Plaintiff-side medical negligence attorneys with more than 70 years of combined Florida trial experience.
If a doctor, nurse, or hospital in Orlando made an error that left you or a family member worse off, we are here to help you. Obtaining compensation often requires medical records, qualified physician review, and a legal analysis most people cannot do on their own. An Orlando, FL medical malpractice lawyer at Needle & Ellenberg, P.A. can take on that investigation for you. Medical negligence cases have been the core of our practice for 46 years, and the evaluation costs you nothing.
Medical Malpractice Lawyer Orlando, FL
In a medical malpractice case, the law measures a provider’s conduct against the standard of care, which Florida law defines as what a reasonably prudent health care provider would have done under the circumstances. Malpractice occurs when a provider falls below that standard and the failure causes injury, and a successful claim requires proof of the breach, causation, and damages.
A bad outcome alone may not be malpractice, since diagnoses can be missed or delayed by providers acting reasonably under the circumstances, and common myths about these cases cause many people to misjudge their own situation in both directions. A medical malpractice attorney in Orlando can tell you which side of the line your case may fall on.
Types of Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle in Orlando
Medical harm is more common than most patients realize. An HHS OIG study found that 25 percent of hospitalized Medicare patients experienced harm during their stays in October 2018, and reviewers concluded that 43 percent of those events could have been prevented. Our Orlando medical negligence practice covers the full range of provider and facility errors.
- Medical condition diagnosing failures. Cancer, infections, and cardiac conditions can become far harder to treat when a provider misses or dismisses the warning signs. We compare what was documented against what should have prompted testing or referral.
- Stroke misdiagnosis. Stroke treatment is intensely time-sensitive, and an emergency department that attributes symptoms to migraine or intoxication may cost a patient the chance at clot-busting medication.
- Emergency room errors. Crowded ERs can produce triage mistakes, premature discharges, and missed test results. These cases turn on what the records show the staff knew and when.
- Surgical errors. Wrong-site procedures, nerve damage, retained instruments, and unrecognized complications may all support a claim when proper technique or monitoring would have prevented the harm.
- Anesthesia malpractice. Dosing mistakes and inadequate monitoring during procedures can cause brain injury or death within minutes. We retain qualified specialists to reconstruct what went wrong.
- Birth injuries. A delivery that injures a baby or mother may reflect a failure to recognize and respond to signs of distress during labor.
- Cerebral palsy. When oxygen deprivation around birth leads to lifelong disability, the claim must capture a lifetime of care, therapy, and support needs.
- Hospital negligence. Sometimes the failure is institutional rather than individual. Understaffing, poor communication between departments, and broken safety systems can all cause patient harm.
- Wrongful death. We represent families after fatal medical errors. Florida law places unique restrictions on certain damages when a death results from medical negligence, which makes early case evaluation especially important.
Why Choose Needle & Ellenberg, P.A. as My Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Orlando, FL?
Board-Certified Trial Counsel
Founding partners Andrew Needle and Andrew Ellenberg bring more than 70 years of combined experience in Florida medical negligence and plaintiffs’ injury law. Both handle plaintiffs’ injury and death cases exclusively.
Andrew Ellenberg focuses on plaintiffs’ injury and medical negligence cases, with practice concentrations that include plaintiffs’ injury and medical negligence cases across birth injury, delayed diagnosis, surgical error, anesthesia, and stroke claims. He earned his J.D. cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 1988. Martindale-Hubbell rates him AV Preeminent. Florida Super Lawyers has listed him every year since 2005, and The Best Lawyers in America has listed him every year since 2009 for plaintiffs’ medical malpractice and personal injury work.
Andrew Needle is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar. His practice concentrations include complex medical malpractice litigation and trial work, including multi- million dollar verdicts in cases that have tested the outer boundaries of existing Florida legal precedent. He holds a J.D. cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law (1977) and a B.S. from Cornell University (1974). He is a charter member of the Miami chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Best Lawyers in America named him “Lawyer of the Year” for Medical Malpractice Law, Plaintiffs, in Miami for 2020 and 2025.
Understanding Medical Malpractice Cases
These claims follow different rules than ordinary injury cases, and the differences shape everything from deadlines to damages.
Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Medical Malpractice Cases
Liability in a malpractice case rests on proving a breach of the standard of care that caused harm. Once liability is established, compensation may include:
- The cost of corrective treatment and future medical care
- Lost income and reduced ability to earn
- Pain, suffering, and mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Scarring and disfigurement
Florida once capped non-economic damages in these cases, but the state’s highest court overruled those limits, though defendants still raise cap arguments in certain narrow circumstances. Comparative fault rules can also reduce a recovery in proportion to a patient’s own share of blame, and notably, the stricter rule barring recovery for plaintiffs found more than half at fault does not apply to medical negligence claims.
Medical Malpractice Infographic
What Are Important Aspects of a Medical Malpractice Case?
Several requirements separate these claims from other injury cases, and each can determine the outcome of a case:
- The standard of care must be established through testimony from qualified medical professionals in the relevant specialty
- Florida requires a presuit investigation, including a sworn affidavit from a qualified medical professional describing how the provider’s actions or omissions caused harm
- A Notice of Intent must go to each potential defendant before suit, followed by a 90-day presuit screening period in which both sides exchange information
- Informed consent issues may create a separate basis for liability when a provider failed to disclose material risks
What Is the Medical Malpractice Case Timeline?
The presuit process makes these cases slower to file than ordinary negligence claims, and Florida’s filing deadline is generally two years from when the malpractice was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered, subject to outer limits and exceptions, including special rules for young children. A typical case may unfold this way:
- Records collection and complete file review
- Evaluation of the care by qualified physicians in the same field
- Service of the Notice of Intent with the supporting affidavit
- The 90-day presuit screening period and any early resolution discussions
- Filing suit, discovery, mediation, and trial when the case does not settle
What Should You Bring to Your Medical Malpractice Consultation?
Bringing the right documents to your consultation can help make the conversation more productive:
- A written timeline of the treatment, symptoms, and conversations as you remember them
- The names of every provider and facility involved
- Any electronic medical records, discharge papers, or test results in your possession
- A list of current medications and ongoing treatment
- Bills, insurance statements, and proof of missed work
If you do not have your records yet, we can request them. Expect a candid conversation about whether the care fell below the standard and what the claim may realistically involve.
What Are Important FL Legal Resources for Medical Malpractice Cases?
Several official sources can help you research the laws and the providers involved in your potential claim.
- Florida Statutes section 95.11 contains the filing deadlines for civil claims, including the discovery-based limitations period for medical negligence.
- Section 768.81 sets out Florida’s comparative fault rules, which govern how shared responsibility affects damages.
- The Florida Department of Health’s license verification portal lets you confirm a practitioner’s license status and view public discipline records.
These resources provide useful background, and we can explain how each rule applies to the facts of your care.
Reach Out to Needle & Ellenberg, P.A. to Schedule a Consultation
Questions about a medical outcome deserve answers from lawyers who handle these cases every day. Contact us to arrange a free, confidential review of your potential claim with an Orlando medical malpractice attorney. There is no fee unless we recover compensation for you, Spanish-speaking staff members are available, and we make it a priority to respond to new inquiries quickly.