If an injury or ailment takes you to the emergency room, you instantly trust every medical professional you meet, from the admitting nurse to the attending physician. There isn’t time to ask for a friend’s recommendation or to look up their qualifications online. You need immediate hope that they’ll be able to manage your situation.
With your general practitioner, you might have been seeing them for several years. Perhaps other members of your family see them as well. You’ve built up trust with this person and depend on their advice and counsel.
Millions of Americans face two common situations each day when seeking medical care: They either get help from someone they know or put their trust in a stranger. What’s important to realize is that mistakes can happen in either of those scenarios. Even with all the education, training, and support, errors occur. When that error causes you further harm, you’re entitled to seek a remedy for any financial or emotional losses.
If you suspect that you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, don’t wait to take action. Contact a trusted Charleston medical malpractice lawyer at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC to discuss your case and explore your legal options.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
When you visit a healthcare provider, you expect to be correctly diagnosed or treated for your ailment. Unfortunately, many people suffer injuries from these visits, and in many cases, this is due to the negligence of the healthcare professional.
A report published by Johns Hopkins University found that 795,000 Americans had died or were permanently disabled by diagnostic error. Stroke was the top cause of serious harm from a misdiagnosis, with 17.5% of cases.
With a specific level of training and experience, these professionals are expected to treat patients in a certain way. When a doctor, nurse, dentist, technician, hospital worker, or even the hospital deviates from those standards and does not provide an acceptable level of care, that is known as medical malpractice.
Who can you hold liable for your damages? The blame starts with the primary care physician. However, there is also a long list of other professionals and support staff who can also be part of the error, including the following:
- Surgeons
- Surgical assistants
- Anesthesiologist
- Nurses
- Pharmacists
- Radiologists
- Phlebotomists
- Oncologist
- Dentists
- Dental hygienist
- Physical therapists
- Chiropractors
In addition to the individual medical professionals, certain organizations can also be part of a medical malpractice claim. This can include medical groups, private practices, hospitals, urgent care facilities, and clinics.
What Are Some Examples of Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice can take the form of many different incidents. While we mentioned a few above, here are a few more examples of these negligent practices:
- Delay or failure to diagnose: When a healthcare professional fails to diagnose a patient’s ailment promptly, it can result in serious injuries. Delays may occur due to oversight, misinterpretation of symptoms, or inadequate testing. Many of these cases focus on cancer, which, if caught early, can lead to better results for the patient.
- Prescribing the wrong medication or dosage: Medication errors can occur when a provider prescribes the wrong drug or an incorrect dosage. These mistakes can include adverse reactions, worsening of the patient’s condition, or even death.
- Radiological errors: Radiological imaging, such as X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, plays a vital role in diagnosing and monitoring various conditions. Errors in interpreting radiological images can lead to misdiagnosis or missed abnormalities.
- Unnecessary surgery: Performing surgery when it’s not medically warranted constitutes medical malpractice. Unnecessary surgeries expose patients to risks, complications, and a longer recovery time without providing any benefit.
- Surgical errors and complications: Even in necessary surgeries, mistakes can occur. These include errors during the surgical procedure, such as damaging adjacent structures, leaving foreign objects inside the patient, or improper wound closure. Complications after surgery, such as infections or excessive bleeding, also fall under this category.
- Anesthesia mistakes: Anesthesia administration requires precision. Errors in dosage, patient monitoring, or choice of anesthesia cause serious harm. Anesthesia mistakes may result in adverse reactions, prolonged unconsciousness, or even death.
- Hospital negligence: Hospitals have a duty to provide a safe environment for patients. Negligence by hospital staff, inadequate staffing levels, unsanitary conditions, or failure to follow protocols can harm patients and are considered medical malpractice.
The above are just a sample of the medical malpractice cases we handle at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC. If you would like to learn more about whether you have a valid claim, make sure to schedule a consultation with our Charleston medical malpractice lawyer.
How a Charleston Medical Malpractice Lawyer Establishes Liability
A medical malpractice case is not something you can handle on your own in small claims court. It requires the support of an experienced Charleston medical malpractice lawyer. The attorneys at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC, have decades of combined experience handing these exact type of cases. We understand the complexities of a medical malpractice claim and the need to rely on expert witnesses to support that claim.
Before a case proceeds, you must West Virginia law stipulates that you must obtain a certificate of merit. This is a statement from an independent medical expert that supports your assertions about how your injury or illness was caused by a medical professional’s negligence. This certificate needs to be sent by certified mail to each of the parties you and your attorney intend to name in your complaint.
A certificate of merit is not the final word on the claim, but the foundation to build on. That certificate (and ultimately your claim) will need to establish the following:
The Patient-Doctor Relationship was Established
It doesn’t matter if you’re seeing the doctor for the first time, once you ask them for help in a professional setting, and they consent to provide that help, you establish the relationship. In other words, you have to be under that doctor’s care.
The Doctor Falls Below an Acceptable Standard of Care
On many levels, medical knowledge is universal. If you present the same symptoms to different doctors, they should ideally present you with the same diagnosis. Yes, there is room for a second opinion, but not beyond the acceptable standard of care. If a doctor fails to provide that, they are negligent. For instance, if you go to an ER complaining of chest pains and the doctor says, “You’re fine. Tough it out.” They are not providing you with an acceptable standard of care.
A Doctor’s Failure to Meet Acceptable Standards Leads to Injury
In the above scenario, where the doctor sends you home when you’re experiencing chest pains and you end up coming back and suffering a stroke, that would be a clear instance of failure that causes harm.
The Patient Suffered Damages
Continuing the scenario, if the stroke meant hospitalization, surgery, and lost work, those would all be considered economic damages that you’re entitled to seek as a result of the malpractice.
All of those elements have to be supported by medical records, expert testimony, and your own version of events. You might not be able to explain the technical medical terms, but you can detail how that mistake has impacted your life in a negative way.
What Is the Statute of Limitations in West Virginia?
In West Virginia, a specific time limit to file a medical malpractice claim is known as the statute of limitations. The deadline for all medical malpractice claims in West Virginia is two years from the date of injury.
If you wait too long and miss this deadline, you may lose the chance to pursue legal action against the responsible parties.
More importantly, you could miss out on recovering compensation for your injuries and damages. By working with a skilled medical malpractice attorney in Charleston, you can be assured that you will adhere to these deadlines.
What Damages Could I Recover?
If you have suffered injuries or losses as a result of medical malpractice, you may be entitled to compensation. These damages often fall into two main categories: economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are quantifiable financial losses that are the result of the healthcare provider’s negligence. Some types of compensation may include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages and loss of earning potential
- Other costs related to your injury
While non-economic damages are less tangible, they still significantly impact the life of the person injured by malpractice. These can include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Disagreement or scarring
In some cases, the negligent action (or lack of adequate care) can lead to a person’s death.
When that occurs, a wrongful death claim can be filed, especially if the healthcare provider acted recklessly. If successful, a wrongful death claim can result in compensation for:
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of financial support
- Loss of companionship and emotional support
- Pain and suffering experienced by the deceased before passing
Frequently Asked Questions about Medical Malpractice
What are some common types of medical malpractice?
There are three common types of medical malpractice that your case will fall under. They are the following:
- A mistake made in treatment
- An improper diagnosis
- Lack of consent
A lack of consent claim would be applicable if you did not consent to treatment or weren’t made aware of the risks. Signing a waiver does not automatically grant a doctor a license to make a mistake. The only possible exception is if a doctor needs to make an emergency decision to take extreme measures while the patient is unconscious.
What is not medical malpractice?
Not every medical procedure or treatment is complicated, but they all do come with a certain level of risk. Some of these risks can’t be predicted ahead of time. For instance, you might only discover you’re allergic to penicillin after you’ve been administered it for the first time. After that, it should be part of your medical history, and if it is administered again, that would be negligent.
There will also be the chance of a negative outcome. That is not proof that a physician was negligent. It could be that the situation was out of their control and nothing reasonable could be done.
Is there a limit to how much my settlement can be?
In West Virginia, there is no limit to your economic damages. Any medical expenses that can be established can be reimbursed. However, there is a limit to noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering. The cap is $250,000, but it can increase to $500,000 if the malpractice involves a wrongful death or catastrophic injury.
What if my doctor did not do something that they should have done?
When examining a medical malpractice case, you begin with the issues of “commission” or “omission.” If your doctor makes a mistake, for whatever reason, that is a breach of care or commission. If they fail to do something that should have reasonably been done, that is an omission. In either case, it can lead to injury and be grounds for medical malpractice.
What will it cost me to file a lawsuit?
Most law firms take on medical malpractice cases on a contingency basis. That means they will not collect any fees unless they win the case. How much those fees will be is typically agreed to at the start of the case. At any time a settlement offer is presented, you’ll be able to make the appropriate calculations to know exactly how much you’ll be entitled to.
Take the Next Steps for Your West Virginia Medical Malpractice Case
If you believe that you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, take action as soon as possible. At DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC, our team of experienced attorneys can help you build a strong case for compensation. We will immediately begin collecting all the necessary evidence.
Our team will obtain your medical records from both the original medical error and any follow-up treatments you may have had. Also, we will gather witness statements and expert testimony to support your claim.
Our goal is to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve for any damages or losses.
We understand that dealing with the aftermath of medical malpractice can be stressful and overwhelming. For that reason, we are committed to providing you with compassionate and personalized support throughout the entire legal process.
If you want to know if you have a valid claim or are ready to start the legal process, contact an experienced Charleston medical malpractice lawyer today.
You can schedule a consultation by contacting our office for a free initial case assessment.
