Medical malpractice can result in some of the most catastrophic injuries as well as generate distrust of the medical profession. Most medical providers offer outstanding service to their patients.
However, when preventable medical errors occur, healthcare providers need to be held accountable like any other person or entity whose negligence or wrongful conduct caused you or a loved one serious injury or death. Hiring an experienced medical malpractice attorney is crucial to navigate these complexities and ensure that justice is served.
Understanding the complexities of medical malpractice claims is essential, as these cases involve unique jurisdictional rules, statutes of limitations, and specific criteria for finding legal recourse. Our Austin medical malpractice lawyers at Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson, LLP want to help you.
Common Examples Of Medical Malpractice
Wrong-Site Surgery
Hospitals and surgeons follow certain protocols before an operation to ensure the correct patient is undergoing surgery, the right organ is to be operated on, and the site of the surgery is confirmed, usually several times. Still, poor communication, distraction, fatigue, or a failure to follow the protocol results in a catastrophic mistake and a medical malpractice claim. Such errors can lead to medical malpractice lawsuits, where victims seek compensation for the harm caused.
Device Left In A Body Cavity
Surgeons and assistants count the instruments or sponges used in a procedure and take inventory before the incision site is closed. Regardless, medical professionals sometimes fail to account for all items, leading to objects being left in body cavities. If not discovered, these objects can cause infections and other serious complications. An emergency surgery to remove the item also exposes a weakened patient to more infection, heart failure, and other complications.
Delay In Diagnosis Or Misdiagnosis
Some healthcare providers may miss a diagnosis due to a lack of communication with their patients. This can also occur when providers treat patients quickly, sacrificing quality for quantity. For example, a general practitioner (GP) may have a patient who is an ex-smoker who complains of a persistent cough for months and is only given cough medication. Another doctor looks at the patient and sends her out for a biopsy that reveals she now has advanced otolaryngeal cancer. The GP may be civilly liable if a reasonably competent physician testifies that the condition should have been diagnosed at a much earlier time when the cancer was very treatable.
Wrong Medication Or Dosage
A complete medical history and knowledge of a patient’s allergic reactions to medications can prevent a patient from being given the wrong drugs or dosage. Some errors are ascribed to misreading a prescription or record or not adjusting the dosage when complications arise.
Birth Injuries
Many birth injuries are preventable. Common birth injury conditions such as cerebral palsy and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy result from oxygen deprivation to the brain from a failure to monitor the fetus or the mother’s condition or communicate to the doctor that the patient or fetus is showing significant changes.
Erb’s palsy, an injury to the brachial plexus, can occur if the child’s arm is pulled too hard during a breech delivery. Both baby and mother need to be monitored for changes in respiration, heartbeat, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels during pregnancy.
During a pregnancy, whatever a mother experiences, her baby may also experience. Infections that attack the immune system of a mother will have effects on her developing baby. Infections that do not receive medical attention can cause neonatal brain damage. Examples of infections that lead to neonatal brain damage include:
Syphilis
Yeast infections
Herpes
Varicella
Cystitis
These infections, whether serious or common, can negatively affect the development of a baby. Research indicates that maternal infections that are left untreated can lead to epilepsy and schizophrenia. These infections can also be the cause of premature births. Babies born prematurely are at a higher risk of cerebral palsy and other brain defects. The mother’s physician should always monitor and properly treat maternal infections. Any physician who fails to do so may be liable for any brain injury that a baby experiences. Severe birth injuries can sometimes result in wrongful death.
Jaundice
Jaundice is very common among preemie babies. It occurs when an excessive amount of yellow pigment is present in a baby’s bloodstream. This can cause a baby’s eyes and skin to appear yellow. If your newborn is experiencing jaundice, this is not a reason to worry, unless left untreated. Excessive amounts of bilirubin (yellow pigment) in the bloodstream can lead to a medical condition called kernicterus. This condition causes traumatic brain injury to the baby.
Trauma
Physical trauma during delivery can lead to brain damage. Incorrect use of medical tools inflicted on the head or forceful tugging of the head can damage a newborn’s brain. In some extreme cases, nurses or doctors may accidentally drop a baby. When our heads make forceful contact with any object or surface it can leave serious brain damage. These effects are magnified when involving a newborn baby.
Inadequate Care
Many patients die or suffer pain needlessly from infections sustained during a hospital stay or by the lack of care from an untrained or overwhelmed staff. Careless handling of a patient, and failing to monitor their condition or administer the proper medicines can lead to serious injuries and death. If you or your loved one has suffered a medical injury, contact our experienced medical malpractice attorneys in Austin for legal assistance. We will fight for your rights and help you recover compensation.
Holding The Health Care Provider Liable
There are four elements in a Texas medical malpractice case:
A duty was owed to the patient. A duty is created when the patient comes under the care of a medical professional.
The duty of care was breached. A healthcare provider is held to the standard of a reasonably competent provider of the same specialty under similar conditions. When the doctor or health care provider’s conduct falls below the currently accepted medical standards in Texas, there is a breach of that duty.
The breach must have been the cause of the injury. A missed diagnosis must have been the cause of the person’s death if timely detection would have saved the person’s life or extended life expectancy.
Damages. The person must have sustained a loss caused by the breach and injury. It can be financial or emotional.
Requirements For Filing Medical Malpractice Claims in Austin, TX
Texas law requires that a 60-day notice be given to the defendant’s healthcare provider before a claim is filed. It also mandates that within 120 days of filing a medical malpractice claim, you must serve an expert’s medical report on the defendant. This report should include the medical expert’s curriculum vitae and their opinion regarding:
The standard of care
How the defendant’s doctor failed to adhere to the standards
The causal relationship between the failure and injury
The harm that resulted or the damages incurred
Wrongful death claims are also a type of claim that can be filed in medical malpractice cases.
Cap Or Limit On Damages
Like most states, Texas law imposes a cap on your noneconomic damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Noneconomic claims are limited to $250,000 for each claimant or against each healthcare institution. Your total recovery is limited to $750,000 for noneconomic damages, including $250,000 from the physician defendants and a maximum of $500,000 from all institutional providers. Noneconomic damages include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, or emotional distress for which there is no objective basis for measuring it. Texas does not limit your economic losses, which include medical expenses and lost earnings.
Statute Of Limitations
Also, medical malpractice cases generally need to be filed within two years of the negligent act. For children under the age of 12, you have until the child reaches the age of 14 to file on their behalf. A plaintiff’s attorney can extend the statute for up to 75 days by sending notice of the claim by a certified letter to the physician or health care provider against whom the claim is being made.
The notice letter must be sent before the statute of limitations bars filing a claim. Also, notice to one defendant is considered notice to all in cases where other defendants did not receive the requisite notice within 60 days of filing a lawsuit. Want to file a medical injury claim? Call an Austin medical malpractice lawyer to help you seek justice.
Potential Warning Signs Of Medical Malpractice
Treatment Does Not Work
If treatment does not work, you may want to get a second opinion on whether or not your physician or doctor prescribed the right course of action. They may have misdiagnosed you, or may not be conforming to traditional medical treatments.
Your Symptoms Are Diagnosed By Lab Tests
Because of errors in medical testing, you should ask to get your diagnosis retested or discuss your results with a professional. If a misdiagnosis occurs and you are not properly treated for your condition, you may end up with a serious illness or risk fatal injuries.
You Have Common Symptoms But A Severe Condition
If you are diagnosed with a condition such as cancer, or an extreme infection, be sure to note other symptoms. Sometimes doctors may believe your symptoms are the result of a life-threatening illness, which may cause undue stress and emotional pain if you are later diagnosed with a common ailment.
There Are Additional Tests Available
If you are diagnosed with an illness, ask your doctor about other tests that can be given to ensure you are properly treated for your particular situation. Doctors may withhold tests that could change how treatment is administered.
You Are Having Adverse Reactions To Treatment
If the treatment is harming you, tell your doctor first and foremost. You may have been given the wrong treatment or been prescribed a treatment that should not be used in conjunction with other medicines you are taking. If the doctor fails to take necessary precautions, he or she falls below the acceptable standards of common medicine.
Your Doctor Failed To Inform You Of The Risks
Doctors must inform their patients of the risks associated with treatment or not receiving treatment. You may have grounds for a medical malpractice claim if you have an adverse reaction to a treatment without being made aware of the risks. If you would not have gone ahead with treatment under normal circumstances, the doctor is liable.
You Are Being Given a Series Of Treatments
You may be receiving additional treatments to cover up a misdiagnosis or incorrect administration of medicine. This will rack up a hefty medical bill, so if you believe you are being incorrectly billed, ask your doctor the reason for the multitude of treatment types. If he or she fails to give a satisfactory answer, you may be taken advantage of.
Treatments Do Not Conform To The Common Practice
Before beginning treatment, look up what medical journals say and what standard practice is when treating your condition. If you are being offered an inferior treatment, or something alternative that you did not approve, you could have a valid claim on your hands. While you focus on recovery, our Austin medical malpractice lawyers will fight for your justice.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Our Austin Medical Malpractice Attorneys
Medical malpractice cases are complex and involve complicated issues of liability and damages. You need the experience and resources of legal professionals who know how to handle these unique injury cases and who have the resources to prosecute healthcare liability claims that usually are intensely defended.
When medical negligence has caused serious personal injury or the death of someone you love, call our medical malpractice law firm at 512-454-3751 or contact us to arrange a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.
Get answers to frequently asked questions about personal injury law.
