What Types of Cases Does a Medical Malpractice Lawyer Handle?

Medical malpractice lawyers provide legal assistance to families who have claims against a medical care provider or member. This can include staff or doctors. Medical malpractice lawyers work on a variety of types of claims. A medical malpractice lawsuit is very complex. However, a medical malpractice attorney can get you the help you need to make your case in court.

Medical Malpractice Statistics

• Hospitals reported only a small fragment of medical treatment errors and other mistakes. In fact, a study done in 2012 by the Department of Health and Human Service shows that only 14% of those cases and errors are reported.
• Medical errors come in many forms. Surgery mistakes for inpatient care account for approximately 34% of all claims submitted. This makes it the most common form of outpatient claim a medical malpractice lawyer will see. There are errors that can also occur for outpatient cases as well. 46% of claims are from diagnosis errors.
• Only 7% of medical malpractice cases will make it to trial. Most, 93%, of these claims are resolved before ever entering trial. This means a settlement is reached outside of court.
• A Harvard study found that an astounding 18% of patients that stay in a hospital suffer some sort of injury during their stay and care. Many of these injuries or errors are life threatening and can be fatal.
• A study by the Office of the Inspector General found that 1 in 7 patients suffer adverse events or error while staying in a hospital. 180,000 deaths each year are attributed to these errors.
• The Joint Commission Center, who monitors hospitals and gives accreditation, gave a report that stated that up to 40 procedures happen every week in the United States on the wrong body part. These are wrong side, wrong site, or wrong patient procedures.

Examples of Claims Covered by Medical Malpractice Attorneys:

Medical malpractice attorneys are skilled in obtaining compensation for injuries or death caused by errors committed by doctors, nurses and other health care or medical providers at the hospital that result in serious or catastrophic injury or death, such as the following:

Hospital error can be:

• Poor hiring practice and hiring incompetent doctors and nurses
• Prescription or pharmacy error in the hospital. Wrong medication or wrong dose
• Errors by nursing staff that can include failure to monitor the patient effectively or medication errors.

Doctor errors can include:

• Failure to diagnose an illness. This can be missed heart attack, aneurysm, brain tumor, pulmonary embolism, or other injuries or ailments.
• Misdiagnoses of diseases including cancers and other medical conditions.
• Failure to properly treat injuries or disease.
• Failure to detect a failing pacemaker in a patient.
• Improperly placing devices such as biopsy needles.

Emergency room errors can include:

• Not detecting a heart attack or failing to treat an impending heart attack.
• Misdiagnosis of a disease or infection that is fatal.

Prescription drug errors can include:

• Wrong medication given to a patient
• Improper use of a medication such as giving too much or too little
• Using medication to treat ailments or illness it is not approved for

Surgical errors can include:

• Improper surgical technique by doctor
• Not providing enough oxygen during the medical procedure
• Errors in anesthesia that could result in death
• Leaving surgical equipment inside a patient, such as gauze or other tools that will cause infection

Birth injury can include:

• Failure to detect and resolve preventable birth defects
• Cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, shoulder dystocia from improper care
• Improper medication
• Laceration of an artery during hysterectomy that results in death
• Inappropriate chiropractic treatment or care

Defective medical products such as heart stents or implantable defibrillators

Patients must rely on doctors and healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat them properly. If a doctor or other medical professional makes a mistake, it can have serious consequences. These errors can even result in death. If your medical care provider did not follow an appropriate standard of care when diagnosing or treating you or a loved one, and the care resulted in death or injury, you may have the ability to move forward with a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The medical malpractice attorneys will prepare your case and work so that you receive the maximum compensation for your loss.