St. Louis Personal Injury Attorney for Medical Negligence

A study published in the September 2013 issue of the Journal of Patient Safety estimated that each year between 210,000 and 440,000 patients suffer from some type of preventable harm that contributes to their death while at a hospital.  These numbers are shockingly high compared to a widely accepted study published in 1999 by the Institute of Medicine that estimated that up to 98,000 people died annually as a result of hospital mistakes.

Advocates for patient safety are confident that the number of “adverse events” occurring in hospitals is on the rise and the only way to protect patients is by demanding greater transparency in health care and by enforcing accountability.

When a medical professional fails to do something that should have been done, it is considered to be medical negligence.  The patients and families who suffer damages as a result of medical negligence deserve justice, and that is where medical negligence lawsuits come into play.

Types of Medical Negligence Lawsuits

Medical negligence can include anything from preventable surgical errors to not properly warning a patient about the side effects of a medication. Healthcare providers can act negligently in a variety of ways that can be divided into three general categories.

Failure to Diagnose Properly. If a competent doctor does not discover an illness or makes the wrong diagnosis of an ailment, and the mistake causes unnecessary injury to the patient, the doctor could be charged with medical negligence.

Failure to Treat Properly. If a patient is treated with an unsuccessful method that no other competent healthcare provider would use, it could be medical negligence or malpractice. This is also true if the doctor chooses the correct plan of care but executes it incompetently.

Failure to Properly Warn Patient of Known Risks. Doctors must adhere to a rule called the duty of informed consent. This means that they have a duty to notify patients about known risks involved with a treatment or procedure.

Organizing A Medical Negligence Lawsuit

Full preparation of a medical negligence lawsuit will require the counsel of an experienced medical negligence attorney.  To help determine if you have a case, you should be able to prove the following:

•  That there is a patient-doctor relationship. You must establish that you sought the care of the healthcare provider in question and that they agreed to treat you.
•  Doctor negligence –  To prove medical negligence, you must show that the doctor treated you in a way that a reasonably skillful and careful physician would not.
•  That the negligent act or omission caused the injury or illness. You must show that the injury or illness was not preexisting and was a direct cause of medial negligence.
•  That damages were caused by the injury or illness.  Damages can include additional medical bills, lost wages, physical pain, and mental anguish.

Pursuing medical negligence claims requires expert testimonies and a complete understanding of the complex laws regarding medical negligence and/or medical malpractice.

If you believe you or a loved one has suffered due to the negligence of a medical provider, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Lieser Law Firm to receive a FREE case evaluation.