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Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or other health care
provider fails to follow the proper standard of care and injures
or kills a patient.
Medical malpractice can take many forms, including failing to
follow correct surgical or medical procedures, administering
an improper medication and failing to provide adequate nursing
care.
Medical malpractice is not nearly as rare as you might think.
According to a report published by the Institute of Medicine
in 2000, preventable medical errors may cause upward of 98,000
deaths each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control,
if this number is accurate, death from medical errors is the
sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Even more
startling, research from the health care quality ratings company
HealthGrades suggests that the human toll of medical errors
may be far higher, with preventable errors and negligence taking
the lives of as many as 195,000 people each year.
The costs associated with medical errors are staggering. According
to the Institute of Medicine, the estimated total cost of preventable
medical errors approaches $30 billion annually, more than half
of which is comprised of additional healthcare costs.
At JMP, we realize that that medical malpractice involves much
more than suffering a medical injury. Medical malpractice frequently
involves a breach of the sacred trust between patients and their
physicians.
Our attorneys are widely known for their skill and expertise
in this difficult area of the law. We would like very much to
put our skill and experience to work for you.
Our attorneys have handled hundreds of medical malpractice cases
including the following:
Birth Injuries
Birth injuries result because of medical errors made during
pregnancy, labor or delivery.
When a child has a severe birth injury, the family is faced
with a future that will involve prolonged and expensive care
for that child.
Frequently, physicians and hospital personnel are not candid
with parents about the cause of their child's condition. In
fact, it is not unusual for some birth injuries to go undetected
for months or even years. Many helpless parents are led to believe
that their child simply has a condition or injury that was not
preventable.
Fortunately, the truth is often revealed through litigation.
Our attorneys know the telltale signs of birth injuries and
recently helped recover $13.5 million on behalf of a child who
was severely injured during delivery.
Our goal is to get you the answers and financial help you deserve.
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a devastating medical condition marked by
reduced control over movement and posture. Cerebral palsy can
be the result of a medical mistake in the delivery room when
the baby is deprived of oxygen during labor and delivery.
This lack of oxygen can cause permanent brain damage. Cerebral
palsy is frequently accompanied by reduced mental function,
impaired speech, vision and hearing. A child with cerebral palsy
may experience trouble sitting up and walking or may be affected
by involuntary muscle movements and drooling.
As with other birth injuries, parents are often misled into
believing that their child’s condition is not the result
of a medical mistake. Our attorneys have successfully handled
numerous cerebral palsy cases. We are well connected with medical
experts in this field, and are uniquely capable of confronting
doctors and hospital personnel with proof of their negligence.
If you have a child who you believe may have suffered brain
damage during the pregnancy, labor or delivery, you owe it to
him or her to find answers. We can help.
Surgical Mistakes
Surgical errors occur every day, frequently with deadly results.
Common surgical mistakes include negligent conduct by anesthesia
personnel (this can result in oxygen deprivation, air embolism
or other complications), positioning errors in which the sleeping
patient is positioned in a manner that results in nerve damage
or vision loss, and leaving a sponge or other instrument inside
a patient during surgery.
Transfusion-related mistakes and negligently severing an artery,
nerve or other structure during surgery can also be the result
of medical malpractice.
Because the patient is usually asleep when surgical mistakes
occur and the only witnesses to the malpractice are the very
people who caused the injury, surgical malpractice cases pose
a special challenge to attorneys.
Our attorneys pride themselves on their ability to solve these
operating room mysteries.
Emergency Room Negligence
Combine a high volume of patients with staff shortages, overworked
physicians, and bureaucratic red tape, and you have a recipe
for disaster. The hospital emergency room environment is a ripe
setting for medical errors.
Some of these pose deadly consequences for patients. A missed
diagnosis or a delay in treatment can spell the difference between
life and death for an emergency room patient. Frequently, haste
and carelessness on the part of emergency room physicians and
nurses result in severe injuries or the death of a loved one.
Our attorneys are not strangers to such cases and have handled
and have helped other clients resolve a large number of emergency
room malpractice claims.
Medication Errors
Medication errors can be especially deadly.
It is estimated that approximately 7,000 people die each year
as a result of preventable medication errors. According to one
study conducted between 1983 and 1993, the number of people
who died from medication errors rose from 2,876 to 7,391 (an
increase of about 250%).
Most medication errors occur when physicians and nurses fail
to follow basic protocols and guidelines for medication ordering,
preparation and administration. Medication errors can also take
the form of dangerous interactions, overdoses and administration
of the wrong medication. These mistakes often are the result
of carelessness and inattention.
Our attorneys have successfully pressed medication error cases
to successful resolution.
Diagnostic Errors
Advances in medical technology have saved the lives of millions.
Doctors today have a broad array of imaging technologies, blood
tests and other diagnostic tools at their disposal when caring
for patients.
Sometimes, however, physicians either misinterpret the results
of these studies, or fail to communicate the results to their
patient or other health care providers.
For example, our attorneys have handled cases for patients who
went to the emergency room complaining of chest pains and other
classic heart attack symptoms, were treated for indigestion
(or some other non-cardiac condition), and then discharged from
the hospital only to suffer a fatal heart attack hours later.
In other cases, physicians have failed to identify malignant
tumors or other pathologies that could have been discovered
through common medical tests, allowing the cancer to go untreated
and depriving the patient of the opportunity to survive the
illness.
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