When an eye surgeon or ophthalmologist fails to meet the accepted standard of care, the results are often permanent and devastating. Whether your injury involves a botched surgery or a missed diagnosis, you need a legal team that understands the delicate intersection of medicine and law.
Choosing the right DeLand ophthalmic malpractice lawyer is the most important decision you will make following a grave medical error. At Colling Gilbert Wright, our medical malpractice attorneys do not just settle cases. We build them for trial to ensure your rights are fully protected and that you get the compensation you are owed.
What Are the Common Types of Ophthalmic Malpractice?
Ophthalmic malpractice occurs when an eye care professional—such as an ophthalmologist, optometrist, or retinal surgeon—fails to provide the accepted standard of care, resulting in permanent vision impairment or total blindness. Because the eye is incredibly delicate, even a minor error can have catastrophic results. Common types of ophthalmic negligence include:
Surgical Errors
This includes complications during cataract surgery, such as a ruptured posterior capsule or dropped lens fragment, as well as LASIK or PRK errors where too much corneal tissue is removed.
Failure to Diagnose or Treat
Overlooking symptoms of glaucoma, retinal detachment, or macular degeneration can allow these treatable conditions to progress to irreversible vision loss.
Post-Operative Neglect
Failing to monitor a patient for infections or high intraocular pressure after surgery can lead to rapid, irreversible damage.
Medication Errors
Prescribing incorrect eye drops or failing to recognize contraindications that cause toxic reactions or steroid-induced glaucoma.
The injuries and consequences of these errors are often life-altering and can include severe infections, retinal detachment and tears, scarring, and nerve damage. Beyond the physical loss of sight, victims often face a total loss of independence, an inability to drive, and a forced exit from their career.
These complex medical injuries require a legal team with real courtroom experience to prove that a reasonably competent specialist would have acted differently under the same circumstances. A DeLand ophthalmic malpractice attorney at The Florida Firm can work with vocational experts and life-care planners to document how these injuries will impact your financial and emotional stability for decades to come.
Seeking Financial Recovery for Ophthalmic Malpractice
Because most of our cases are referred to us by other attorneys, our DeLand vision loss injury attorneys have the resources to challenge the aggressive defense teams hired by eye surgery centers. A successful claim can recover several types of compensation, including economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages cover the tangible costs of your injury,y such as corrective surgeries, the cost of long-term visual aids, and the loss of future earning capacity. Non-economic damages can address the intangible but devastating impact of blindness or impairment, including physical pain, mental anguish, and the loss of the ability to enjoy life the way you did before the injury.
We can pursue any and all liable parties beyond just the surgeon, including the ambulatory surgery center or hospital if they failed to maintain equipment or ignored a surgeon’s history of errors. Our success in complex litigation includes landmark results such as a $3.99 million medical malpractice settlement and a $3 million recovery for failure to diagnose. If a medical professional’s negligence has injured your sight, choose the firm that other lawyers trust with their own clients.
Schedule a Free Consultation With an Ophthalmic Malpractice Attorney in Deland
At Colling Gilbert Wright, we bring over 30 years of comprehensive case handling to every client, backed by a history of landmark victories. Our DeLand ophthalmic malpractice lawyer operates on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win your case.
If an eye care professional’s negligence injured your sight, contact The Florida Firm today for a free, confidential consultation.