Medical Malpractice Cases in Orange County
Medical Malpractice does occur. Injury or disease requires medical treatment. We Orange County residents put our trust in our medical professionals to provide an accepted standard of care when treating us. When a doctor, nurse, surgeon or other medical professional fails to provide such a standard of care it can be a case of medical malpractice. Malpractice is something to be taken seriously, especially when negligence jeopardizes your life or health. It is important to address any legal concerns quickly given that these types of cases need to be filed within set timeframes known as the “statute of limitations.” If you may have been the victim of medical malpractice, the law in this area is exceedingly complex. Your best option is to consult with a seasoned medical malpractice lawyer in Orange County to discuss and review your case. Contact your Orange County medical malpractice law firm, Kyle Scott Law in Tustin at 714-544-1460 for a free case evaluation.
Medical malpractice cases as defined (see article):
…occur when a medical or health care professional (doctor, nurse, dentist, etc.) through actions or omissions or negligently causes some sort of injury to a patient. Examples include diagnostic errors, errors in treatment, dosage, in health management or aftercare. For a more in-depth look at medical malpractice in the United States see this article on the National Institutes of Health website.
Malpractice Elements
In order to establish that a medical malpractice has occurred under the law, a medical malpractice claim must meet the following criteria:
It is a breach of the standard of care – The law defines “standard of care” and certain professionally recognized medical standards that are acceptable medical treatment. The definition qualifies this by stating they are recognized by reasonably prudent health care professionals and occurring under similar or like circumstances. Patients have the right to expect that professionals in the health care industry will provide care consistent with these recognized standards. Negligence may then be established if it is determined by a medical expert that the standard of care has not been met.
Negligence was the cause of an injury – In order for a medical malpractice claim to be determined valid, it is not enough that a health care professional did not meet the standard of care. The patient in this case must also prove his or her injury that was sustained would not have occurred absent the negligence. A disadvantageous or less than expected result in and of itself does not constitute malpractice. The patient must demonstrate that the injury was the result of negligence. There must be both injury and negligence.
Significant damages were the result of the injury – Medical malpractice lawsuits are complex cases often requiring hours of testimony and input from experts in the medical field. A patient must therefore demonstrate that significant damages occurred as a result of injury due to negligence of a medical professional. These can include income loss, pain and suffering, large medical bills (future as well as past) or disability. There are limits to pain and suffering due to the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) of 1975 which caps pain and suffering at $250,000.00, no matter how severe the injury is, even including death.
Malpractice Examples
Malpractice by medical professionals can occur in multiple ways. This is a brief overview of some types of malpractice.
Anesthesia errors can occur if anesthesia not used correctly. Different types of anesthesia can be used depending on the circumstances. If negligence is involved in application and serious injury or death results, a case may exist for medical malpractice.
ERRORS IN ANESTHESIA
One such example would be administration of the wrong dosage of a drug causing injury damage to a patient. Other examples may include administering the wrong drug, allergic reactions by a patient to a specific anesthesia, failure to intubate a patient, problems with medical equipment, not monitoring the patient’s vital signs among others.
MISDIAGNOSES: EXAMPLE: DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS (DVT)
If a patient presents certain symptoms to a physician (e.g., leg swelling and pain) and the physician fails to diagnose it correctly and early enough, which resulted in a blood clot, that blood clot could dislodge and cause a fatal pulmonary embolism. In this case the physician could be liable for negligence and malpractice.
ERRORS IN URGENT CARE OR EMERGENCY ROOMS
Even busy emergency room doctors are supposed to uphold a standard of care for patients. If they fail to do so and serious injury results, it can be a case of medical malpractice. Errors in this area of medicine can include misdiagnosis, failure to identify cardiac problems, not reading charts or x-rays correctly or not exercising patient monitoring after treating them.
Delayed Diagnosis
- Improper medical tests
- Failure to monitor patients after treatment
- Faulty medical devices
- Surgical instruments left inside a patient’s body
Evaluating Your Medical Malpractice Case
As stated above, this area of law can be complex and certain criteria must be met to file a medical malpractice suit. At our Orange County law offices, Kyle Scott will help review your case and determine whether those criteria are met. These include things like whether a doctor/patient relationship existed (i.e., you were being cared for by a physician hired by you). Other criteria are whether the doctor did not act in accord with accepted medical standards or otherwise breached the so-called “duty of care” or “standard of care” that medical professionals owe to patients. Other considerations include the amount of damages suffered by a patient. If these are on the lesser side, taking a medical malpractice claim to court could be counterproductive in that the cost to try such a claim may exceed any damages one can recoup. These are all things an experienced malpractice attorney will discuss and consider during consultation.
If after reviewing the medical malpractice criteria surrounding your claim and the criteria are met, Mr. Scott can then go forward with a medical malpractice lawsuit. This determination is something that should be entrusted to an experienced medical malpractice attorney and Mr. Scott will let you know whether you have a medical malpractice case or not. Regardless, because of the statute of limitations in California regarding such cases, the sooner you consult with a medical malpractice lawyer like Kyle Scott, the better.
Why Hire a Medical Malpractice Attorney?
If you think you have a medical malpractice claim and your injury, pain or suffering occurred in Orange County then it’s wise to seek legal help within the same county. There are many specialties in the legal field, though, and not all attorneys count medical malpractice law as theirs. As we mentioned, this area of the law is more complex than others and a qualified attorney can help make the process easier for the client when navigating the twists, turns and requirements of such cases.
A good malpractice lawyer will know the intricacies of the law as well as the medical field and how the two overlap in such a lawsuit. It’s precisely this experience with law and medicine that is necessary to properly evaluate and (if necessary) try the case. Medical records need to be analyzed for information relevant to your case and experts in the field consulted in order to prove the breach of the medical standard in your case. There is no substitute for experience and hiring a seasoned medical malpractice law firm will eliminate missteps in the process. In addition, an Orange County medical malpractice attorney will bring experience in Orange County courts to the table. Capable lawyers in this area of law know how to evaluate a case when brought before them (is yours legitimate or viable?) and know how to gather the information or evidence that will reinforce the claim in court.
Because the issues can involve not just individuals but at times corporations, hospitals or even medical device manufacturers, a qualified lawyer will know who may be liable in such cases. Again, experience counts and hiring the right medical malpractice legal team will only make the client’s life easier.
Trial experience is another reason to seek out the right malpractice attorney. Should it come to trial, you need a lawyer in your corner that understands how a courtroom functions in these cases, how to present your case most effectively to a judge or jury and to handle the legal tactics from the other side of the aisle.
If you believe your injuries are the result of medical negligence, your first best step is to contact Kyle Scott Law in Tustin at 714-544-1460 or toll-free at 866-757-0959 and let us evaluate your case at no cost. We really mean it when we say “If you are hurt then we can help!”