Overview
In spite of their good intentions, highly skilled expertise, and extremely thorough technical training, there are times when doctors, nurses, orderlies, interns, aides, and other healthcare professionals cause harm. They're human like anyone else. But unlike everyone else, they're in professions that demand that they be ultra-attentive, competent, and rigorously careful in administering their services, because of what's at stake. And when they fail to provide the expected standard of care, through mistakes, negligence, ignorance, lack of skill, lack of sleep, illness, or misdiagnosis, someone could end up suffering.
The result: medical negligence.

The Impact
The various healthcare providers in the medical profession save lives, heal illnesses, and bring hope and relief to millions every day. They work ceaselessly and tirelessly in industries that are sorely needed for our health and wellness. And doctors entering the profession take an oath that both compels and obligates them, and promises their patients, to “never intentionally do harm.” And yet sometimes harm does occur, resulting in tens of thousands of patients dying each year in America alone from medical errors, costing doctors and insurance companies billions of dollars in settlements. When you add unreported mistakes made in other medical arenas (nursing homes, medical centers, urgent care centers, pharmacies, doctors' offices, home health care, etc.), the scope and associated costs of medical negligence and malpractice in this country becomes astronomical. And the cost in terms of loss of life and quality of life due to preventable mistakes is incalculable and irreparable.

We all need doctors and hospitals at some time or another. And we need them to be on top of their game.

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Defining the Offense
In the legal sense, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers are required to give an ordinary standard of care. Failure to do so, results in a legal diagnosis of negligence. This commonly includes failure and mistakes in: surgical procedures; ordering and administering necessary tests, proper medication, and appropriate treatment; performing timely diagnosis; consulting with specialists; implementing proper follow-up; and so on.

Due to the diverse and complicated nature of the practice of medicine, it's impossible to provide a complete roster of all the different types of medical negligence claims. The major classes of claims, however, include:

• Wrongful death
• Misdiagnosis
• Doctor, hospital, and nursing negligence
• Pharmaceutical errors
• Nursing/convalescent home injuries, neglect, and abuse
• Birth defects and injuries

Compensation
The damages that you're entitled to in a medical negligence case are meant to return you to the physical condition you were in before the injury. These can be awarded in several forms: economic (for medical expenses, lost wages, etc.); non-economic (for pain and suffering); and punitive (for punishing reckless, irresponsible behavior). It's also possible to recover restitution for future medical expenses, as well as loss of future income. It's harder to win punitive damages, as it has to be proven that the healthcare provider acted under malicious intent.

In fact, malpractice suits are among the more difficult areas of law; the negligence must be well documented and proven within specific criteria. In cases like this, you need a skilled attorney with the knowledge, expertise, experience, and resources for investigating and developing your lawsuit for you. Our medical litigation lawyers have everything you need to mount a successful legal campaign for wrongful death of a loved one, personal injury, elder abuse, or any other medical negligence case.

Remember: This isn't about whether or not you like your doctor. It's all a matter of whether or not the physician, nurse, anesthetist, or other practitioner was somehow negligent in their diagnoses, duties, practices, procedures, treatments, etc. If so, you're entitled to fair and just restitution to assist you in restoring your prior quality of life, in addition to preventing others from being victimized in similar ways by the same practitioner. And even if the evidence ultimately bears out the fact that you did receive proper, competent medical care, you can always take comfort in knowing that the practitioners and providers involved did act to the best of their ability in your best interests, and you can let go and move forward in your recovery and healing process.