Morgantown Medical Malpractice Attorney
When you need medical help, you expect a trained and skilled professional to treat you properly. Sometimes, a doctor or other healthcare professional does not perform their duties up to the standards in the industry. Medical mistakes can happen, and they can lead to severe injuries and even death.
These negligent medical professionals should be held accountable for their actions. If they have harmed one individual, they may have acted in a similar manner with other patients.
Reckless and negligent actions can lead to a lifetime of pain and medical bills. You have the right to seek compensation and justice for your injuries. A Morgantown medical malpractice lawyer at Hendrickson & Long, PLLC can assist with your case.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
All healthcare professionals need to uphold a high level of care. They also must follow the established medical protocols to protect the well-being and safety of their patients. When those standards of care are ignored, it can lead to mistakes and devastating consequences for the patient.
Medical malpractice can occur through negligent actions or an omission of care. These cases focus on how a competently trained medical professional would act in a similar situation. When a healthcare provider deviates from that level of care, they can be sued.
While physicians and surgeons are commonly named in these lawsuits, other healthcare providers can also be listed, including:
- Registered nurses and nursing assistants
- Technicians and other specialists
- Pharmacists
- Hospital facilities, nursing homes, and clinics
Medical professionals are trained according to the latest standards of care. When they fail to adhere to those standards, they have breached their duty of care to to the patient, and that patient and their family may have a case for medical malpractice.
Some types of medical negligent actions can include:
- Failing to diagnose or misdiagnose a medical condition
- Performing unnecessary treatment or surgery
- Misinterpreting lab results or tests
- Prescribing the incorrect medication or dosage
- Making surgical errors
- Failing to order the proper tests for treatment
- Disregarding a patient’s health history
- Failing to recognize common symptoms of an ailment
- Failing to offer aftercare to a patient
- Discharging a patient prematurely
If any of these situations apply to your case, you may have a claim for medical malpractice.
What Are Typical Injuries Resulting From Medical Negligence?
Depending on the severity of the incident, some patients may experience a lifetime of medical issues. Some of the most common types of injuries include:
- Physical pain
- Permanent disabilities
- Additional medical expenses
- Loss of wages and earning capacity
- Wrongful death
What Type of Compensation Is Available?
Patients and their family members can sue for several types of damages in a medical malpractice case. They include:
- Economic damage includes the specific costs that are a result of the injury. These damages may include medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, lost wages, diminished future earning capacity, and other financial burdens.
- Non-economic damages are intangible losses that don’t have a specific cost. However, they still impact the victim’s life. These damages may include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium.
- Punitive damages are awarded when the defendant’s conduct is extremely harmful. Punitive damages are relatively rare. But they are meant to punish the defendant and deter others from engaging in similar behavior.
In West Virginia, these cases have a cap on non-economic damages. The settlement may be limited from $250,000 to $500,000, depending on the situation. Consulting with a skilled Morgantown medical malpractice lawyer can help you determine the maximum compensation allowed under the law.
How To Prove a Medical Malpractice Claim
With a medical malpractice case, you and your legal team will need to prove four elements of the claim. They include:
- Duty of care: You must show that there was a doctor-patient relationship. With that, the healthcare provider is legally obligated to provide you with competent care.
- Breach of duty: Along with that, you must demonstrate that the healthcare provider failed to adhere to a standard of care. In these cases, the provider did not act with the skill and care that a similarly trained healthcare professional would have done under the same circumstances.
- Causation: There must be a direct link between the healthcare provider’s breach of duty and your injury. In short, proof must be that the provider’s negligence directly caused your injury.
- Damages: Due to the healthcare provider’s negligence or omission of care, there must be some type of damage or injuries. This damage can include medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages.
Why You Need an Attorney if a Health Care Provider Caused You Harm
Proving a case for medical malpractice can be challenging, especially when you need expert testimony. Most of the time, you will need to find another medical professional who will testify the medical provider did not live up to the accepted and reasonable level of care.
For that reason, you will want to have an experienced and skilled medical malpractice attorney working on your behalf. Remember that medical malpractice law is a highly technical field. Your attorney should have a thorough understanding of both legal and medical issues.
Once an attorney agrees to take your case, they will perform a full analysis of your medical records and other evidence. One of the keys to these cases is the expert testimony of a medical professional.
Often, it can be difficult to find a willing provider who will testify against someone in the field. However, medical malpractice attorneys have working relationships with professionals in both the legal and medical industries. They can help find someone who will collaborate on the facts of the case.
Many times, the insurance companies may not want to settle the case. Sometimes, they make a low offer that does not consider the scope of the damage and your injuries. With an attorney on your case, they can help you negotiate a more reasonable settlement. And if the case must head to court, your medical malpractice attorney will be a legal advocate on your behalf.
Contact a Morgantown Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Medical malpractice cases are complicated. Providing negligence and a breach of duty requires the assistance of a skilled Morgantown medical malpractice attorney. Our legal team at Hendrickson & Long, PLLC can help you take the next steps with your claim. Schedule a consultation today.
