Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action occurring when a healthcare professional’s negligent act or omission causes injury to a patient. If you or a loved one are a victim of injury or wrongful death, you'll want to speak to a Winder medical malpractice attorney immediately. They will best advise you on what to do and what not to do next. Schedule a free case evaluation to discover a path to financial compensation.
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What Is Medical Malpractice?
A clearer definition of medical malpractice is professional negligence, falling under tort law. It describes a healthcare provider's actions or omissions that cause injury to a patient due to deviation from the accepted norms of standard care in the medical community. Healthcare providers may include doctors, surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, specialists, dentists, and facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and laboratories.
Types of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is a blanket term for various injuries—occurring from differing treatments and procedures. Standard types of medical malpractice that malpractice lawyers help injured parties recover damages for include:
- Diagnosis Errors: These common errors include misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, and failure to diagnose.
- Surgical Errors: These errors commonly involve performing the wrong procedure, leaving surgical instruments inside a patient, using non-sterile instruments, and operating on the wrong patient.
- Birth Injuries: Birth trauma may include injuries like nerve damage, cerebral palsy, cephalohematoma, shoulder dystocia, and spinal cord injuries.
- Anesthesia Errors: These errors involve improper or inadequate administration of drugs to patients, including those who are allergic.
- Failure to Treat: Failing to treat a patient involves circumstances when medical professionals properly diagnose a patient but fail to order the necessary tests and treatments.
- Medication Errors: These errors can include when a patient suffers an adverse reaction after being given and when the dosage or medication is incorrect.
Lack of informed consent is another issue constituting medical malpractice. Informed consent is a critical component of a doctor-patient relationship. It requires providing patients with information about their injuries, treatment options, and potential risks so that they can make an informed decision about their healthcare.
Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Attorney
First and foremost, the medical professionals against whom you're filing claims or a lawsuit have a team of highly skilled lawyers fighting for them. You need a medical malpractice attorney for their proficient understanding of medical law, protection against insurance companies, evidence collection and analysis, and damage assessment and valuation of claims. They are skilled negotiators who confidently demand reasonable settlements from insurers and will litigate your case if it requires going to trial.
Proficient Understanding of Medical Law
Pursuing medical malpractice claims requires understanding legal concepts, insurance claim procedures, medical terminology, treatments, practices, and law. Medical malpractice lawyers are proficient in understanding medical law and handling claims similar to yours.
Protection Against Insurance Companies
Insurance companies are relentless about settling claims quickly or denying them altogether. They also significantly undervalue claims to minimize company losses. Insurer tactics often involve:
- Sending lowball offers almost immediately
- Sending offers that only cover the cost of medical copays
- Pressuring injured parties to admit liability
- Pressuring claimants to settle before completing medical treatments
- Asking for a recorded statement, hoping to obtain a recording of you stating anything they can use to deny liability or undervalue your claim
Sometimes, insurance companies resort to bad-faith tactics. These include refusing to pay valid claims, unfair and unnecessary claim denials, and misrepresenting policy terms. Hiring a medical malpractice attorney automatically creates a barrier between you and insurance companies. Once you've retained legal counsel, they can no longer contact you about your case. Your attorney will handle all communications.
Evidence Collection and Analysis
Strong evidence is needed to prove medical malpractice. Your malpractice attorney will fortify the strength of your evidence by consulting experts who can provide valuable testimony about the extent of your injuries and damages. Evidence your attorney will gather and analyze includes:
- Detailed Medical Records: These are the most critical pieces of evidence, documenting diagnoses, medical treatments, lab results, pain management and medications, and notes from healthcare providers.
- Expert Witness Testimony: Healthcare experts provide valuable testimony about the extent of your injuries, the standard of care, and how medical professionals failed to meet that standard.
- Witness Statements: Your attorney will identify possible witnesses and gather statements verifying that medical malpractice occurred.
- Photographic Evidence: Visual evidence documenting the extent of your injuries.
- Video Evidence: Visual evidence documenting your injuries' impact on your daily life, including pain and limitations.
- Informed Consent Forms: These forms help show that healthcare professionals and providers failed to disclose risks and potential complications.
Your attorney will require proper documentation of damages. Documentation may include medical bills, lost income statements, and receipts for out-of-pocket costs. It may also include journals documenting pain and suffering and testimony from a mental health specialist speaking to the physical and mental impacts of your injuries.
Damage Assessment and Valuation
Medical malpractice lawyers will exhaustively evaluate possible damages in your claim to maximize compensation. Assessment includes calculating your economic losses and determining your non-economic damages or pain and suffering. Damages commonly include:
- Medical and rehabilitation bills
- Income losses
- Permanent impairments, spinal cord injuries, and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Chronic pain conditions
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Anxiety and depression
- Loss of consortium (companionship, physical relations)
- Household services (hired help for cooking, cleaning, laundry, and childcare)
Wrongful death is another legal action that families can pursue after losing a loved one due to medical malpractice. State jurisdiction determines who can file a wrongful death claim or lawsuit. Damages you may recover include final medical and arrangement costs, loss of financial support, and loss of consortium.
Negotiation With Insurance Companies
Medical malpractice cases generally involve multiple parties. Once your attorney determines damages, they'll send demand letters to all liable insurance companies. This is when negotiations will begin. Once all liable parties agree to settlement terms, your attorney will receive compensation, take their contingent fee, and issue your settlement check.
Consult a Medical Malpractice Attorney
Schedule a free case evaluation with a reputable and experienced Winder personal injury attorney. They can develop a plan to recover compensation for financial losses and other damages.