Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Medical professionals have a legal duty to provide at least the minimum standards of care to all patients. However, sometimes, professionals fail to meet this duty (by negligence or acts of omission), causing injury to a patient.
Deviation from professional medical standards that causes injury to a patient may result in a legal cause of action called medical malpractice. Were you or a loved one injured due to medical negligence? In that case, you could hold the at-fault doctor, nurse, or other medical professional responsible by filing a medical malpractice claim.
The medical malpractice lawyers at the Injury Lawyers Team, sponsored by Rosenfeld Law Offices, can help you take legal action for your injuries, financial losses, and other damages.
Call our medical malpractice attorneys today for a free consultation. All confidential or sensitive information you share with our legal team will remain private under an attorney-client relationship.
What is Medical Negligence?
Medical negligence refers to a violation of the standard of care or a negligent act that causes injury to a patient. It can occur in any medical setting, including emergency rooms, operating rooms, pharmacies, and nursing homes.
Medical malpractice is a formal legal action against a negligent healthcare provider. Medical malpractice law allows victims to recover financial compensation for harm caused by inadequate medical care.
How Often Does Medical Malpractice Occur?
According to Johns Hopkins, medical errors account for more than 250,000 deaths in the US yearly. It is the country’s third leading cause of death, with only heart disease and cancer causing more deaths.
Researchers say that most medical errors result from systemic problems rather than inherently bad medical professionals. These problems include:
- Poorly coordinated care
- Fragmented insurance networks
- Inadequate or underuse of safety nets
- Lack of accountability in physician practice patterns
Types of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice can occur in many ways, including:
- Emergency Room Errors: These are medical errors in emergency departments, such as faulty laboratory tests, inadequate patient monitoring, misdiagnosis, contaminated blood transfusions, etc.
- Medication Errors: These errors result from failing to provide correct medication to a patient, resulting in injury or further harm. Common medication errors include giving a patient the wrong drug, overdosing or underdosing a patient, and administering a drug incorrectly.
- Birth Injury: Medical negligence during, before, and after birth can result in injuries to the mother or child. Common birth injury errors include mishandling a newborn after delivery, failing to provide a mother with proper prenatal care, and using tools to forcibly remove a fetus from the mother.
- Surgical Errors: These errors occur before, during, and after surgery, resulting in injury or infection to a patient. Common surgical mistakes include administering too much or too little medication (anaesthesia errors), injuring a nerve, and performing an incision in the wrong location.
- Misdiagnosis: Failing to diagnose a patient with the proper condition constitutes medical malpractice. Without a correct diagnosis, a patient may be prescribed the wrong treatment, suffer other medical conditions, and undergo unnecessary surgery.
Common Medical Malpractice Injuries
Medical malpractice cases often involve serious injuries, such as:
- Brain Injury: A brain injury can result from a surgery error, misdiagnosis, or inadequate care. Failing to diagnose head trauma correctly or delaying treatment can cause or worsen brain injuries.
- Hospital-Acquired Infections: Improper medical care can cause infections, such as pneumonia, MRSA, and staph infections. Without proper treatment, infections can lead to a life-threatening condition called sepsis.
- Birth Injuries: Mishandling a mother or child before, during, and after birth can lead to birth injuries, such as fractures, facial paralysis, brachial palsy, and brain haemorrhaging.
- Complications From Medication Errors: The effects of medication errors can range from mild (e.g., itching, rashes, skin disfigurement) to severe (e.g., comatose, organ failure, heart attack).
- Medical Device Injury: The improper use of a medical tool or device can lead to patient injuries, such as when a doctor uses forceps to force a baby out of the birth canal.
- Wrongful Death: The negligent actions of healthcare providers can cause premature patient death, regardless of the extent of the error. Something as simple as discharging a patient too early can result in catastrophic personal injuries that cost a patient their life.
How Do You Know if You Have a Case For Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice cases consist of several essential elements, including:
- Doctor-Patient Relationship: You must show an established relationship between you and the at-fault medical professional by hiring or contracting their medical services. These services can only occur within the professional’s realm of employment, such as the hospital or private clinic.
- Duty of Care: Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals must abide by standards of care set by the medical community. Your medical providers have a legal duty to perform their duties consistent with these standards of care.
- Breach of Duty: You must prove that a medical provider breached the duty of care to file a medical malpractice case. A violation of duty is a negligent act or failure to act, such as giving the wrong prescription drugs, providing a delayed diagnosis, or removing the wrong organ during surgery.
- Causation: You must prove that the healthcare provider’s negligence caused your injuries. Documents such as medical records can help show the relationship between your injuries and a doctor’s negligence.
- Damages: A medical malpractice claim must demonstrate that the medical error caused damage, either economic or non-economic. These damages may include medical expenses, disability, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.
Filing a Medical Malpractice Case
Were you or a loved one a victim of medical malpractice? If so, you have the legal right to recover financial compensation for your non-economic and economic damages.
The Role of Your Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Medical malpractice law is difficult to navigate without legal representation. You need an experienced medical malpractice attorney that can help you:
- Investigate how and why the medical negligence happened
- Establish the liability of your healthcare provider
- Determine the extent of your non-economic and economic damages
- Collect evidence to support your claim
- Consult with medical experts
- Estimate the value of your settlement
- File your medical malpractice claim
- Negotiate the settlement value with the defendant’s insurance company
- File a medical malpractice lawsuit in civil court, if necessary
Damages
Even a simple medical mistake can lead to significant economic and non-economic damages for you and your family. These damages may include:
- Medical Bills: You may recover compensation for additional medical treatment for injuries caused by a provider’s negligence. These medical expenses may include doctor visits, hospitalization, medication, surgery, and therapy.
- Disability: You may be entitled to compensation if you or a loved one becomes disabled due to a medical mistake. Economic and non-economic damages related to a disability may include medical devices, rehabilitation, and loss of quality of life.
- Pain and Suffering: An injured patient may recover compensation for physical pain, emotional trauma, and other mental suffering caused by medical malpractice.
- Loss of Quality of Life: You or your loved one may suffer a loss of quality of life following medical malpractice, potentially manifesting in reduced independence, physical or mental suffering, and inability to enjoy usual activities.
- Lost Wages: You may have to miss work to recover from your injuries or care for your injured loved one. You may be able to recover compensation for wages, income, and benefits you have lost during this time.
- Scarring or Disfigurement: You may be entitled to financial compensation for any scarring or disfigurement resulting from medical malpractice.
- Wrongful Death: Surviving family members may receive compensation for their loved one’s death to help pay for funeral and burial costs, pre-death treatment, grief therapy, and other death-related expenses.
Your medical malpractice lawyer will estimate the potential value of your settlement based on these damages during your free case evaluation.
Evidence
Personal injury cases are often challenging to prove. Therefore, you must show substantial evidence to establish the relationship between the provider’s negligence and your injuries.
Your medical malpractice attorney will help you gather forms of proof to build your claim, such as:
- Medical records
- Medical bills
- Photos of your injuries
- Video evidence
- Healthcare policies and regulations
- Diagnostic test results
- Testimonies from expert witnesses
- Witness statements
- Incorrect prescriptions
Your personal injury attorney will list the documents you need to start collecting during your free case evaluation. Gathering evidence as early as possible will help you avoid losing critical information.
Settlement
After filing a medical malpractice claim against the defendant, their insurance company may offer you a settlement. You can accept the payment outright or have your personal injury lawyer negotiate for a better offer.
You can no longer sue for additional damages if you accept payment from the defendant’s party. Hence, you must ensure that the settlement value would be enough to cover your medical expenses, trauma, financial losses, and other damages.
Filing a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
Most medical malpractice claims settle out of court. However, these types of claims are prone to insurance disputes. You may need to pursue other means of dispute resolution if:
- The defendant’s insurance refuses to make a better settlement offer despite negotiations
- The defendant denies liability for the medical error that caused your damages
If this happens, your medical malpractice lawyer could help you file a civil lawsuit. During litigation, a judge or jury will hear evidence from both sides to determine a verdict. The success of your medical malpractice claim in court will heavily depend on the evidence available and how well your attorney can represent your case.
More complicated cases may be subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court.
However, not all medical malpractice suits are destined for court. Your medical malpractice lawyer could help you pursue other dispute resolution methods, such as mediation or arbitration, which are less expensive and time-consuming than litigation.
Nevertheless, our attorneys are well-equipped to handle all types of medical malpractice lawsuits, regardless of the legal path you have to take.
Hire an Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorney to Resolve Your Case
Healthcare providers are legally required to perform their duties in compliance with standards of care set by the medical community. Unfortunately, some professionals deviate from these standards, causing unnecessary pain and injury to patients.
Were you or a loved one a victim of medical malpractice? If so, the experienced medical malpractice attorneys at the Injury Lawyers Team, sponsored by Rosenfeld Law Offices, will be your legal advocates in pursuing justice.
Our skilled lawyers will leave no stone unturned in your medical malpractice case and help you collect compensation in the best way possible. We handle all types of medical malpractice claims, including medication errors, misdiagnoses, surgery errors, and more.
Call our personal injury team today for a free case evaluation. All confidential or sensitive information you share with our legal team will remain private under an attorney-client relationship.
Our lawyers handle all accepted cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning our services are free unless we win your case.