Medical Malpractice

Have you or a loved one been injured or suffered death as a result of medical negligence?

Your hospital, doctor, nurse, psychiatrist, chiropractor or podiatrist is not immune from the law.

When a health care provider makes a mistake, the ramifications can be catastrophic for patients and their families. Often, these mistakes were entirely preventable, but due to the negligence and carelessness of those who were supposed to be treating you, you are forced to suffer. The good news is that if you or a loved one has suffered harm due to the malpractice of a medical professional, you may have a right to sue for compensation.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice occurs when a patient suffers harm due to a health care provider’s inattentiveness or failure to follow a standard level of care. Doctors, surgeons, nurses, and other individual health care providers can be found guilty of medical malpractice but so can the institutions they work for like hospitals and clinics.

In order to understand medical malpractice, it’s important to know that in every medical situation, there is a standard of treatment that must be met by health care providers. When that standard is not met and a patient suffers because of it, the patient can bring a medical malpractice claim. Many such cases occur in the operating room. However, medical malpractice can also occur at the diagnostic level of care: misinterpreting CT scans or x-rays, for example. Pharmacists, dentists, oral surgeons, anesthesiologists, obstetricians, nurses, psychiatrists, and other types of medical professionals can likewise be found liable for malpractice in their respective fields.

When a patient suffers injury or death during or after medical treatment, a patient (or their family) can inquire whether a substandard level of care was provided. If medical malpractice liability is found, the patient or their family may recover compensation for their injuries (including wrongful death) and economic and non-economic losses. Deciding whether to pursue a legal remedy after a negative medical outcome can be difficult. The physical and emotional tolls of a serious medical condition are always considered, and when you add to this the weight of a serious legal case, the effect can be overwhelming. Fortunately, getting help from an experienced and understanding attorney can help.

Examples of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice can happen at virtually any stage of medical care. Common instances of medical malpractice include:

• Misdiagnosis or failing to diagnose a serious medical condition (e.g., cancer, heart attack, stroke, bowel obstruction or perforation, pulmonary embolism, blood clot or deep vein thrombosis, ectopic pregnancy, compartment syndrome, cauda equina syndrome)
• Misdiagnoses of mammograms, biopsies, x-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and other diagnostic tests
• Anesthesia-related errors leading to death or brain damage
• Lab errors
• Overdoses or medication errors due to prescription or pharmacy errors
• Mistakes in the operating room (e.g., operating on the wrong site)
• Surgical mistakes (e.g., spinal epidural abscesses, gastric bypass surgery errors, gallbladder surgery errors, neurosurgical errors leading to paralysis)
• Plastic surgery errors
• Burn injuries
• Birth-related injuries related to infant jaundice, hip dysplasia, shoulder dystocia, or cerebral palsy
• Infections or sepsis contracted in hospitals
• Patient falls at hospitals, clinics, or provider offices
• Breach and disclosure of hospital data
• Malpractice in the emergency room
• Malpractice in VA hospitals

Michigan Medical Malpractice Law

Medical malpractice is not uncommon in the United States today. In fact, according to John Hopkins University, it was the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2016. Unfortunately, Michigan has a large share of such malpractice. Here’s what you need to know about medical malpractice in Michigan.

First, keep in mind that not all negative medical outcomes are caused by malpractice. If you suspect negligence may have been the reason for suffering you endured during a medical procedure or diagnosis, you and your lawyer must prove this. Only by bringing forward the proper evidence to establish the elements of your claim entitles you to receive compensation.

According to Michigan law, there four things that must be proven to have a viable medical malpractice case:

• A relationship between the patient and the health care provider, clinic, hospital, or other entity in question;
• A substandard level of care during treatment;
• Harm caused to the patient (injury, further illness, death) resulting from that substandard level of care; and
• Injury and damages resulting from the injury (e.g., physical and mental pain, extra medical bills, loss of wages, etc.).

What Qualifies as a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Michigan?

As stated above, there are many examples of medical malpractice that may justify bringing a lawsuit and seeking compensation. Generally speaking, most medical malpractice cases will likely fall into one of the following three categories:

Failure to properly diagnose a medical condition

There are serious consequences when a condition goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. In many cases — with many cancers, for example — prompt and accurate diagnosis can save lives. If a health care provider misses an obvious diagnosis or does not diagnose a condition that other providers are later able to pinpoint, this could be the basis for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Failure to warn the patient of known risks

When a health care provider has recommended a certain treatment or surgery for a patient, they must also tell that patient of all known risks associated with the treatment or surgery. If a provider fails to do this and a patient suffers such harm due to the treatment or surgery, the provider can be liable because the patient may well have declined the procedure or care had they known the risks ahead of time.

Improper or poor treatment

There are two possible scenarios here. First, a medical professional may deliver the proper treatment but may do so in a poor or negligent way (that fails to meet the requisite standard of care). Next, a medical professional may not deliver the proper treatment, instead choosing to ignore a serious issue altogether or to follow a course of action that no medical professional operating within the requisite standard of care would choose.

Can I Sue for Medical Negligence?

Yes, you can sue a hospital, medical office, or individual provider for medical negligence. Doing so, however, is a significant undertaking. There are complicated and confusing legal steps that must be followed to move forward with a medical malpractice case. Having experienced and trusted attorneys on your side is crucial.

If you or a loved one has suffered due to a medical professional’s negligence, Giroux Pappas Trial Attorneys, P.C. wants to help you receive just compensation for your injuries and damages. We are a nationally recognized law firm specializing in providing aggressive representation for clients who have suffered from medical malpractice.

Michigan Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations

A statute of limitations is a law regarding how long a plaintiff (the harmed patient in this case) has to initiate a claim against an accused party. In the case of medical malpractice claims in the State of Michigan, the statute of limitations is two years (with certain nuanced and limited exceptions). This means that you typically have two years from the date of your medical service (your diagnosis, surgery, or treatment, etc.) from which to file your medical malpractice claim.

Other personal injury (also known as tort) cases have different statutes of limitations, so it’s important not to confuse them. For example, non-medical negligence cases typically require a claim to be filed within three-years of the injury.

In light of this, the sooner you take action, the better. Gathering documents, receipts, lab reports, and other data takes time, and all of this legwork will be required in order to prepare your case. Moreover, eyewitness accounts may be essential to your case, but the longer you wait to contact individuals regarding their recollections, the more likely it is that their memories will fade or they will be unavailable. If you wait too long to contact legal counsel, you may unintentionally miss the deadline for filing and you will be unable to file your lawsuit — no matter how clear the liability is.

Giroux Pappas Trial Attorneys Are Among the Best Michigan Medical Malpractice Attorneys

At Giroux Pappas Trial Attorneys, we prosecute all types of Michigan medical malpractice claims. Whether your claim is against a surgeon, doctor, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, registered nurse, midwife, or another medical or health care provider, we will investigate your case and provide you with the best legal options available to you.

If you live in Michigan, contact Giroux Pappas Trial Attorneys today to learn more about our professional litigation services and the legal options available for your case.