical negligence. A preventable-stroke case rests on the same core proof: that a provider’s failure caused permanent, avoidable harm, and that we were prepared to try it.

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

Why Bring a Sarasota Stroke Case to the Fernandez Firm?

Because a preventable-stroke case requires proving what a doctor should have done months before the emergency, and that is a subtler, more medical case than most firms want to build. It takes cardiology and neurology experts, a careful reconstruction of the patient’s history, and the resources to pursue a physician or practice group through years of litigation.

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 Sarasota County’s Twelfth Judicial Circuit. We manage every step so a strong claim is not lost on a technicality.

Frank F. Fernandez III and Jennifer Gentry Fernandez handle these cases personally. You can verify any Florida physician’s license and disciplinary history through the Florida Department of Health’s MQA Search Services.

Who Will Handle Your Sarasota Stroke 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 Sarasota County’s Twelfth Judicial Circuit. 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.’

Sarasota Stroke Malpractice FAQs

Real questions Sarasota families ask before they call.

Can I sue a doctor for not catching the condition that caused my stroke?

Possibly. If a doctor missed a treatable condition like atrial fibrillation, or failed to treat it when the standard of care required, and a stroke resulted, that can be malpractice. These cases depend on what the records from before the stroke show about what your doctor knew and did. We review those records at no cost to determine whether the stroke was preventable.

My father had AFib and wasn’t on blood thinners when he had his stroke. Is that malpractice?

It may be. Anticoagulation is standard stroke prevention for many patients with atrial fibrillation, and older patients often benefit the most. If your father’s risk clearly called for blood thinners and none were prescribed, without a sound medical reason, that failure could support a claim. We investigate why the medication was or wasn’t given.

My mother was on blood thinners and still had a stroke. Could the doctor still be at fault?

It can be. Anticoagulation must be managed carefully, correct dosing, proper monitoring, and awareness of drug interactions. A stroke that happens despite blood thinners can point to mismanagement, such as an inadequate dose or missed monitoring. We review the medication and monitoring records to determine whether her care met the standard.

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

Florida’s statute of limitations gives you two years from the date of the accident or injury to file suit. That window is shorter in practice than it sounds, because Florida law requires a presuit investigation under Florida Statute §766 before a lawsuit can be filed: your attorney must investigate the claim, obtain a sworn medical expert opinion, and serve a formal Notice of Intent to Initiate Medical Malpractice on each defendant, who then has 90 days to respond. Obtaining records and securing an expert review takes months, so waiting until the two-year mark is close can cost you the claim. Exceptions apply for fraud and for cases involving minors.

What is the pre-suit process for a Sarasota 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 Twelfth Judicial Circuit. This is one reason to contact an attorney early.

Can I bring a claim if my loved one died from the stroke?

Yes. If a preventable stroke led to a loved one’s death, surviving family members may have a wrongful death claim covering medical costs, funeral expenses, and the loss of the person’s support and companionship. These claims have their own deadlines, so acting promptly matters.

Which doctor is responsible, the primary care physician or the cardiologist?

It can be either or both. Responsibility depends on who was managing the condition and who had the duty to act on the warning signs. We identify every provider whose care contributed to the missed prevention during our investigation, rather than asking you to figure it out.

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 Sarasota 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

If you or a loved one suffered a stroke that a Sarasota doctor’s earlier care could have prevented, talk to us before you accept anything from the provider or its insurer. We will review the records and tell you honestly what we see.

Sarasota Office 1990 Main St #782, Sarasota, FL 34236 (941) 214-9907

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