Medical malpractice is an issue that should not go unpunished or undocumented. Individuals who suffer injuries at the hands of doctors or nurses deserve to have full compensation for their damages. Those who are placed in the care of others at healthcare facilities expect to be treated properly and not subjected to any harm. When there is a transgression such as a medical error, the victim can be left feeling traumatized, betrayed, and confused, not to mention suffering through the physical problems as well. Our team of experienced Visalia attorneys at the Normandie Law Firm has been handling medical malpractice cases for years, and it shows in our results. We have brought fair settlements to hundreds of individuals for their injuries sustained in hospitals and health centers. Our clients have called us with questions about the steps they can take to file a medical malpractice claim; they are often left in the dark after an injury and may not receive any assistance or cooperation from the hospital, and require expert legal advice. Examples of some of the questions they ask us include:
- Where can I find a Visalia attorney for help with my medical malpractice claim?
- Who is the best medical negligence attorney in Visalia County?
- I need a surgery malpractice lawyer. Who should I call?
- Where can I find med mal lawyers with expertise in malpractice cases?
Information about Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is defined as an “act or omission by a physician during treatment of a patient that deviates from accepted norms of practice in the medical community and causes an injury to the patient.” Essentially, this means that a doctor or nurse has acted in a manner that other doctors and nurses would not have under the same or similar conditions, and as a result, the patient was hurt. A medical malpractice lawsuit usually requires the testimony of a fellow doctor who would explain why the responsible doctor’s actions were not the standard for a procedure; healthcare professionals are gauged by their actions in relation to their peers, and if enough doctors claim the action was negligent, it likely would be ruled as such.
Similar to personal injury claims, medical malpractice claims also require that the individual proves the doctor acted negligently. The aforementioned confirmation from a fellow doctor is crucial, but there are four main points that must be shown to be true. They are as follows:
You and the doctor had a doctor/patient relationship. This means that you agreed to pay the doctor for his services and he agreed to perform a procedure on you. In many cases, the patient will go to the hospital and have a doctor work on him, or he will make an appointment and schedule a surgery or other treatment. He may even sit through physical therapy with a worker that was assigned to him. All of these relationships have mutual benefits – services in exchange for compensation and healing. In some instances, such as emergencies involving patients who are unconscious or in critical condition, there is no explicit agreement; the fact that the doctor set out to help you is enough to warrant the establishment of a relationship.
The doctor breached his duty of care and shown negligence in his actions. The doctor is supposed to treat you properly and do everything he can not to harm you. If he did not adequately sterilize any equipment or rushed through a surgery, he would be acting negligently. There are standards that must be adhered to, and deviating from those standards allows this second point to hold true.
The negligence must have caused an injury. If a doctor were to rush through a surgery, he may improperly stitch up an incision or mistakenly realign a broken bone. It can be said that if the doctor were taking his time or not acting recklessly, he would not have committed these actions.
The injury led to actual harm to the patient. This point is crucial – some injuries do not actually have harm; for instance, a misalignment of a bone may not cause any pain or discomfort, nor any loss in range of motion. As long as you are still healthy with the injury and it does not impact your health, you cannot say the injury caused harm. However, injuries that do lead to harm, like snipping the wrong nerve or amputating the wrong digit, absolutely fall under this category.
Insurance agencies and hospital representatives will do everything in their power to show that your medical malpractice case should not receive any attention. For this reason, you should enlist the help of a medical malpractice lawyer in Visalia. Our lawyers are knowledgeable and attuned to the finer details of the law, and we can help you earn compensation for your injuries.
Examples of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice happens in many forms. Often, patients may misattribute their injuries to the actions of doctors, or they may not correctly follow instructions and blame everyone but themselves. A patient who tries to jump after undergoing knee surgery and subsequently damaging his knee further would not be able to sue; however, there may be a case if the doctor asked the patient to attempt to jump. A Visalia attorney can give you more information on what may constitute medical malpractice.
Other common types of medical malpractice include:
- Botched Surgery: Surgery is risky for all patients; more often than not, they are put under general anesthesia and are not awake during the operations. This means that they cannot identify when a doctor may be making a mistake. Huge errors like wrong limb amputation, unnecessary incisions, and unnecessary removal of organs can be noticed immediately after surgery, but others may take longer to become apparent. You can sue the surgeon for malpractice if you were harmed due to a mistake during surgery.
- Missed Diagnosis: Doctors often cannot pinpoint exactly what’s wrong with a patient; they go through a few different scenarios and try to treat as many as possible in an effort to narrow down what the affliction may be. Unfortunately, this can result in a missed diagnosis or a misdiagnosis altogether. What makes this especially dangerous is that the timetable in which a disease or condition is treated can be crucial to the healing process. A person whose cancer was misdiagnosed by be past the point of treatment, and if the doctor had caught it on the first attempt, the patient would have a far better chance of recovery. You are able to sue the doctor if a missed diagnosis led to suffering or further injuries.
- Wrong Medication: Medication is a fickle treatment. Not everyone reacts the same way to medicine, whether it be type or dosage. Some doctors generalize and provide patients with various types of medication to treat conditions. This can cause allergic reactions, overdoses, flare ups, and more. In the worst cases, prescribing the wrong drug or medication to a patient can lead to death.
There are numerous types of injuries that can be caused by medical negligence. Many injuries are small and ineffectual, but some can be devastating. One simple slip of the scalpel can sever a nerve and result in the loss of feeling and motion to a limb, for instance. Some other injuries that occur due to a medical mistake include:
- Brain injury
- Amputation
- Internal bleeding and hemorrhages
- Loss of motion
- Spinal cord injury
- Paralysis
- Infection
- Death
Do not let the responsible doctor or hospital get away with medical malpractice. Reach out to one of our Visalia lawyers with experience in medical malpractice cases, and we can help you sue the hospital for damages.
How We Help
With the help of our aggressive lawyers, you can earn a sizeable settlement for your medical malpractice claim. We can assist you in earning coverage for both past and future medical bills, past and future lost wages at work, and pain and suffering. Keep in mind that pain and suffering damages are capped at $250,000, while there is no upper limit on the amount you can receive to cover your medical bills.
Reach out to our Visalia County attorneys for medical negligence today for a free consultation with an expert lawyer. You can ask any questions you want about the legal process and we will give you advice on how to best move forward with a claim. Further, if you select us to represent you, you will not be required to pay any money out of pocket with our zero fee guarantee. Our payment only comes if we win your case, and the money is taken from the settlement we earn for you. If we lose, you owe us nothing at all.
Contact a Visalia medical malpractice attorney today for more help. We have handled cases from multiple hospitals in the area, including Tulare Regional Medical Center, Kaweah Delta Health Care District, Community Health Center, Cypress Mental Health Center, IQ Surgical Associates, Visalia Center For Ambulatory Medicine & Surgery, Exeter Memorial Hospital, Family Care Connection, Porterville Convalescent Hospital, and Tulare District Healthcare System.
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