Here's a little known fact... medical errors are one of the Nation's leading causes of death and injury. The Institute of Medicine recently estimated that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in United States hospitals each year because of medical errors. This means that more people die from medical errors than from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS.

What Are Medical Errors?

Medical errors happen when a course of treatment or protocol that was planned as a part of medical care doesn't work, or when the wrong treatment or protocol is used.  Such errors can occur virtually anywhere in our vast health care system, including but not limited to:

·         Hospitals.

·         Clinics.

·         Outpatient Surgery Centers.

·         Doctors' Offices.

·         Nursing Homes.

·         Pharmacies.

·         Patients' Homes.

Errors can involve a number of things, among them::

·         Medicines.

·         Surgery.

·         Diagnosis.

·         Equipment.

·         Lab reports.

·         Devices.

·         X-Rays.

·         Mammograms. 

Medical negligence can occur in the most simplistic of tasks or treatments, such as when a patient with dangerously high blood pressure on a strict no-salt diet is given a high salt meal, or a nut allergy is violated.

Many medical errors are directly attributable to the complex (and insurance company ruled) health care system.  However, errors occur when physicians and patients have communication problems, such as when a doctor does not give the patient enough information to make an informed decision (informed consent).  

What Is Medical Malpractice?

The medical industry is about healing and living. But doctors deal with death and dying as an unavoidable part of their profession. Tragic and unpredicted results sometimes occur during the course of medical treatment. Should there have been a different result? Perhaps. But perhaps not.

A baby is very ill when born, and the child is later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. A healthy mother in her forties dies following routine liposuction surgery. The first person to blame is usually to doctor, and when a tragic result occurs, many quickly point the finger at the physician. Our medical malpractice lawyers realize that not every bad outcome is preventable. While tragedy often strikes though the doctors are faultless, many times there is serious negligence or carelessness or incompetence on the part of the physician.  In the wake of an emotionally devastating experience, whether it's dealing with your own illness, or the illness or death of a loved one, blame is often difficult to assign, and finding the truth of what happened can prove to be most difficult.

Are you or your loved one a victim of medical negligence? Before you accuse your doctor of malpractice, start by asking questions. If the answers don't make sense or if you have other suspicions, then you should seek another professional's opinion. Ideally, you should consult with a lawyer or law firm whose practice is devoted substantially to medical malpractice cases. Our medical / legal staff devotes most of their time to medical malpractice cases. 

When a potential medical malpractice client comes into our office, we gather information from that person and then obtain and scrutinize their medical records. Once we conduct research, which often times involves consulting with outside doctors and other medical personnel, we then give you our opinion as to whether the bad outcome was the product of medical malpractice.  

 PAIN AND SUFFERING DAMAGES

Medical malpractice victims can get money awarded to compensate for doctor and hospital bills, to replace lost income, to cover future medical expenses, and also to compensate for pain and suffering, as well as loss of opportunity.  Pain and suffering damages can be awarded to individuals suffering from discomfort, disfigurement, embarrassment, humiliation, and from the loss of the opportunity to experience and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. For many women victims of medical negligence, the result is the loss of reproductive health, and with it the missed opportunity to have a child.

TYPES OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CLAIMS

Types of malpractice claims vary considerably. Some examples include improper diagnosis, delayed diagnosis, improper care, negligence in performing surgical procedures, medication errors, failure to obtain the patient's informed consent, and abandonment of the patient.