Have you suffered or sustained injuries because of negligent medical care? Perhaps a medical professional misdiagnosed you, gave you the wrong medication, or carried out a medical procedure incorrectly? You may be entitled to compensation if you have sustained an injury or were harmed because a medical professional was negligent or failed to act.
While everyone expects their doctor, nurse, surgeon, and other healthcare providers to provide competent medical care, this is not always the case. Medical malpractice occurs when healthcare professionals and providers act negligently by departing from the accepted medical standard. This can cause harm, injuries, and even death to their patients. Under such circumstances, the patient is eligible for compensation for the medical professional’s or provider’s actions.
You would be surprised how common cases of medical malpractice are in Minnesota. When a patient seeks medical care, they often take it for granted that the professionals attending to them act professionally and will perform the necessary procedures correctly. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for them to make serious medical errors that cause pain and injury. Whether purely accidental or grossly negligent, medical errors may leave patients seriously injured, disfigured, paralyzed, and traumatized. The effect is a permanent impact on the patient’s quality of life.
If you or someone you care about has suffered from medical malpractice, the law provides a clear recourse. Unfortunately, due to strict procedural rules that every case must follow, medical malpractice lawsuits in Minnesota are notoriously complex. Cases typically involve a lot of legalese and sifting and analyzing through volumes of medical records to prove the case. There are no shortcuts to winning a medical malpractice claim; it takes hard work and requires in-depth knowledge of the law and experience in the field.
The term ‘medical malpractice’ covers more than just the mistakes medical practitioners make when treating a patient. The term also covers failure to properly diagnose by omission, incorrect diagnoses, and wrong medications, among other malpractices. These are detailed below:
It is unfortunate that even simple surgical procedures may go wrong, permanently impacting the patient’s life. Some of the common incidents that occur during surgery include:
Negligence within a surgical procedure may inflict severe and sometimes life-threatening damage.
The most common type of medical malpractice is misdiagnosis. This occurs when a doctor examines the patient but gives them the wrong diagnosis for their symptoms or no diagnosis at all. In some cases, the doctor may initially provide the wrong diagnosis but eventually give the right one after some time.
In both cases, the patient may have experienced more pain than they would have, or their condition deteriorated. In the worst-case scenario, the patient may have been given the wrong treatment or medication for a condition they do not have and suffered the effects or developed new health problems.
In some cases, a doctor may correctly diagnose the patient but fail to administer or recommend the right treatment or follow-up care. This often happens when the doctor is overworked, disorganized, or has to deal with too many patients. In such a case, the patient may argue that the doctor neglected them by failing to provide the level of individual care expected of a medical professional.
Birth injuries, also known as obstetric or gynecological injuries, are prevalent. Birth injuries due to medical errors and negligence have devastating consequences when they occur. Some of the common examples of birth-related injuries are:
When something goes wrong during child delivery, it may leave both the mother and child with lifelong health problems. The newborn may even suffer development issues or possibly even death.
Medical malpractice may also occur when device or medication manufacturing companies sell faulty products that harm the patient. For instance, when a patient takes expired or harmful medication, it could cause their condition to worsen due to a lack of proper dosage. If a pacemaker malfunctions, a patient may suffer a heart attack. While the error may not be directly due to improper professional diagnosis or treatment, the patient may sue the company for medical product liability.
Medical malpractice cases are quite complicated. Combined with the fact that the statute of limitations on these cases in Minnesota is typically four years, every patient needs to find the right personal injury attorney in Edina to represent them the first time. A quality Edina medical malpractice lawyer will:
It takes time, effort, and lots of resources to build a medical malpractice case. It is possible that a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed against more than one party. Therefore, the patient or their loved ones will need to work with a skilled medical malpractice lawyer in Edina, MN to prepare the case, ascertain specific details, and determine the nature of the lawsuit to file.
It is unfortunate that highly trained medical professionals and providers make grave mistakes that permanently alter their patients’ lives. Even more, a patient has to fight for their rights to be compensated for the errors and malpractices in court. If you suffered pain or are struggling with injuries resulting from negligence and mistakes, the first step to remedying it is finding the right lawyer. An experienced medical malpractice attorney in Edina will determine which approach is best and what criteria to adopt to file the case.
At Knutson + Casey, our combined power of a strong, efficient law firm and the compassion we have for our patients helps drive our results. When you choose us, you can feel certain that every aspect of your case will be covered. We want to fight for you, like we have fought for thousands of malpractice victims in Southern Minnesota. If you would like our help with your medical malpractice case, call (507) 344-8888 or fill out our contact form for a free consultation.