What would happen if not legal anymore to be able to sue your doctor, hospital or doctor? Many believe it could be a good idea. If your doctor got distracted and improperly allowed your baby to remain at the bottom of the birth canal to long, your child’s lifetime battle with brain damage could merely be a sad, unfortunate event instead of an actionable legal matter.
Despite what some people think that medical malpractice lawsuits play an important part in advancing the health care industry. Medical negligence claims are just one of the only ways to keep medical professionals and medical facilities accountable for their negligent or negligent patient care. As an example, lawsuits against healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) resulted in drastic changes to the equipment, disinfectants as well as procedures to lower or eliminate the possibility of infections.
If you or a loved one has been injured by an error of a medical professional, you can and should speak with a Seattle medical malpractice lawyer at Menzer Law Firm. You deserve to learn more about Washington legal malpractice and how it applies to your situation. You need to determine if you are entitled to a legal claim and, if you do, how you pursue that claim to obtain fair the compensation you deserve.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice, also referred to as medical negligence, is the inability of a medical expert to meet the required standards of care or seek their patient’s written consent. These complications and side effects are not inherently the result of medical negligence. Poor outcomes can occur even when your doctor does everything right.
Affirming the standards of care means that doctors are required to exercise the care, skill, and learning expected of a reasonably prudent medical professional in the present that they practice in the field or class to which they are to in Washington. State of Washington, acting in similar circumstances or situations. For instance your cardiologist ought to behave in the same way a prudent cardiologist in Washington would under the same types of circumstances.
All medical professionals, excluding emergencies, require to obtain your informed consent. It is essential to be informed of all the material facts pertaining to the treatment you receive before you’re ready to sign a consent form for treatment. It’s irresponsible for a doctor to not speak to you about the risks and facts related to treatment and get your informed permission.
Common types of medical malpractice
Medical Malpractice Attorneys Seattle WA have handled negligence cases throughout the Seattle area and throughout Washington state for decades. We have been working closely with medical malpractice victims as well as their families, who were injured by the most prevalent types of negligence. These include:
- Failure to Diagnose Physicians may fail to accurately diagnose an injury or condition , despite having the ability to do so. Your doctor might not order the appropriate tests, not interpret the results correctly or overlook the symptoms. A failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis can lead you to undergo harmful, unnecessary treatments , causing your condition to get worse.
- Medication errors: A doctor or pharmacist may make a hazardous medication mistake. The doctor may prescribe a drug not appropriate for your situation or could interfere with other medications that you take. A nurse may administer an incorrect drug or correct medication in the wrong dosage or form. A pharmacist or technician could mistakenly fill in a prescription. Errors in prescriptions can be detrimental and can even be deadly.
- Patient Falls: If you are admitted to a hospital or other health care center, you need to receive proper 24/7 care. Patients shouldn’t be left to walk and get around on your own. The risk of falling when you are ill as well as recovering from surgery just too great. Without adequate assistance and reasonable safety measures, you might fall and suffer a traumatic skull injury or fracture.
- Surgery Errors: When you go into surgery, regardless of whether it’s an essential or elective procedure, you’re expecting the medical staff to provide absolute care of your life. However, a doctor, nurse, anesthesiologist or other members of the surgical team may be careless and make mistakes. You could undergo the incorrect procedure or have the operation performed on the wrong region of the body. You could receive too much or too little anesthesia. You could be exposed to harmful bacteria or viruses that could cause an HAI.
- Birth Injury: Pregnant women as well as infants must be closely watched so that births and pregnancy take place in a safe manner. If medical professionals or nurses don’t monitor pregnant women or fetuses or ignore signs of distress, they can cause mother and baby to suffer harm. Poor care can result in premature births, miscarriage or unneeded C-Sections. The baby to break bones as well as brain damage, or cerebral palsy.
Do you have a Seattle Medical Malpractice Claim?
If you’re the victim of medical negligence there is a chance that you could be facing severe consequences for the remaining years the rest of your lives. A lawsuit will not take away all your pain or suffering as well as disfigurement or loss of function due to the negligence of the hospital or medical professional. The legal system does offer financial remedies for the physical, psychological, and financial injuries associated with negligence.
Talk to a Seattle Medical malpractice attorney about whether you are able to make a valid and convincing legal case against a medical provider. To have an effective malpractice claim you have to be able to demonstrate that the medical professional did not meet the applicable standards of medical care; that the patient suffered serious injuries, and that these violations of the standard of care are the primary reason behind your serious injuries.
Fight for compensation
If you suffer an injury because of negligence or medical negligence and negligence, the law may entitle you to compensation:
- Past As well as Future Medical Bills
- Past and Future Lost Wages
- Disfigurement
- Physical limitations or disabilities
- Pain and Suffering
- Emotional Distress
Insurance companies that represent hospitals and doctors are typically not inclined to offer fair compensation for your injury. Their lawyers insist that there is no obligation at all so you have to cope the injury, pain, and financial burdens on your shoulders. But our malpractice lawyers might help you defend your rights.
In Washington, the Medical Malpractice Statutes of Limitations for Medical Malpractice
There is a limit to the length of time it takes to submit a claim for medical negligence lawsuit. It is the Washington time limit in the case of medical negligence is usually at least three years following the dates of the alleged negligence , or one year from the time you discovered or reasonably could have identified the medical provider’s negligence. There is a second period of time under Washington law called“statute of restraint “statute of repose” — which states that any claims, even in the event of a late finding of negligence, must be brought within 8 years of the negligence alleged.
How can I tell if my doctor committed malpractice?
One of the hardest parts for medical professionals is figuring out whether your physician did any wrongs that amount to negligence. It is not always the case that doctor errors are legally deemed to be malpractice. Doctors make decisions based on the facts at hand. Sometimes it’s not the right diagnosis or the treatment isn’t effective. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem and that’s why it’s essential to get help from an attorney for malpractice so that they can examine the pertinent medical records. It is also common to hire a medical expert clarify if there is misconduct.
How can I determine if someone was suing my doctor for medical malpractice before?
You can look into the background of your doctor’s by a variety of methods. You can look for any disciplinary cases from authorities like the Washington Medical Commission. In the next step, check on the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) that lists medical malpractice settlements and verdicts for physicians in the U.S. Another option, although not exhaustive one can do is search public court records in the state of Washington.
Where should I file a medical-malpractice lawsuit?
You are only able to bring a lawsuit if a court has jurisdiction over parties involved and also the subject matter. You can file the suit in the state where the incident took place. For instance, if the incident occurred in an Seattle hospital, you could claim a case even if reside beyond Washington.
Do I have a medical malpractice claim? Will it be heard in court?
Maybe, but most medical malpractice cases settle. In Washington where the law is in force, it requires that you participate in mediation prior to trial. In other words, even after the lawyer files your medical malpractice lawsuit, you’ll have an opportunity to settle the matter outside of the court. Menzer Law Firm’s malpractice personal injury lawyer Seattle WA always prepare his cases for trial, increasing the chances of settling.
What happens if i learn about the malpractice prior to the statute of limitations expired?
In Washington in the United States, you typically have three years from the time the malpractice occurred to make a claim. However, there are instances where people don’t discover that they have been the subject of an accident until much later. That’s the reason Washington is governed by the “discovery rule.” If you find or could have realized that your injury resulted from malpractice the law gives you a year to file a lawsuit. The rule of discovery has limitations however. In Washington you are allowed up to eight years from the date of the malpractice to file your lawsuit.