About Medical Law
A medical professional should never cause you harm while treating you for an illness or an injury. Unfortunately, medical negligence occurs frequently. Whether you sustained injuries during treatment with a doctor, an osteopath, a dentist or any other medical professional, they or their insurance carriers should pay for the damages they cause.
Physicians rarely acknowledge that they caused an injury and their negligence is often difficult to prove. If a doctor chooses to report an adverse event to their malpractice carrier, the doctor often retains settlement approval rights. Resolving a medical injury claim requires legal knowledge and malpractice experience. It's important to consult with a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as you suspect your doctor has committed a negligent act. You should never try to resolve your claim on your own.
Medical Negligence is Common but Underreported
Negligence, malpractice, and error are often used interchangeably when addressing physician-caused harm. Medical events occur frequently, and they happen under a variety of circumstances.
Surgeons commit errors during surgery and perform unnecessary operations. Physicians misdiagnose or fail to diagnose medical conditions, so they sometimes treat an illness the patient doesn't have. An obstetrician's actions or failure to act often cause brain injury when a newborn suffers from oxygen deprivation during delivery. Doctors prescribe the wrong medications and pharmacists improperly dispense the wrong doses. These and many other negligent medical acts cause harm and sometimes death.
A 2016 Johns Hopkins medical error study, explains why medical errors go undetected, undocumented, or unchallenged. When a team of researchers studied death certificates, they found that medical errors occurred frequently but were often undocumented as errors. The Johns Hopkins team determined that 250,000 deaths per year occurred because of a physician's or a medical professional's error.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention documents deaths nationwide. The information is inaccurate because the official death certificate submission form doesn't include a "medical error" classification as a cause of death. The form requires a description of the "immediate illness" and the "underlying illness." There's no guidance for documenting deaths caused by medical negligence or inappropriate care. Because of this reporting anomaly, tracking medical errors remains a complicated undertaking.
Medical Malpractice Lawyers
If you suspect that a medical error injured you or a family member, don't wait for your medical professional to admit their mistake. You need a skilled medical malpractice lawyer to protect your legal interests and deal with complex medical negligence issues and standards.
- Medical error statutes of limitations
- Filing timely court documents
- Malpractice notification compliance
- Formal information requests
- Expert analysis and assessment
- Timely presentation of case documentation
- Compliance with court rules and procedures
- Damage evaluation
- Settlement negotiations
Contact a Medical Malpractice Attorney
Medical negligence cases require early assessment and timely action. As a patient or family member, it's up to you to recognize when there's a problem with your medical treatment. You must then act quickly and take the appropriate steps to protect your rights.
Malpractice attorneys handle complex liability issues every day. Schedule a consultation to learn more about medical liability claims and to discuss the merits of your case.