You trust your doctor to “do no harm.” But what happens when that trust is broken and you’re left with a new set of complications?
Documenting a new injury is required because you cannot hold a doctor or other healthcare professional responsible for the original medical problem.
Some examples of medical mistakes include:
-Misdiagnosis of a medical condition.
-Failure to properly treat a patient's medical condition.
-Failure to safely administer anesthesia.
-Failure to manage a pregnancy or deliver a baby in a safe manner.
-Failure of a nurse or other staff member to keep a treating physician informed of a patient's condition.
-Failure to administer medications properly.
-Failure to protect a patient from a fall or other injury on hospital property.
According to a report from the American Institute of Medicine, medical mistakes kill as many as 98,000 people every year and up to 7,000 patients die from errors in prescribing medicine. This far exceeds the annual number of people killed as a result of traffic accidents (43,450), breast cancer (42,300), or AIDS (16,400).
Even if a medical mistake is not fatal, it can cause severe, permanent damage, such as brain injury, paralysis, amputation, disability, or disfigurement.
Medical malpractice is about far more than dollars or statistics. The errors take a terrible toll on the lives of innocent victims.
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor fails to act with a reasonable standard of care. When someone who is not a doctor makes a mistake, he or she is often said to have acted negligently. Malpractice is simply negligence applied to healthcare professionals. Tragically, a doctor's mistake can have severe -- or even deadly -- consequences for a trusting patient.
Medical malpractice is a problem that thousands of people are forced to confront each year. Medical malpractice, or medical negligence, occurs when a heath care professional fails to provide you with the standard of care that other, similarly trained or experienced professionals provide, resulting in harm or injury.
This means if you are harmed or injured as a result of a health care professional failing to perform their expected duty, you may be able to file a medical malpractice or medical negligence claim.
Medical malpractice can occur while in the care of any health care professional or facility, including:
-Hospitals
-Doctors
-Nurses
-Doctor's Offices
-Dentist
-Hospital Workers
Medical malpractice has many different forms, and the consequences of medical malpractice can be devastating and life changing.
The experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Ed Bernstein and Associates have represented many different medical malpractice claims, including:
-Wrongful Death
-Cerebral Palsy
-Brain Injury
-Erbs Palsy
-Hypoxia (Lack of Oxygen)
-Surgical Error
-Failure to Diagnose
Unfortunately, medical malpractice is not as uncommon as you might think. Thousands of people suffer from medical malpractice every year, and many patients even die as a result of medical malpractice.
Many times, medical malpractice claims go un-filed because people don't believe that there is anything they can do. Some patients who have suffered from medical malpractice also believe that since they signed a consent form, they are unable to file a medical malpractice claim. This is completely untrue. A consent form does not give your health care professional a free pass to commit medical malpractice.
Medical malpractice can affect all aspects of life, including monetary expenses.
If you have sustained care from a medical professional and feel it resulted in medical malpractice, an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help you recover compensation for many different types of losses, including:
-Pain
-Loss of Work
-Lost Wages
-Permanent Disability
-Loss of Enjoyment of Life
-Loss of Earning Capacity
-Loss of Future Wages
-Medical Expenses
-Future Medical Expenses
When you file a medical malpractice claim, your health care provider's insurance company may attempt to compensate you for the least amount possible. A medical malpractice lawyer at Ed Bernstein and Associates will represent you on a contingent fee basis.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can I sue a doctor for medical mistakes?
A medical mistake is nothing more than negligence committed by a doctor. Therefore, you would need to prove the four elements of negligence: the doctor owed you a duty of care, the doctor breached that duty of care, the doctor's breach caused you to suffer an injury, and you indeed suffered an injury. In medical mistake cases, you must also have a new injury, not just the injury that you went to the doctor for in the first place. You should consult an attorney for an evaluation of your claim.
My doctor failed to diagnose my sister's cancer. She didn't receive treatment in time and died. Can the doctor be held responsible?
Failure to diagnose is a medical mistake that is actionable. You should consult an attorney for an evaluation of your claim.
I had complications after surgery. Can I sue my doctor?
Complications are a normal part of surgery. Usually, patients are informed of normal complications. In such cases, doctors may or may not be held responsible.
Here is a link to Nevada's Revised Medical Malpractice Statutes:
http://search.leg.state.nv.us/isysquery/irl941f/1/doc
If you have a legal question or would like a free legal evaluation of your claim, fill out the online request or call our office at 702-240-0000.
Edward M. Bernstein is the owner of Edward M. Bernstein & Associates, a law firm with offices in Las Vegas and Green Valley, Henderson. He has served as a Judge Pro Tem for the City of Las Vegas Municipal Court and for the City of North Las Vegas. He was the Democratic candidate for the United States Senate in 2000. He has been appointed by the Governor to serve as a hearing officer for the State of Nevada Personnel Advisory Commission as well as a hearing officer for the State of Nevada Department of Administration and the Nevada Board of Psychological Examiners. Las Vegas personal injury lawyer Ed Bernstein is one of the most experienced Las Vegas personal injury lawyer representing Las Vegas victims who need a Las Vegas personal injury lawyer or a Las Vegas car accident lawyer. If you've been hurt, you want a car crash attorney who understands the type of injuries that result from serious car wrecks. That's exactly what you'll get the from the law firm of Ed Bernstein & Associates. There are hundreds of accidents in Las Vegas annually and a car accident attorney in our Las Vegas injury law firm can help you recover damages and get compensated for injuries of all types. Our Las Vegas wrongful death lawyers handle injury lawsuits pertaining to medical malpractice cases. If you've been hurt by recalled drugs, a pharmacy error, dangerous antidepressants, or risky asthma drugs, where can you turn for help? You may have trusted a drug to help you feel better but now your health is worse. If you had a bad drug reaction, there's a good chance it may have happened to someone else too. Because there are time limits on filing a claim on a dangerous drug, don't wait any longer to find out about your legal rights. This website offers information about car accidents, bike accidents, taxi accidents, boat accidents, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle accidents, work injuries, workers compensation, hurt-on-the-job injures, dog bites, animal attacks, slip and fall accidents, casino accidents, medical malpractice, social security disability, people denied social security benefits, food poisoning, nursing home abuse, dental malpractice, chiropractor malpractice, nursing malpractice, healthcare malpractice, insurance disputes, defective products, harmful side effects from drugs like Ortho Evra, Seroquel, Zyprex, Fosamax, Digitek, Levaquin, or Yasmin / Yaz.