Medical professionals should not be able to get away with making errors simply because they have multiple college degrees and high standing in the community. These professionals are certainly well-educated and hold a relative status, yet they make mistakes just like everyone else. Some doctors and surgeons can be flat-out careless when treating and operating on patients. If you believe that you or a loved one has sustained a serious injury or death due to a medical provider’s negligence, your first thoughts should be: “How can I contact medical negligence attorneys near me?” Our legal team is here to pursue justice on your behalf. Let Lerner and Rowe handle it while you attempt to get your body and life back to normal.
The Definition of Medical Malpractice
There is plenty of confusion as to what medical malpractice really means. This is a legal term that refers to instances in which patients suffer harm by a physician, nurse, surgeon or other medical professional. Further, the medical professional does not complete his or her medical responsibilities in the proper manner. In fact, a hospital or other medical care institution can be sued for medical malpractice. From incorrect diagnoses to errs during surgery, prescribing the wrong medication and beyond, medical malpractice occurs in numerous forms.
What Qualifies as a Medical Malpractice Case?
In order to prove medical malpractice has occurred, the patient’s attorney must be able to show the doctor-patient relationship existed, the medical professional acted negligently, his or her negligence caused the injury, and the injury caused specific damages. If you did not hire the medical professional or if he or she did not agree to be hired, there is no legal grounds for a medical malpractice case.
As an example, the court will not award compensation to an individual who sues a medical professional who provided advice on an Internet message board or website. If the plaintiff decided to apply such information to his or her situation and it backfired, it is not the medical professional’s fault. However, as long as the doctor saw and treated you, it shouldn’t be difficult to prove the doctor-patient relationship exists. The pressing question is usually whether a consulting doctor treated you in a direct or indirect manner.
Those who work in the legal and medical industries often refer to the duty, dereliction, direct cause and damages delineated above as the “Four Ds” of medical malpractice. Dereliction is a synonym for negligence or the failure to provide an acceptable level of care. If one of these four elements is not present after the evidence is reviewed, malpractice may not be found. Let’s take a look at the remaining three elements.
The Medical Provider Must be Negligent for Your Medical Malpractice Claim to Carry Weight in a Court of Law
The medical provider must have acted in a negligent manner. This means he or she failed to provide due care to you, the patient. It does not matter if the treatment disappointed you or if the results did not exactly meet you expectations. Negligence is the important detail of the matter. The medical provider must have been negligent in connection with the diagnosis or treatment. Your attorney must be able to prove the medical professional in question caused you harm in a manner that a competent medical professional would not have under the same circumstances.
It is unnecessary for the medical provider’s care to be the best possible care. Rather, this medical professional’s care and treatment must have been provided below a minimum standard that is expected in the community. Your attorney will have to present one or several medical experts to address whether the medical professional provided the proper medical standard of care. This expert witness will also explain how the doctor deviated from this standard.
The Medical Professional’s Negligence Must be the Cause of the Injury
Plenty of medical malpractice cases involve patients that were already suffering from injuries or sickness. So there is a question as to whether the provider’s actions, regardless of whether they were negligent, actually caused the harm. As an example, if a patient dies following treatment for lung cancer and the physician performed a negligent act or made a negligent treatment decision, it will be challenging to prove the negligence is the cause of death as opposed to cancer. It is up to our legal team to show it is more likely than not the medical professional’s incompetence directly caused the injury.
The Injury Caused Specific Damage
If it is clear the medical professional performed beneath the expected standards for his or her medical field, it is not possible to sue for malpractice unless the patient endured harm. Patients can sue for physical pain, mental anguish, medical bills, and other related expenses.
High-profile Examples of Medical Malpractice
The musician Prince’s death is one of the more noteworthy instances of alleged medical malpractice. Prince passed away in 2016 after accidentally overdosing on fentanyl. The singer and guitarist’s family filed a medical malpractice and wrongful death case following his death. Prince’s family sued Michael Schulenberg along with numerous health care providers.
The family argues that this physician and the contributing medical providers provided Prince with medical services prior to his death. Yet, they did not treat his addiction to opioids. The court initially dismissed and the family subsequently refiled the lawsuit. Authorities are on record as stating Schulenberg has admitted to prescribing multiple opioids to the singer’s bodyguard, knowing the pills would be passed on to Prince. Though Schulenberg has since disputed these claims, he paid $30,000 to settle a violation in which it was alleged the opioid was prescribed illegally.
A jury recently awarded a Tucson woman a whopping $12 million following her accusations of medical malpractice. Medical providers misdiagnosed Tucson resident Esmeralda Tripp with appendicitis and prescribed Profilnine, a drug that controls bleeding. Esmeralda’s daughter, Jamaica, sued Banner UMC also known as the University of Arizona Health Network.
The hospital where Esmeralda received treatment pinned the blame on Esmeralda for allegedly failing to provide her complete medical information. Though Jamaica’s legal team emerged victorious, she is adamant there is no amount of money that can right this wrong. Jamaica’s mother had suffered seizures in the past and was using Coumadin, a blood thinner that eliminates blood clots. Doctors prescribed Profilnine to treat the supposed appendicitis only to have the medication render Jamaica’s mother a vegetable. In fact, one of the treating doctors even admitted they messed up. They provided the wrong medication and did not know what would happen.
How an Attorney Can Help
Too many patients who have been severely wronged by surgeons, doctors, and other medical professionals assume it is simply bad luck and just the way life goes. This is the wrong mentality to have following this egregious injustice. If you suspect a medical professional has acted negligently in any way, you should pursue justice with the assistance of an experienced medical malpractice attorney. Lerner and Rowe’s legal team has studied medical malpractice law in-depth. This field of law is particularly complicated as it is regulated by a nuanced body of rules. We have filed numerous successful medical malpractice lawsuits.
Lean on an attorney during this difficult period to ensure the all nuances of your case are thoroughly reviewed. From interviewing you about the malpractice to collecting medical records, pinpointing the perfect medical experts to testify, and beyond. Our legal assistance can prove vitally important to your quest for justice. This is the assistance you need to emerge with your rightfully owed compensation for the medical provider’s negligence.
Are You Asking Yourself, “Where are the Medical Negligence Attorneys Near Me?” Our Medical Negligence Team is Here to Right This Wrong
If a surgeon, physician or other medical professional has worsened your physical condition, botched a surgery, or performed medical malpractice in any other way, do not assume you have no avenue of recourse. The question to ask in this difficult period of time is: “Where are the medical negligence attorneys near me?” Our aggressive legal team is here to advocate on your behalf in and out of court. We will help you obtain the compensation you deserve following this injustice. Reach out to Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys by dialing 520-977-1900. You can also get in touch with us via our online form or by using our LiveChat feature. Our hours are 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday, yet there is always someone available 24/7 to answer your call. The best part is there are no out of pocket costs and there is absolutely no fee until you win! So don’t waste anymore time. Reach out to us today!