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When we are sick or injured, we put our faith in medical professionals to alleviate our pain and heal disease. However, mistakes can happen, and if a medical professional fails to provide the proper treatment or is negligent in their duty of care, medical malpractice occurs.
Medical malpractice happens when a patient is injured or killed due to the negligent act of a healthcare professional or healthcare facility. The healthcare professional could be a doctor, nurse, or any other professional responsible for a patient’s care. The facility may refer to a hospital, doctor’s office, or other medical treatment centers, including rehabilitation centers. Failing to diagnose, treat, or provide full care to a patient constitutes medical malpractice.
If you believe that you or a relative is the victim of medical malpractice, you should consider hiring an attorney to represent you in your claim. The experienced medical malpractice lawyers on the CEO Lawyer’s team are adept at identifying medical malpractice cases and can help you construct a winning legal strategy to compensate you for your injuries and other damages.
Followed by millions on social media, attorney Ali Awad knows how to bring legal power to the people, and he knows the factors to focus on to get results. Few people have the legal knowledge to aggressively pursue their own claim, but with the CEO Lawyer in their corner, they can go toe-to-toe with big insurance companies, especially when it comes to complex claims such as medical malpractice lawsuits. To speak with one of our injury and accident attorneys today, contact us online or call (833) 254-2923.
How Do Medical Malpractice Attorneys Determine if a Case is Worth Pursuing?
Medical malpractice claims can be complicated and confusing. If we are sick or injured or a loved one is suffering, it can be difficult to separate our emotions from the reality of the medical situation in front of us. We may want to blame the doctor or hospital for failing to cure an ailment or fix an injury when they have truly done everything humanly possible.
It is especially important during these times to consult with a highly trained and knowledgeable attorney that specializes in medical malpractice cases in order to determine whether or not a negligent error has resulted in disastrous or deadly harm.
The CEO Lawyer knows exactly what to look for to determine if your case rises to the level of medical malpractice. He and his team are trained to understand when:
- The recognized standard of care has not been met.
- The injury was a direct result of the recognized standard of care not being met.
- The injury resulted in significant or catastrophic damages to the victim.
Some common examples of medical malpractice include:
- A failure to properly recognize and diagnose symptoms
- A failure to properly test or order testing procedures on behalf of the sick patient
- Misdiagnosis of an illness
- A failure to properly read or interpret laboratory results
- Surgical errors, including unnecessary surgical procedures
- Anesthesia errors
- Administering medications improperly, including dosage errors
- Discharging a patient too early
- Failure to understand or blatant disregard of patient’s medical history
- Birth Injuries
Of these common medical malpractice claims, some happen more frequently than others. For example, medical misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis accounts for a large percentage of medical malpractice claims. If a doctor misdiagnoses or fails to diagnose an injury or disease early enough, the patient loses the precious time that could have prevented significant pain or death. Similarly, failing to administer the proper medication accounts for a significant portion of medical malpractice claims.
What is the Recognized Standard Duty of Care?
The recognized standard duty of care refers to the accepted medical treatment and procedures that are understood by reasonable health care professionals as the appropriate course of action to heal an injury or treat a disease. As a patient, you have the right to expect your doctors, nurses, and other medical caregivers to administer treatment that is consistent with the accepted medical standards of the day.
If your attorney is able to determine that a standard of care was breached and you suffered a loss or injury because of it, you may have a case for medical malpractice. There are other elements that must be proven for a failure to meet the standard of care to rise to the level of medical malpractice. An attorney can help you understand the elements required to prove that medical negligence has led to medical malpractice in your particular situation.
What is Medical Negligence?
Medical negligence is related to the recognized standard duty of care in that failing to meet the standard duty of care constitutes medical negligence. However, medical negligence does not always constitute medical malpractice.
Medical negligence refers to the actions committed by a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare professionals that do not meet the standard duty of care that is accepted by the medical community. In other words, the action does not rise to the accepted standard that would have been met if a similarly skilled professional would have cared for the neglected patient in another setting.
Medical negligence does not constitute medical malpractice on its own. In order to rise to the standard of medical malpractice, an injury must have occurred as a result of the medical action. In the legal community, these standards are referred to as legal causation and damages. It can be complicated to sort through the legal standards and definitions required to build a solid case, especially in medical malpractice claims. During these times, you should strongly consider consulting with a personal injury attorney with experience dealing with medical malpractice in order to make sure you are building the strongest case possible.
When Medical Malpractice Leads to Wrongful Death
It is hard to imagine a more devastating outcome of medical malpractice than when a loved one dies due to the negligence of a doctor or hospital. Unlike a regular medical malpractice case, a wrongful death suit must be brought by the victim’s surviving spouse, children, or estate. If a loved one died as the result of medical negligence, you could sue for damages to help cover leftover medical expenses and burial costs.
Proving wrongful death requires establishing medical negligence. Your attorney must be able to demonstrate that the neglectful actions of a healthcare professional or a healthcare facility resulted in them not acting appropriately to prevent your loved one from dying. Just as in a medical malpractice case, there must be a provable injury that resulted from medical negligence in order to bring a claim. In this case, that injury is your loved one’s wrongful death.
If a loved one has died as a result of medical malpractice, you should seek the services of an attorney because you will be pursuing two types of claims. In some instances, medical malpractice claims can be criminal, while wrongful death suits are usually civil matters.
What are the Elements of a Medical Malpractice Claim?
If you believe you have been the victim of medical malpractice, it is wise to seek the counsel of a trained medical malpractice attorney who can help you develop a legal strategy to help you get justice and receive compensation for your injuries and damages.
There are essentially four elements of a medical malpractice claim that a trained lawyer can help you with.
- First, your attorney will gather evidence to prove that the standard of care was not met by a particular healthcare professional or a healthcare facility. They will prove that a duty was owed to you and that duty was not met.
- Second, the attorney will prove that the duty was not met by demonstrating the manner in which the medical professional or healthcare facility did not meet or conform to the accepted standard of care, resulting in medical negligence.
- Third, the lawyer will link your injury to negligence, thereby establishing the grounds for your medical malpractice claim.
- Finally, your attorney will outline in detail the specific damages that you incurred as a result of the medical malpractice and will make a claim for compensation.
If your claim is not settled for the appropriate amount of compensation, your lawyer may file a lawsuit against the medical provider or their insurance agent. All doctors and hospitals are required to have medical malpractice insurance.
Taking Your Case to Court
The first phase of a medical malpractice trial is referred to as discovery. During this time, your attorney and the representation for the defendant, whether that be an individual medical provider or a large hospital, will exchange information about the case, including all of the documentation they plan to present as evidence. Both parties will be reviewing medical charts and depositions for evidence they think will help bolster their client’s claim.
It is still possible that your case can settle outside of the courtroom. Often during this stage, the defendant will come to understand that settling the case will cost less money than going to trial and they will make your attorney an offer. An experienced medical malpractice attorney like Ali Awad knows when a settlement offer is too low. You can be certain that the CEO Lawyer will not accept a lowball offer just to settle out of court.
If your case is still not settled, your attorney may hire an expert witness in order to testify that the medical standard of care was not met. The judge is not a medical expert. It is likely that your jury, if you have one, is not composed of all medical professionals, so expert witnesses are important in medical malpractice trials to help everyday people understand complex medical jargon.
After both sides have provided testimony, a judgment will determine whether or not a settlement will be paid to the plaintiff.
What Type of Compensation Can I Receive for a Medical Malpractice Case?
There are two types of compensation you are eligible for if you have a medical malpractice claim. The first is compensatory, and if you take your case to court, your lawyer may ask for punitive damages.
Compensatory damages refer to the economic damages you have suffered due to the medical practitioner’s negligence. Your medical expenses, both current, and future, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and life care expenses, if applicable, are all compensatory damages. Recovering these losses is designed to help you get back or recover the life or quality of life you had before the accident. Some non-economic damages can be recovered, as well. Pain and suffering, mental anguish, and emotional stress are all considered compensatory damages.
Punitive damages are only awarded if you win your case in court. Punitive damages are supposed to be a deterrent for the defendant and are designed to punish them enough that they will not act neglectfully in the future. Punitive damages are typically awarded if the defendant is found guilty of malicious or wilfully neglectful conduct.
The CEO Lawyer, Ali Awad, knows what it takes to find success for himself and his clients. He has built a booming business out of earning his clients hundreds of millions in collective settlements and jury awards.
Contact Ali Awad’s Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyers to Talk About Your Case
Attorney Ali Awad has made his mark as one of the youngest attorneys to bring a brand new firm from startup to 8-figures in just three short years! He and his team will lend their expertise to your case, helping you focus on the factors that matter most when it comes to earning settlements. With the know-how and the drive to get it done, CEO Lawyer Ali Awad and his team will strive to earn you the compensation you need to recover after your serious accident.
Medical malpractice suits can be complicated and confusing. Not only do you need an attorney with experience, but you want someone like Ali Awad to keep your best interests in mind so that you can be sure you are getting a fair settlement offer.
The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm has a success rate of over 99.5%. Call now at (833) 254-2923 or contact us online for a no-obligation consultation.