Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Insurers, in the interest of their own bottom line, put pressure on doctors to operate highly efficient offices. Because of this, chances are that you’ve spent less personal time with your doctor over the years. It also creates the potential for more misdiagnoses and medical errors.
Approximately 200,000 people die in the United States each year due to prescription errors and mistakes by healthcare professionals. Belying this number is the fact that many medical malpractice cases are not reported. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), each year there are:
12,000 deaths resulting from unnecessary surgery
7,000 deaths caused by medication errors in hospitals
20,000 deaths from other hospital errors
80,000 deaths from hospital born infections
106,000 deaths due to non-error, adverse effects of medication
Patients suffer injuries ranging from birth defects to spinal cord injuries or brain damage. In many cases, the patient dies.
Over 13,000 doctors in the U.S. have been disciplined for misconduct or incompetence due to negligence, drug abuse, substandard patient care, patient sexual abuse, and Medicaid fraud, among others. Most of these physicians retain their licenses and continue to treat patients. It is nearly impossible to uncover a doctor’s background information because of state confidentiality laws, even if that doctor has been disciplined for negligence or incompetence. Unfortunately, the majority of medical malpractice injuries are caused by a small percentage of doctors. This damages the image of good doctors in general.
Malpractice lawsuits hold medical professionals accountable, help patients get medical malpractice compensation, and encourage the monitoring of health care. Yet only 2% of medical malpractice victims seek compensation. This may be due in part to the difficulty in finding the energy, time, or presence of mind to do so in the midst of a tragedy. Unfortunately, as long as medical malpractice goes unreported and unpunished, it will continue to transpire at alarming rates.
If you or a loved one has been injured due to medical malpractice, don’t pay for the medical professional’s negligence! Seek legal representation as soon as possible since there are guidelines that govern the amount of time you have to file a suit or receive compensation. You or your loved one may be entitled to recover funds for medical care, hospitalization costs, diminished quality of life, lost wages, permanent disability, pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and even punitive damages.
Medical negligence is very difficult to prove. It requires experts who are willing to testify that the care given did not meet the appropriate standards, and that this failure caused the injuries. It can also be very costly to defend such cases. Most malpractice lawsuits are settled in advance of court proceedings. A qualified, experienced medical malpractice lawyer knows, however, that by diligently preparing for trial, an out-of-court settlement amount will likely be much greater.
Contact our Personal Injury Lawyers and Attorneys today to find an experienced medical malpractice lawyer near you.
