Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or another health care professional does not exercise the accepted standard of care within their field of practice, leading to a patient’s injury. Malpractice can take the form of prescription errors, surgical errors, birth injuries, and misdiagnoses, among other situations. Proving a medical malpractice case involves consulting medical experts, examining a patient’s history, and deciphering complicated medical records. Our firm has the resources to make sure that those responsible for your harm are held accountable.

Unfortunately, negligence often occurs in the health care industry. Doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff may fail to treat a patient with the appropriate care, causing devastating and sometimes permanent injuries. Some examples include failing to accurately and promptly diagnose a condition, making an error during surgery or anesthesia, failing to properly follow up after a surgery, or providing an incorrect prescription, among others.

An Institute of Medicine report estimated that medical errors are estimated to result in between 44,000 and 98,000 preventable deaths and over 1 million excess injuries each year in U.S. hospitals. Medical errors affect 1 in 10 patients worldwide. Medical errors kill more people each year than work-related injuries and automobile accidents combined.

Medication Errors

Medication errors are among the most common medical mistakes, harming at least 1.5 million people every year and accounting for more than 7,000 deaths annually. More people die each year from medication errors than work-related injuries.

When medical negligence occurs, a patient or the patient’s family may be able to bring a medical malpractice claim against any individuals or facilities that were responsible. These lawsuits contain parallel elements to those in other personal injury claims, although the standard of care is more specific. Health care providers are expected to meet not simply an ordinary standard of care, but a standard defined by the actions of a health care provider in the same specialty treating a similarly situated patient. Establishing the appropriate standard and how a certain defendant deviated from it generally requires expert testimony from other members of the medical profession. These claims tend to be complex, so the assistance of a knowledgeable medical malpractice attorney is critical in making sure that a victim’s rights are asserted.

Two Year Deadline in Most Cases

The deadline for filing most medical malpractice claims in court in Illinois is 2 years from the date the Plaintiff knew or should have known of the negligence of the professional and that injuries resulted therefrom. It should be noted, however, that there are exceptions to this rule.

Claims We Handle

Types of claims we handle include, but are not limited to: