MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Most doctors and nurses are dedicated, careful professionals. However,
just like any other kind of professional, health care providers
can make costly mistakes which constitute negligence.
Medical malpractice occurs when a health care provider fails to
properly treat a medical condition, resulting in a new or aggravating
injury to the patient. Malpractice claims may arise when a physician
or other health care provider acts in a manner that would be considered
unacceptable when compared to how another physician or health care
provider with similar training and credentials might act.
Doctors aren’t the only medical professionals whom patients
can sue for malpractice. In fact, most health care providers including
chiropractors, therapists, psychologists and dentists are subject
to legal action for negligence.
Common examples of medical malpractice claims include:
• Failure to properly diagnose a disease or illness.
• Failure to properly monitor patients.
• Failure to properly treat the diagnosed disease.
• Failure to diagnose or properly manage pregnancy complications;
• Failure to timely respond to fetal distress;
• Complications in the delivery of the baby not properly managed
and which result in death, irreversible brain damage and other injuries
to the baby and/or mother;
• Surgical errors including wrong-site surgery or anesthesia
errors.
• Failure to fully inform the patient of the risks of certain
procedures and surgeries.
• Misuse of prescription drugs.
• Improper use of medical equipment or implants.
• Improper reading of X-rays.
• Transfusion errors.
• Infections related to treatment.
• Birth trauma.
• Burns.
• Falls.
• Pressure ulcers.
Of course, the above list is just a sampling of some of the more
common examples of medical malpractice claims. The array of complications
and problems that can arise as a result of medical negligence is
far too complex and detailed to address each instance in detail.
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Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
Hospital Liability
Many serious claims for medical malpractice arise from procedures
and treatment given to patients in hospitals. A hospital itself
is generally liable for any actions of its employees that are undertaken
within the course and scope of their employment. For example, a
hospital is responsible for the actions of a doctor or nurse employed
by the hospital in the course of providing care to patients in the
hospital.
Certain issues arise when a doctor is not an employee of the hospital,
but rather has privileges at the hospital. Normally, these doctors
bill patients for services directly, rather than through the hospital,
though this is not always the case. Often, these doctors are considered
independent contractors rather than employees of the hospital, and
the hospital may not be liable for negligence of these doctors,
though there are a number of exceptions to this that require careful
analysis on a case by case basis.
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here to contact Kimberly A.
Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE
Failure to diagnose Meningitis
Failure to diagnose meningitis is a common source of medical malpractice.
The disease is curable if detected early and treated. Any delay
in diagnosis can greatly reduce the chance of survival. People afflicted
with bacterial meningitis may die or suffer permanent injury which
includes brain damage, and/or learning disabilities.
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here to contact Kimberly A.
Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY COMPLICATIONS
The fatality rate for gastric bypass surgery is approximately .5%
or 1 in 200 which is nearly twice the rate of other major operations
of similar complexity.
Gastric bypass medical malpractice includes:
• Patients were treated in facilities that lacked equipment
appropriately sized for overweight persons;
• Physicians failed to respond immediately when a patient
complained of symptoms that indicated suture line leaks, or other
complications leading to death.
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here to contact Kimberly A.
Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
MEDICAL ERRORS
As requested by then President Bill Clinton, a federal task
force, The National Summit on Medical Errors and Patient Survey
Research, convened on September 11, 2000 to discuss ways to reduce
medical errors. This meeting was in response to a disturbing report
released in November of 1999 by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The
report, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year
due to medical mistakes.
Most medical malpractice cases involve forms of negligence that
are often disputed by the physician or hospital. They will rely
on contrary expert medical opinion regarding the diagnoses and proper
procedure to be followed. Our legislature has made it very difficult
to bring a medical malpractice case and it is imperative that you
contact us as soon as possible so that we can begin the process
of investigating your case and securing expert witness testimony.
If you believe you’ve been the victim of a medical mistake,
you need an attorney with experience in medical malpractice to evaluate
and handle your case. Our firm handles personal injuries related
to medical malpractice for clients across the state of Texas and
Kentucky. Please Contact Us or call us at 1-800-918-9655.
Q: How much does it cost for Kimberly to meet with me and evaluate
my case?
A: Kimberly will not charge you anything for an initial consultation
and, if she takes your case, she will take it on a contingency fee
basis. You don’t have to pay anything up front and Stovall
& Associates only gets paid once your case is won or settled.
Click
here to contact Kimberly A.
Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
Martindale-Hubbell, the nation's premier law directory, has given
Kimberly A. Stovall its highest rating: "A.V." - the very best.
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