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Brooklyn Medical Malpractice Lawyer
We all have a lot of faith in doctors, surgeons, nurses, and other healthcare providers liable to keep us well. Sadly, sometimes, this trust gets broken. In a few circumstances, the functions of a healthcare professional may lead to medical malpractice. Our legal team at Brooklyn Injury Attorneys, P.C. stands to help you treat and heal from injuries due to a negligent medical professional.
In the USA, medical malpractice is a common issue. Every year, many people die due to medical negligence. This is why medical malpractice has become the 3rd leading reason for death, behind just cancer and cardiac diseases.
What Damages Can a Brooklyn Medical Malpractice Attorney Recover for Me?
Many kinds of circumstances can cause a medical malpractice claim. These range from a doctor’s carelessness during surgery to failure to inform a patient that a wrongly prescribed medicine might lead to death. Maximum medical malpractice claims fall into some categories. Let’s explore them one by one!
1. Childbirth Injury
The birth of a child is always a happy moment for everyone. Sadly, sometimes, it brings bad news for families. And that occurs because often doctors cannot offer a secure childbirth process. The outcome may be a devastating childbirth injury like brachial plexus palsy, Erb’s palsy, or cerebral palsy.
A variety of reasons lead to childbirth injuries. However, they used to have one thing in common: they might have been interrupted by fair medical care. The primary reasons behind childbirth injuries are as follows:
- Negligence to Monitor – In case healthcare providers fail to check the condition of the baby and mother thoroughly, issues like a ruptured uterus or placenta previa can arise.
- Extra Force—In some cases, a doctor applies a lot of force to the limb or neck of a newborn baby during vacuum extraction or while using forceps, which may damage the baby’s nerves.
- Oxygen Deterioration – Different issues can lead to oxygen deprivation in a newborn. For instance, in case the umbilical cord wraps around the neck of the baby, it can cause brain hemorrhage or cognitive delay.
- Delayed C-Section – If a doctor cannot perform a C-section on time, it can lead to a newborn’s death or childbirth injury.
2. Delayed Diagnosis or Misdiagnosis
A delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis can be extremely damaging for patients. They may suffer long-lasting physical damage, intolerable pain, and even death because of inadequate and improper treatment. Moreover, they may bear extreme side effects from getting treatment for an inappropriate condition. A misdiagnosis has the same results, especially when the condition grows.
If a patient gets an inappropriate diagnosis or her/her diagnosis becomes very late, they will be required to show their doctor’s negligence. For instance:
- Failure to Describe Test Results Properly – Healthcare experts should explain test results perfectly.
- Failing to Listen – Doctors are responsible for listening and testing the symptoms that patients are explaining.
- Failure to Order Standard Tests—A doctor can be negligent in ordering standard tests after finding some symptoms.
- Failing to Identify Basic Symptoms—Medical experts are certified to diagnose based on their patient’s symptoms. Failing to diagnose, despite symptoms that signify a specific ailment, may constitute malpractice.
- Failure to Test the Medical History of Patients—Doctors should test the family and personal medical histories of their patients. An ailment can become worse than would have been easily recognizable otherwise.
3. Informed Consent
Every medical process is risky. Doctors must recommend the risks so you can have all the info and consent to the process. If a doctor doesn’t do the same and the risks related to the process occur, you may bring legal charges against malpractice. Also, you can display that you have not gone through the process if you would have known about the risks.
For instance, in case you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, there are several treatment choices, incorporating prostatectomy. Moreover, you should inform your doctor that you don’t want this treatment. But the doctor tries to convince you of the same. A few risks of this treatment are impotence and incontinence. The doctor cannot inform you regarding these risks before your operation, and you experience post-operative devastating incontinence.
4. Anesthesia Malpractices
There are different kinds of anesthesia with various intentions:
- Local – Local anesthesia makes a small body area insensitive. For instance, it may be used to reduce a patient’s pain while sewing a deep cut.
- Regional anesthesia anesthetizes a particular body part, like a leg or an arm.
- General – General anesthesia makes a patient unaware and unconscious of sensations. They do not remember the process afterward or feel any pain.
Every kind of anesthesia is risky and has some complexities. One serious and mostly seen complication is awareness even after applying anesthesia. This process is Intraoperative Awareness. If a patient regains consciousness during the operation, this happens.
In this case, the medical team wrongly applied the anesthesia, and as a result, the patient got injury. Then, the careless medical staff may be responsible for the damages happen. A few instances of the carelessness of an anesthesiologist are:
- Failure to handle the use of fluids and medicines properly
- Using inappropriate kinds of anesthesia dose
- Failure to make a patient anesthetic
- Using anesthesia very late
5. Medical Device Errors
Medical devices like MRIs are regularly administered to identify, prevent, and treat ailments. However, sometimes, the operators wrongly handle the MRIs and cause severe injuries or even death. Moreover, manufacturers are responsible for design faults, manufacturing faults, and inappropriate warnings.
6. Surgical Errors
Surgical care is all about checking and offering proper care to a patient during and after surgery. Healthcare experts check their patients minutely for complications that might grow after the operation. They also need to check important symptoms, prevent and treat infections, prescribe medicines properly to facilitate healing and offer comprehensive guidelines for postoperative care.
If a doctor cannot check his patient properly or diagnose symptoms after the operation, he may be responsible for surgical malpractices. A few common ailments, infections, and other conditions that grow from doctor error are:
- Internal bleeding
- Viral infections
- Sepsis
- Organ puncture
- Infection in the surgical area
- Necrotizing fasciitis
- Staph infection
- Tissue necrosis
- Bloodstream infections
- UTI (Urinary Tract Infection)
- Peritonitis
- MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus)
- Respiratory infections like Pneumonia
- Pulmonary embolism or blood clots
7. Hospital Malpractice
Sometimes, hospitals are also responsible for medical malpractice cases. Hospitals should properly assess prospective staff members, analyzing their past experience, level of education, and certifications. If a hospital hires an inexperienced or unqualified employee, that staff member may cause injuries.
Moreover, hospitals are liable to hire appropriately so patients get proper treatment and care. In the same way, staff members should not be asked to do it beyond their capacity. They must be charged with keeping track of patient’s medical records. Failing to fulfill these and other rules may create a medical malpractice case.
Furthermore, hospitals are responsible if a staff member or employee causes a patient injury. Also, the staff was working within the opportunity of their employment when the careless act occurred. However, consequent responsibility does not cover the functions of an independent contractor. Several doctors do not opt for jobs in a hospital but work independently while running their private practices.
8. Medication Negligence
Every year, many people in the USA die due to medication negligence. Also, these malpractices create many cases as many errors are made with medicines. Also, a doctor could commit a mistake with his first prescription, misuse medicines, or miss medication interactions. Moreover, medication malpractices in hospitals usually include dosages, but often, improper medicines are used for the incorrect patient.
What Damages Get Compensations in Medical Malpractice Lawsuits?
Injured patients or their families may get compensation for the damages caused by a careless hospital, healthcare professional, or other parties. These harms might be destined to compensate victims for losses they have experienced and may incorporate:
- Loss of Consortium—Family members receive compensation for the loss of support, companionship, and other advantages of family relationships.
- Medical Costs – include doctor fees, hospital charges, prescribed medications, physical treatments, assistive medical gadgets, and other previous and future expenses related to your injury.
- Suffering and Pain – Suffering damages and pain are made to compensate patients for physical pain due to their injury and mental distress as well.
- Loss of Earning Ability and Lost Wages – If you are compelled to take a break from work to get rehabilitation from your injury, you are eligible to receive compensation for lost wages. If you cannot earn the same amount of money as you did before your injury, you may receive compensation for your lost earning ability.
- Other Damages – You may receive compensation for different other damages, including punitive damages, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment in someone’s life.
Steps to Take in a Medical Malpractice Case
Medical malpractice cases twist two areas of skill: medicine and law. Because these lawsuits are naturally complicated. They also need the skill and attention of an attorney with proper knowledge of both areas. You must hire a lawyer who:
- Can predict the strategies of the lawyer of the defendant.
- Knows what to ask
- Is associated with a law firm that is recognized to handle different medical lawsuits
- Has proper knowledge of several medical conditions
- Knows which professionals to contact
- Can guide through complicated medical malpractices
You need the support of a law firm resources for taking on insurance agencies and big hospitals. Because the reputed law firms equip themselves for dealing with a malpractice lawsuit. While a medical malpractice lawyer in Brooklyn can:
- Gather and analyze proof on behalf of your claim.
- Describe your legal rights clearly and constantly give you information throughout the procedure.
- Help you decide in case you have a claim for compensation
- Fight effortlessly to help you receive the best outcomes in your lawsuit
- Decide the responsible party for your losses
- Recognize the complete chance of your short-term and long-term losses
- Deal with a complicated legal procedure.
Things to Do In Case of Medical Malpractice
If you believe a medical expert has given wrong or inappropriate care, you should take some necessary steps. First, you need to contact a healthcare professional for your care. Your problem could be solved with the appropriate solution or correction. If your medical provider cannot solve your problem, seek medical assistance immediately.
You need to take care of your medical requirements and health. However, you must also be cautious enough of your lawsuit’s legal time restrictions because doctor malpractice claims rely on a statute of limitations. Hence, you may have a restricted window for filing a case. Ultimately, determine which medical records will be appropriate for your claim and where you will get them.
Closing Thoughts
A significant entity of rules manages the medical malpractice law. Because these rules vary from state to state, you should get advice from an experienced medical malpractice lawyer in Brooklyn. Also, Brooklyn Injury Attorneys, P.C. can guide you through the essential phases of filing, confirm the merits of your claim, and give a possible trial. If you think you have a legal case, it is high time to stay connected with a medical malpractice attorney and discuss your situation! This article may be helpful if you or your loved ones are planning to have an amputation.