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Medical Malpractice Lawyer Philadelphia

What are the Root Causes of Medical Malpractice?

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Medical Malpractice

Today’s medical technology is advanced. But, medical errors are still prevalent. Medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death across the United States. Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare practitioner causes an injury to a patient by providing inadequate medical care. Medical malpractice cases are more complex as compared to other personal injury cases. Medical negligence continues to be a big issue in the U.S.  People who have the victim of medical negligence should file a lawsuit. By filing a claim, you’ll be able to receive the maximum possible compensation for your pain and suffering.

Facts About Medical Malpractice

To help you know more about medical negligence, let’s go over a few facts.

  • Medical malpractice or negligence is the third leading cause of death in the United States
  • Medication errors, medical errors, infections, post-surgical infections, bedsores are a few common types of hospital medical malpractice
  • About 100,000 deaths occur in the United States due to medical errors each year
  • Estimated 19,000 medical negligence lawsuits filed in the United States each year
  • 1 out of every 3 patients will be a victim of medical error during a hospital visit
  • The annual cost of treating medical errors that can be prevented is 29$ billion

Common Consequences of Medical Negligence

  • Birth defects
  • Disability
  • Infertility
  • Chronic pain
  • Disfigurement
  • Loss of consortium
  • Lost wages
  • Wrongful death

Causes of Medical Malpractice

Let’s take a look at some of the top causes of medical negligence lawsuits.

Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis is the #1 cause of medical malpractice. When healthcare professionals are failed to provide the appropriate treatment to a patient to prevent severe personal injury. More than 12 million people are misdiagnosed in hospitals across the U.S.

Surgical Errors- Surgical errors are common causes of medical negligence. 1 out of 3 medical malpractice cases occurs due to surgical errors. Surgical errors can have challenging consequences leading to a fatal injury.

Medication Errors- More than 7,000-9,000 people die as a result of medication errors in the United States each year. Medication errors occur when a healthcare professional prescribes the wrong medication or the wrong dosage to a patient.

Birth Injuries- Birth injury is one of the most devastating causes of medical negligence. The most common medical issues associated with birth injuries include improper use of forceps during childbirth, surgical problems during a C-Section, and oxygen deficit to the infant.

Anesthesia Errors- Anesthesia is given to a patient before sending him/her into surgery. It can be dangerous if not given correctly.  The most common anesthesia errors include administering too much or too little anesthesia, failure to monitor the patient after giving anesthesia, failure to inform the patient about preoperative procedures, and failure to research the patient’s medical history.

If you or your family member have sustained fatal injuries due to medical negligence, speak to one of the professional attorneys or lawyers. A professional Medical Malpractice Lawyer Philadelphia can help you obtain adequate compensation for your loss.

 

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Common Causes of Medical Malpractice

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is one of the major problems in the United States. It is actually an act or by a medical professional that diverges from the right medical standard of treatment. Medical mistakes carry distressing consequences. Medical malpractice is the third-leading cause of death in the United States. According to a recent study, approx. 400,000 people die from medical negligence each year.

Few Facts About Medical Malpractice

  • Medical malpractice is one of the major causes of death in the U.S.
  • Paralysis and brain damage are the medical negligence lawsuits with the highest payouts
  • 100,000 deaths happen in the U.S. each year due to medical errors
  • 19,000 medical malpractice cases are filed in this country every year
  • 195,000 patients die as a result of preventable medical errors every year
  • 40% of healthcare professionals had been litigated for medical malpractice
  • Misdiagnosis is one of the common causes of medical negligence
  • Medication errors, medical errors, bedsores, and post-surgical infections are a few common causes of medical malpractice
  • New York, New Jersey, California, and Florida have the highest medical malpractice payouts in the U.S.
  • Finding a genuine medical malpractice lawyer is quite challenging
  • Some medical negligence cases occur as a result of sexual misconduct at hospitals
  • Medical malpractice lawsuits take weeks or months
  • Most of the medical negligence lawyers work on a contingency fee

Common Causes of Medical Negligence

Misdiagnosis – If a doctor or other medical professional fails to diagnose your condition, you’ll face some serious consequences.

Surgical Errors- Errors that occur during surgery can have challenging consequences. More than 6% of patients suffering from surgical errors die each year.

Anesthesia Errors- If a healthcare professional gives you too much or too little anesthesia before performing surgery, it can be really harmful.

Childbirth Injury- This type of injury is caused by human error which causes harm to the newborn baby or mother. Wrongful conception, wrongful birth, injury to mother, and injury to an infant are some of the most common birth injuries.

Medication Errors – If a patient is given the wrong drug or incorrect dosage, it may lead to serious harm to the patient.

Medical malpractice affects the victim’s life. If you or your family member have suffered from medical negligence in Philadelphia, find and hire one of the professional lawyers or attorneys. By hiring a professional Medical Malpractice Lawyer Philadelphia, you’ll receive the right compensation for your pain and suffering.

Medical Malpractice Lawyer Philadelphia

Amputation Malpractice: Why Is Happens And How To Avoid It?

Losing a limb can be truly devastating and this could happen to anyone without any warning. Amputations could be a lifelong ordeal, especially if the loss of hand, foot, arm or leg will result in the person’s permanent disability. According to a medical malpractice lawyer in Philadelphia, there are approximately two million Americans who are dealing with amputations. Although there are advanced remedies to lessen the agony of a person with a case of amputation like the use of prosthetics, there is still a struggle on the victim because his or her life will be changed forever.

What are the common causes of amputations?

The common causes where a doctor will suggest amputation to the patient may include the following:

  • Poor blood circulation

Certain medical conditions can damage the arteries that are responsible for the good flow of blood circulation. When a person has poor circulation, the blood isn’t delivering enough oxygen and nutrients to the other parts of the body including the tissues. If this continues to happen, the tissue may die and be prone to infection. Amputation is recommended when the tissue dies.

  • Infection

When a person is already infected with the serious condition of infection where no type of antibiotics or treatment can be administered, the affected tissue may die and eventually require amputation to prevent the spread of infection or affecting other parts of the body or bloodstream.

  • Serious injury

Another incident where a person will need amputation is due to accidents where severe crushing or burning to the limbs or part of a limb is affected.

  • Growth of tumor

There are medical cases when a patient is diagnosed with the growth of tumor in the bones, muscles or part of a limb and the doctor may require amputation to avoid the growth of tumor from spreading or affecting other vital parts of the body.

  • Frostbite

Yes, severe frostbites can permanently kill the tissues of the affected parts of the body like fingers, hands, feet or toes. If the doctor found the severe damaged on the tissue and there is no way to save it, amputation is performed.

What can be the cause of wrongful amputation?

Wrongful amputation happens when the attending doctor or medical professional according to the Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney committed a mistake while performing the treatment or cause greater harm to the patient. Below are cases where negligence or medical malpractice can be valid for a lawsuit:

  • Misdiagnosis, delay or failure to diagnose correctly

When a doctor misdiagnoses or encounters failure or delays in providing a correct diagnosis of a patient like a case of infection, peripheral artery disease or diabetes, amputation is performed due to failure to detect or treat the existing medical illness.

  • Failure to provide right treatment

Another case of medical malpractice that results to wrongful amputation is when a doctor gives a correct diagnosis of the condition of the patient, but failed to provide the right care or medical treatment and led to amputation.

  • Chart errors

Among the medical malpractices that could arise is when a doctor, nurse or hospital employee committed a mistake in giving wrong information like charts and amputation are the result of this error.

What are the side effects of wrongful amputations?

Wrongful amputations have serious side effects to the life of a patient and often lead to the following:

  • Permanent disability
  • Muscle and tissue loss
  • Depression
  • Prosthetic problems
  • Infection

How to avoid a medical malpractice?

According to an experienced medical malpractice lawyer in Philadelphia, anyone can prevent a medical malpractice by following these best practices:

  • Find a reputable and caring doctor.
  • Take good care of your health.
  • Get support from a loved when having to deal with a serious medical illness.
  • Disclose your medical information correctly to avoid the wrong diagnosis.
  • Trust your innermost feelings when it comes to what your body tells you.
  • Follow your doctor’s medical advice.
  • Comply strictly with your doctor’s required follow-up visits.
  • Get a second opinion.

What happens if you or a loved one has been a victim of wrongful amputation?

If you or a loved one has been a victim of wrongful amputation in Philadelphia, get the professional advice of a Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney and determine if a medical malpractice case can be filed.

 

Medical Malpractice Lawyer Philadelphia

Is A Birth Injury Considered A Medical Malpractice?

Undergoing birth delivery has its own risk, both to the expectant mother and unborn child. This is why most expectant parents amidst the excitement still have growing fears of what might arise while inside the delivery room. Birth related injuries do happen, but can be prevented if the medical doctors and nurses attending the delivery have performed their responsibilities well. If you are already expecting your baby anytime and want to know what grounds a birth injury is considered a medical malpractice.

Can birth injuries occur?

Sad to say, but it’s a fact that birth injuries occur and could affect any expectant mother who is about to give birth. There are various ways birth injuries could happen, and in most cases there are two scenarios to look into:

  • The doctor or medical professional failed to assess the risk or treat the condition of the expectant mother.
  • The birth injuries are due to negligence during the prenatal care.

In the first scenario, the doctor may have failed to diagnose accurately the actual condition of the expectant mother such as presence of hypertension, failure to check the heart rate of the baby or miscalculated the need to perform a caesarian procedure. If this happens, and birth injury resulted from this kind of situation, a medical malpractice can be filed against the attending doctor and medical staff or file a claim against the hospital where the delivery took place.

In the second scenario, negligence during the prenatal care, again the attending doctor, medical staff or pharmacist may be held accountable if wrong prescription was given and led to the adverse complications to the expectant mother including the unborn child. If there is found irregularities during the prenatal care, according to a medical malpractice lawyer in Philadelphia, the mother can file a medical malpractice case.

How to prove a medical malpractice on a case of birth injury?

For your birth injury case to have grounds for a medical malpractice, there has to be proofs like a medical report showing the detailed medical condition of the mother or baby during pregnancy and after birth. The opinion of a third party may be used to validate the medical malpractice like seeking another medical professional of similar specialization to testify and proved that mistakes or errors have been done that put the mother and baby at greater risk.

Where to get help for a medical malpractice claim?

Birth injuries can be prevent at all cost if an experienced medical professional like doctor has done everything to reduce the risk during while the expectant mother while under his or her care during prenatal care and while giving birth.

If you or someone you loved has become a victim of birth injury, the person who can be of help is an expert in medical malpractice like an attorney in Philadelphia with many won cases on medical malpractice lawsuits. Learn more how you can protect your legal rights while under the care of a medical professional, talk to a legal representative right now to review your case.

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Medical Malpractice Claims That A Lawyer In Philadelphia Can Handle

Do you want to know if your hired lawyer in Philadelphia can handle your medical malpractice claim? Let me share with you the common medical malpractice claims, so that you have an idea on what to do next.

  • Misdiagnosis

This is one of the common cases of medical malpractice that could lead to a lawsuit according to a Philadelphia attorney, misdiagnosis. Why? Any misdiagnosis on the medical condition of an individual could result to error in medical treatment or worst further serious complications. Among the medical conditions misdiagnosed are related to tumors found in a patient’s body, infectious diseases, heart attack, blood clotting found in the lung and heart ailment. A misdiagnosis resulting to one’s worsening condition or fatality is entitled for medical malpractice claim.

  • Obstetric/Gynecological Negligence

Another medical malpractice case that a knowledgeable lawyer in Philadelphia can defend is the when a pregnant woman has been a victim of negligence, either while under the stage of pregnancy or during childbirth. The medical malpractice is found to be valid if any of the following issues are present:

  • Excessive vaginal bleeding after undergoing normal delivery
  • Abruption of the placenta (abnormalities of the placenta previa)
  • Preeclampsia
  • Prolonged labor leading to the critical condition of the mother and baby
  • Surgical negligence during pregnancy or labor
  • Premature delivery
  • Mother suffers from hemorrhage during pregnancy stage or labor
  • Gestational diabetes
  • Injury of the baby during labor (nerve injury)

Assessing the complexity of the medical malpractice case during pregnancy or while having labor must be done with an expert like an attorney practicing medical malpractice in Philadelphia. If the attending doctor is found negligent the legal representative can file a medical malpractice lawsuit due to negligence.

  • Error in medical prescription or administration of prescribed drugs

This is one of the common cases of medical malpractice cases, the errors committed from wrong prescription or administration of medicines. For example, if a health care provider recommended a particular medicine brand for a certain illness and guaranteed satisfying result like completely treating the patient from this health problem, but the prescribed medicine didn’t deliver favorable outcome and worsened the condition of patient, this is another case of medical malpractice.

  • Mistakes committed in a medical surgery procedure

When mistakes are committed during a medical surgery procedure and led to a life threatening incident to the patient, this is already considered a case of medical malpractice. For example, if the anesthesia administered to the patient prior a surgery procedure failed to take effect and led to excessive bleeding, this is considered a medical malpractice. The patient affected has every right to receive medical malpractice claim.

I do hope this topic has shed some valuable information on medical malpractice and how a lawyer in Philadelphia can help you in filing a medical malpractice claim. In the event you can’t assess where your medical malpractice can be categorized and on what grounds, talk to a legal representative with solid track of record of won cases in medical malpractice.

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What To Expect If You Have A Medical Malpractice Case According To A Philadelphia Lawyer?

Can’t still determine if you can proceed with a medical malpractice case? If you are having apprehensions whether your case falls under this category or not, let me give you an insightful overview of a medical malpractice case and what to expect from the perspective of a Philadelphia lawyer.

What is a Medical Malpractice?

A medical malpractice arises due to the negligence of a health care and medical professional while performing his or her duties and led to the harm or injury to the patient. Medical malpractice can be due to a misdiagnosis, errors committed in a medical procedure, poor aftercare treatment or failure to detect the symptoms of a serious illness.

Who can help if you are a victim of medical malpractice?

A legal representative is an ideal person in authority to contact and seek advice if you are a victim of medical malpractice. When locating a lawyer in Philadelphia for your medical malpractice case, see to it that the lawyer is fully licensed to practice this profession, has relevant experience in handling medical malpractice, specifically in the area of professional liability law.

What to expect during your initial meeting with a medical malpractice lawyer based in Philadelphia?

Your initial one-on-one consultation with your hired lawyer for this malpractice case in Philadelphia would normally start with an extensive interview of your current medical condition as well as the medical treatment availed. During this private meeting the lawyer aims to get enough information on your medical records, medical billing and treatments received where a medical malpractice has occurred. Once the lawyer arrived from a legal standpoint that you have a medical malpractice case, he or she will discuss with the client the next action to undertake.

Things that your hired lawyer will suggest do for your medical malpractice case in Philadelphia:

  • Get expert opinion from a medical professional

If your hired attorney in Philadelphia ruled out that you have a medical malpractice case, he or she will get the expert opinion of a medical professional. In the event the case will undergo trial, this expert will stand as a witness like a doctor with a similar specialty as the defendant and provide an opinion based on medical records reviewed.

  • Filing of a lawsuit

A settlement is most unlikely to happen in a medical malpractice case. Your hired legal representative will file the lawsuit, called “Complaint” or “Writ”. The timeline of a medical malpractice case pre-trial may take approximately a year or more (3 years) before it will get to trial.

  • Submit proof or affidavit

The medical malpractice attorney is must submit an Offer of Proof or Affidavit after the lawsuit is filed. This document guaranteed that there is indeed a case of medical malpractice. Rules on the submission of the affidavit may vary from one state to another and that’s why it an advantage that you hire an attorney who practices in Philadelphia and specializes in medical malpractice.

  • Discovery process takes place

Upon approval of the judge of the Offer of Proof or Affidavit, the litigation process will take place where the discovery will be performed. Here, both parties the plaintiff and defendant will be represented by their appointed lawyers, documents will be given as evidence including witnesses. The discovery process may take a year or more due to the deadline set by the court. The final decision will only arrive after the judge heard both sides of the arguments.

  • Mediation

After the discovery process is the mediation (settlement). Here, both parties with their lawyers will discuss settlement or negotiation in front of a mediator.

  • Trial

In the event, the mediation didn’t succeed the case will be brought to trial. The medical malpractice case trial may take a week or more before the judge will come up with a final decision. There are cases when a trial will be rescheduled due to conflict of schedules of the judge.

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How To Choose A Credible Medical Malpractice Lawyer In Philly?

Choosing a credible medical malpractice lawyer Philly can be truly overwhelming, especially if you or a loved one is still under recovery after a serious case of medical malpractice. A medical malpractice case is quite different from a personal injury case much complicated and would need an experienced lawyer that handled mostly medical malpractice lawsuits. So, how can you find a suitable lawyer to help you resolve this problem?

Quick Steps To Direct You To The Right Medical Malpractice Attorney Philly:

Step #1 – Ask referrals from a trusted individual

This is your initial task to help you locate a qualified medical malpractice lawyer ask referrals from a trusted individual like a general lawyer who happens to be connected with a lawyer expert in medical malpractice. You can also ask friends, relatives or colleagues at work that have used the services of a medical malpractice legal representative.

Step #2 – Contact your local bar association                                

If you haven’t been successful getting referrals, the next step that I’m sure will lead you to a good number of accredited lawyers practicing in medical malpractice is by contacting your local bar association. I’m sure most bar associations have a compilation of members with their corresponding specializations.

Step #3 – Do online research     

Yes, this is indeed a true source of relevant information, online research. In fact, you don’t even need to go out to get a list of medical malpractice lawyers. You can do the online research right in the comforts of your home or wherever you are at the moment. Just one piece of advice when doing online research, try to be more specific with your search. For example, if you live in Philadelphia and you medical malpractice case happened at this location, then, better type relevant keywords like “medical malpractice lawyer Philly” or “medical malpractice attorney Philly” and Google will provide you list of candidates that match your preferences. Be sure to narrow your list to what you really need and give them a quick call to verify if they can help you with your case.

Step #4 – Ask relevant questions

Once you have gathered enough names of legal representatives with specialization in medical malpractice, book a private consultation. See to it when you arrive at the meeting venue that you have prepared a list of relevant questions that will help you check if the lawyer is the right one for your case. Here are some of the common questions that every client with medical malpractice case can ask a Medical Malpractice Lawyer Philadelphia:

  • How long have you been handling medical malpractice cases?
  • What is the percentage of won cases?
  • Where most of the cases settled?

Your potential medical malpractice attorney must be confident in answering these questions and be willing to show proofs of satisfied clients who have received huge settlements.

Step #5 – Trust your innermost feelings

Lastly, the success of your medical malpractice case will not only be dependent on how good and efficient is your hired medical malpractice lawyer Philly, but also on other external factors like your rapport with this professional. If your innermost feelings tell you that this legal representative is a good fit for this complicated case and seems very sensitive to your needs, then, finalize your intention to contract his or her services.

Lawyers have different specializations and unique in their own ways. You might come across a very strict lawyer or find someone that can make you feel comfortable sharing your fears. When you are having a hard time deciding which one to hire to handle your medical malpractice case, go over the steps above and apply them when making a final selection. After all, at the end of the day, you will have to make a decision to avoid delays in the processing of your medical malpractice case.