Maryland Needlestick Medical Malpractice Lawyer
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 6,000 to 8,000 occupational needlestick injuries take place each year. Although some are benign, others can lead to bloodborne diseases such as malaria, herpes, and hepatitis.
If you or a loved one has experienced a needlestick injury, contact a Maryland needlestick medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible to begin fighting for the appropriate compensation. Let a dedicated medical malpractice attorney fight for you.
Needlestick Injuries
Needlestick injuries occur most frequently among nursing staff, although they can also affect patients, physicians, housekeepers, and laboratory staff. In addition to malaria, herpes, and hepatitis, other common bloodborne diseases that can stem from needlestick injuries are:
- Diphtheria
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
- Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
- Spotted fever
- Tuberculosis
- Syphilis
Both patients and healthcare workers that contract these bloodborne pathogens should contact a needlestick medical malpractice lawyer in Maryland as soon as possible to begin piecing together a case that determines liability.
Filing for Needlestick Injury as a Healthcare Employee
Per Maryland Labor and Employment § 9-705, workers must file a claim for occupational disease within one year of contracting a disease or believing to have contracted it. For accidental injury, Maryland Code, Labor and Employment § 9-704 states that employees must notify their employers within 10 days.
With regard to filing a claim, employees must do so within seven years of the date of the injury, as per the Maryland Code, Labor and Employment § 9-501.
Hiring an attorney is important because Maryland workers’ compensation claims can be denied. Although you can request a hearing, you must provide evidence in the forms of wages, physician testimony, and coworker testimony supporting the working conditions and malpractice that led to your needlestick injury.
Filing a Needlestick Malpractice Claim as a Patient
Individuals that have experienced injury or disease because of needlestick malpractice must prove to the courts that:
- The injury was the result of medical malpractice or negligence by a nurse, doctor, hospital, or another healthcare provider
- The injury or disease directly caused death, injury, pain, disability, or suffering
For the claim to be considered, Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code §5–109 states that injured individuals must file their malpractice lawsuit within three years from the date that the injury was discovered, or within five years from the date that it was acquired.
Not only that, the prosecution must prove that the injury was not, and could not be, discovered prior to the lawsuit. The defense will often try to argue that the injury could be have reasonably been discovered earlier, in an effort to have the suit dismissed.
Filing a Certificate of Merit
Individuals that are filing a medical malpractice lawsuit must obtain a certificate of merit within 90 days of filing it, as per the Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code § 3–2C–02.
A certificate of merit is obtained by having a medical professional with sufficient knowledge to establish the standard of care within the applicable field swear under oath that care was breached. This is outlined in Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code § 3–2C–01 and is essentially a way of providing medical weight to your claim.
Let a Maryland Needle Stick Medical Malpractice Attorney Assist You
A needlestick injury is relatively benign on its own, but when it leads to the transmission of bloodborne disease it can be devastating. If you or a loved one has suffered from injury or death due to such malpractice, contact a Maryland needlestick medical malpractice lawyer today.
