Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Our Medical malpractice Lawyers are helping patients who suffered harm or injuries caused by an error committed by their health care providers. These errors, which are defined as “negligences,” include inappropriate treatment, administration of a wrong medication, failure to provide proper care or omission to take an adequate action. The consequences may vary from a personal injury, to the death of the unfortunate patient. The health care professionals who may commit this act of negligence include doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, healthcare facilities (hospitals and clinics) and even pharmaceutical companies.
Litigations and financial compensation
Many people who suffered the grievous consequences of a medical error will seek financial compensation by filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. If the doctor or the health care service was liable for the damage suffered, a state or federal court may compensate the injured patient or his family. To obtain this reward the plaintiff and his attorney must find reliable evidence that an act of negligence was committed.
Documents that prove that a serious injury occurred as a consequence of the doctor’s failure to provide an adequate standard of care are required. Before a health care professional can be accused of not adhering to certain standards, in fact, the law requires some form of evidence. If a lawyer does not provide the court with reliable records to substantiate the claim, the litigation cannot be justified and will be then rejected.
Hospitals and other health care facilities can also be sued when they might be held liable of the harm suffered by the plaintiff. For example, if a clinic does not investigate the credentials of the staff currently providing treatment to the patients recovered, it can be accused of negligent supervision and “corporate negligence.” If a patient is injured because the number of nurses was inadequate to address the needs of that facility, or because allegedly incompetent doctors’ treatment plans are not properly inquired, the hospital itself can be found responsible (vicarious liability).
Medical Malpractice statistics and facts
Everybody knows that cardiovascular accidents and cancer are the two leading causes of death in the United States. Few do know, however, that with almost 200,000 preventable deaths every year, the third one is medical malpractice, as proved by a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Although not every one of them will result in an injury, medical errors are extremely common. It has been estimated that during a hospital stay, at least 1 patient out of 3 will be a victim of a potential error. Every year almost 20,000 medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state and federal tribunals, an outstanding 15% of the total personal injury litigations filed. Over $3 billion is spent in payouts provided to the injured patient or his survivors.
Medical Malpractice and Healthcare Fraud
Sometimes the alleged medical errors that caused a patient to suffer a more or less severe injury, are all but unintended. In order to maximize their profits, unscrupulous health care providers, or even some hospital and clinics, employed some unethical policies that endangered the lives of their patients. For example, treatments that were inappropriate or simply less effective have been administered to receive higher Medicare reimbursements or because the health care provider received a kickback from a pharmaceutical company. One of the most famous examples of these abhorrent practices was the 2008 scandal that involved Dr. Derek Desai, M.D.. In order to save no more than $10 per patient, the head of two endoscopy clinics in Nevada ordered his nurses and physicians to “double-dip” all the syringes back into anesthetic vials that were intended for single-use only. The consequences were especially dire, with more than one hundred patients being infected by Hepatitis C virus and eventually dying.
How much time do you have to file a litigation?
Finding a qualified medical malpractice attorney is the first step to have any chance to receive proper compensation for the damage you suffered. Our skilled lawyers will help you understand the strength and weaknesses of your case, and will provide you with free legal advice whether you decide to pursue your claim or not.
However, it is very important that you know that most malpractice cases need to be brought to the court’s attention as soon as possible. All civil claims, in fact, have time limits known as the “statute of limitation,” which require a plaintiff to file his lawsuit within a defined time period. We can help you check your state laws to ensure you’re still in time to request monetary compensation. Contact us now by filling a form or calling our toll-free phone number at any time.
