LEXINGTON MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ATTORNEY

Not every patient who sustains an injury while under the care of a doctor or other medical professional will be entitled to compensation. Medical treatment and surgical procedures carry inherent risks, and poor outcomes or unexpected complications do not necessarily constitute medical negligence.

For example, a patient may develop an infection following surgery. If this infection was not caused by careless sanitary procedures or other type of negligence, the patient generally will not be able to take legal action against the doctor or hospital. Likewise, if a patient fails to disclose pertinent medical information to a physician this may, as a result, cause or contribute to the injury, therefore making it difficult to place blame on the doctor.

If you believe, or are uncertain if, a medical professional’s negligence was the cause of your injury, you should contact a Lexington medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. Together, you can discuss your recollection of the situation, review documents to which you may have access, and determine whether negligence—in any capacity and by any involved party—contributed to your injury.

If your attorney determines negligence may have caused or contributed to your injury, you may decide to file a claim against the healthcare professional(s) involved in your medical treatment. To successfully recover compensation, it is imperative for your attorney to link the professional’s negligence directly to your injury. The key to proving the causal link is through a thorough investigation of the medical procedure, including the care delivered before and after the procedure.

During the investigation your attorney may:

• Review the physician’s plan for treatment and care;
• Analyze notes recorded by related parties and any documents related to the situation;
• Consult medical experts;
• Re-create the procedure virtually;
• Explore whether any complaints have been filed in similar cases; and
• Interview witnesses and other potentially helpful individuals.

Your attorney’s consultation with the medical experts may be the most important element of the investigation. In Kentucky, medical malpractice plaintiffs are required to provide testimony of an expert medical witness to establish the healthcare provider did not provide an appropriate level of care.

Gathering the opinions of multiple doctors can help to substantiate your claim that the health care provider’s negligence caused your injury. These experts can explain instances in which the injury could occur, analyze the physician’s technique to determine if a specific treatment or procedure was executed correctly, and determine and illustrate a possible causal connection.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are most often pursued on the theory that a healthcare professional was negligent, and that this negligence caused the patient’s injury. To establish this negligence, your attorney must prove four elements.

Duty of Care: If you are under the care of a physician, you are automatically owed a duty of care. This duty of care requires your doctor to adhere to medical practices accepted by the medical community and act as any reasonable doctor would in a similar situation.

Breach: A breach is any deviation from the duty of care, which may include a negligent action or failure to act. Pinpointing this breach is one of the more difficult elements for attorneys and medical experts.

Injury: You must have sustained an injury resulting in damages.

Causation: The injury must have been caused by the physicians’ breach of duty. The attorney must prove the causal link between the negligent act and the injury.

In some instances, your attorney may file a product liability lawsuit if they believe a defect in a medical tool caused or led to your injury. These suits may be filed in conjunction with negligence claims. These cases typically require your attorney to prove a defect existed when the tool was manufactured and that you sustained an injury from its use.

Medical malpractice is a broad term which encompasses a wide range of medical practices and negligent actions. Doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, medical analysts, pharmacists, administrators, and facility owners may all potentially be liable if a patient is severely injured.

Types of medical malpractice injury cases our Lexington attorneys handle include, but are not limited to:

• Spinal cord malpractice
• OBGYN malpractice
• Psychiatric malpractice
• Cosmetic surgery malpractice
• General surgery malpractice
• Chiropractor malpractice
• Medication error malpractice
• Dental malpractice
• Orthopedic malpractice
• Birth injury malpractice
• Emergency room malpractice, and
• General practitioner malpractice.

Our Kentucky medical malpractice attorneys also handle cases involving injuries caused by anesthesia errors, charting mistakes, delays of treatment, pre- or post-care errors, failure to diagnose or misdiagnoses, improper medication prescriptions or dispensing, and operations or treatments on an unrelated part of the body without consent.

The attorneys at Morgan & Morgan have successfully recovered compensation in cases alleging injuries such as fractures, infection, back and neck trauma, spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injury, severe burns, organ damage, disfigurement, loss of limbs, paralysis, and fatalities.

The amount of compensation you may receive for your injury will depend on several factors including the severity and nature of injury, the significance of the breach, the number of liable parties, and the strength of the evidence that has been obtained. Damages that may be collected for injuries caused by medical malpractice may include current and future hospital and medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, loss of intimacy, sterility, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of companionship.

In cases where a loved one has died as a result of medical malpractice, you may be able to recover compensation for funeral costs, mental anguish, and loss of support.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury while under the care of a healthcare professional, you may have legal options to recover compensation. To learn more about what legal course you may be eligible for, please fill out our free case review formtoday.