Medical Malpractice

When Injury or illness requires a visit to a physician or hospital, you can generally rest secured  that a medical professional’s years of experience and training will result in proper treatment.  However, medical care providers are only human, and sometimes serious and preventable errors occur.

Negligence and Errors

Negligence by a medical professional  includes errors in diagnosis, treatment, or illness management.  There are surgical errors, substandard pregnancy management issues, and birthing errors. If such negligence results in injury to a patient, there arises a legal case for medical malpractice potentially against:

• The doctor, if his or her actions deviated from generally accepted standards of practice;
• The hospital for improper care or inadequate training, such as problems with medications or sanitation; and
• Other hospital personnel for their own carelessness or negligence while providing, monitoring or coordinating care.

Medical malpractice laws exist and are designed to protect patients’ rights to pursue compensation if they are injured as a result of negligence.  The truth is that malpractice suits are very often complicated and costly.  It is therefore important that if you believe you have a medical malpractice claim, it is important to consult an attorney. Go ahead and contact us now.

Cases are Time Sensitive

Medical Malpractice cases are time sensitive and it is important that even if you have a valid claim, you lose your ability to file a lawsuit if you wait too long.  Depending on the particular jurisdiction, two or three years after the malpractice occurs, or two or three years after you reasonably should have known there was malpractice, is the general rule for the statutory period within which a claim must be filed. Virginia law goes by two years while Maryland law goes by three years. It is never wise to wait until the very end before filing suit.

In a medical malpractice claim, the real decision-maker is often the doctor’s insurance carrier—that is if your doctor is even insured (some are not!), as well as the doctor’s attorney who is being paid by the insurance carrier. The same goes for the insurance carrier of the hospital and other hospital personnel. You will need an experienced professional to help you evaluate and prosecute your claim, and that is where we and our agents and consultants come in.

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