Newport News Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or other medical professional performs a negligent act or omits a necessary procedure, and their conduct falls below the applicable standard of care. Medical negligence or medical malpractice can include diagnosis errors, surgical errors, substandard illness management, and many other mistakes or errors. If you believe that you or someone you love has been the victim of medical negligence, a Newport News medical malpractice lawyer can help you pursue a claim. Medical malpractice claims can cover a wide range of situations, including:

  • Misdiagnosis
  • Surgical errors
  • Failure to diagnose
  • Prescription errors
  • Medication errors
  • Anesthesia errors
  • Birth injury
  • Brain injury
  • Obstetrical and gynecological errors
  • Patient neglect
  • Emergency room errors

Types of Medical Malpractice

Though there are many ways in which medical malpractice may be committed, your Newport News medical malpractice lawyer can explain them to you in careful detail, focusing in on the details of your specific case.  To get a solid understanding of the different types of malpractice, speak to a personal injury attorney.  However, the following are some of the most common:

Misdiagnosis/Missed Diagnosis – When a physician fails to give their full time or attention to their patient, either in private consultation or in a hospital emergency room, their mistakes often result in a misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose a medical condition. When a doctor fails to recognize or appreciate the complaints of their patient, or misinterprets diagnostic data, the results can lead to significant injuries or death.

Medication Errors – Medication errors can cause serious, and sometimes permanent, or even fatal, damage. Medication errors can occur from administering the wrong dosage of a medication, or giving the incorrect type of medication to a patient. Other medication errors can occur if a physician fails to review a patient’s current medications prior to prescribing additional medication. Some medications may be safe for a patient if taken alone, but when combined with another medication, can lead to dangerous drug interactions.

Surgical Errors – Errors during surgery are also a prominent cause of death and serious injury. These errors often happen as a result of miscommunication among a surgical team, or when a doctor fails to properly perform a surgical procedure. Sometimes instruments or sponges can be inadvertently left in a patient, or such instruments may not be properly sterilized, which can cause life-threatening post-operative infections.

Anesthesia Errors – Anesthesia mistakes can result in death or permanent disability in the patient. Patients commonly have little, if any, interaction with their anesthesiologist before a surgical procedure, and yet the specialist literally holds the patient’s life in their hands. Anesthesia errors can occur before, during, and even after surgery.

Other ways in which malpractice may cause a serious injury can include communication failures between doctors, nurses, technicians, and hospital or clinic administrators, as well as injuries to newborns resulting from birth, prenatal, or NICU accidents. Sometimes even mothers who give birth can suffer malpractice injuries. Victims of these types of malpractice may be able to pursue legal damages that can include payment for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and a variety of additional damages, especially if the injury leads to a wrongful death.

Pursuing a Medical Malpractice Claim

 Medical negligence or medical malpractice can include diagnosis errors, surgical errors, substandard illness management, and many other mistakes or errors.Doctors and nurses are required to provide a high standard of care, which is defined by the degree of skill and diligence practiced by a reasonably prudent practitioner in the same field of practice or specialty in the Commonwealth. An act or omission that falls below the applicable standard of care, can form the basis for a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, not every instance of negligence in the medical field turns out to be medical malpractice. For instance, sometimes a defective medical device is the cause, which involves a different type of injury claim. A plaintiff in a medical malpractice case must prove that:

  • The health care provider failed to meet their standard of care;
  • This failure resulted in the injury; and
  • The injury caused the victim to suffer damages.

Hospital and malpractice defense lawyers are adept at breaking this chain of proof and protecting defendants in order to ultimately deny insurance claims from malpractice lawsuits. An Newport News medical malpractice attorney with experience pursuing medical malpractice claims will know how to anticipate their strategies and will counter their tactics by effectively proving the duty of the defendant,  the breach of that duty, and how the breach of the duty caused the malpractice-related injury.

Expert medical opinion is a crucial element in any medical malpractice lawsuit.  An experienced Newport News medical malpractice lawyer will work with medical experts to support the injured plaintiffs at trial.

Talk to a Newport News Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Any medical professional can commit malpractice, including doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, physical therapists, and pharmacists. Their mistakes can ultimately cause permanent, debilitating injures, and even death. Filing a medical malpractice claim is not a guarantee of compensation, but those who are responsible must be held accountable. A doctor or surgeon is not automatically guilty of medical malpractice where a treatment or surgery did not result in a positive outcome, but an experienced attorney can help you to determine whether or not you may have a valid case.

The Newport News medical malpractice lawyers at our firm have the experience and resources to help victims of medical malpractice identify any breaches of the applicable standard of care, and to pursue compensation for their medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, reduced quality of life and other related damages that may have resulted from the negligence of a healthcare professional. Call our law office today for a free case evaluation.

We also handle car accident cases in Newport News.