Anaheim Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Are You or a Family Member Suffering as a Result of Medical Malpractice?
If you think you or a family member are a victim of medical malpractice, contact Thomas K. McKnight. These cases are almost always difficult. If you intend to succeed in your claim, it is critically important to work with lawyers who have the necessary experience. The Anaheim Medical Malpractice Attorneys at Thomas K. McKnight, have many years of experience handling personal injury lawsuits. They are here to help determine if you have a case.
Lots of people have heard of medical malpractice. You may often associate it with very severe mistakes in medical treatment. For example, conducting an invasive surgical operation on the wrong patient. However, medical malpractice occurs in several less drastic forms. Further, a Anaheim medical malpractice lawyer knows the outcomes can be just as damaging and even deadly.
What Are Typical Forms of Medical Malpractice?
Preventable healthcare errors can constitute a strong case for medical malpractice. These cases may result not just from a surgical mistake. It could be mistakes committed by nurses, doctors, and other caregivers. Many of the most common medical malpractice claims stem from the following types of errors:
Medication error
This can take the form of:
- Using the wrong medication (from a doctor's prescription, from a mistake committed by a pharmacist, or by being administered to the wrong patient)
- Being prescribed a medication that causes major adverse effects due to a known allergic reaction or by being combined with other medications
- Being prescribed the wrong dose
- Failing to prescribe a needed medication
Diagnosis failures
These are instances where a doctor fails to correctly diagnose a problem, resulting in a delay in treatment. This can thereby cause an injury that could have been prevented or minimized. This can also be a physician failing to conduct necessary or appropriate diagnostic tests or procedures, or misdiagnosing a problem.
Negligent supervision
This occurs where an individual under the care of a healthcare facility is not monitored adequately. The lack of supervision can result in a failure to provide sufficient and/or proper care.
Delayed treatment
A delay in treating a known condition causes a more serious condition.
Failure to acquire informed consent
As it indicates, this includes injuries resulting from procedures in which the care provider neglects to:
- Fully inform an individual of the likely or potential outcome of the procedure
- Let the patient know the dangers associated with a procedure
- Fails to acquire any consent whatsoever
Lack of sufficient training or skill or appropriate credentialing
This case arises when a patient suffers an injury from a medical procedure and the medical provider should not have been providing due to lack of training or expertise.
Birth injuries and obstetric malpractice
This includes situations in which actions or lack of actions during delivery result in long-term injury to the baby or mother.
Surgical errors
These cases include injuries because of a surgeon that took unnecessary or incorrect measures which led to injury. Or, if there is a failure to perform the procedure with the care or skill sufficient to satisfy acceptable standards.
Equipment failure
Countless medical procedures rely upon the proper performance of medical equipment. Failures of equipment due to poor maintenance, calibration, or operation can lead to significant injuries. These are injuries that would not occur when equipment is working correctly.
Insufficient monitoring or follow-up treatment
A lot of potential complications or negative effects from a treatment or procedure-- even if performed properly-- might not show up until later. A case for poor surveillance arises when medical professionals neglect to look for known possible adverse effects or consequences.
Lack of teamwork or communication
Frequently, patients are under the care of many providers. They could be treated with primary care doctors, specialists, nurse practitioners, etc. Even in the operating room, teams of surgeons and nurses are all in charge of different parts of patient care. If there is a failure to communicate a major piece of information between the various individuals in the course of care, major injuries can develop. For instance, a doctor that fails to document a medication allergy to a nurse who does not report a patient in distress.
Contact a medical malpractice lawyer in Anaheim if you think any of the above is the cause of a severe injury or fatality.
How to Make a Claim for Anaheim Medical Malpractice?
As described above, medical malpractice can take many forms. At the same time, medical malpractice constitutes a specific type of negligence claim. In medical malpractice suits, a claimant alleges that a healthcare provider-- which can include not just doctors and surgeons, but dentists, therapists, nurses, or people working under the supervision of these professionals-- either acted or failed to act in a way that fell below the accepted standard of practice or care in the applicable medical community. Further, this act or omission leads to the injury or fatality of the patient.
However, even when someone has sustained a serious injury as a result of a medical procedure, proving that you have a legitimate malpractice claim is not an easy job. Medicine is not a perfect science. Even when everything is done right, things can go wrong.
The majority of medical malpractice lawsuits, over 95%, resolve before they go to trial. In some of these cases, the parties settle. For example, when the doctor or healthcare facility believes that the case for negligence is fairly clear.
However in over half of the cases on file, the defendants will have the ability to dismiss a claim for one reason or another. One challenge is that almost all of the proof lies in the hands and minds of the physicians and medical facilities that are defending the cases. Finally, for those medical malpractice cases that do go to trial, plaintiffs win only about one-third of the time.
Should You Contact an Anaheim Medical Malpractice Attorney?
If you suffer injuries due to poor or faulty care, or someone you love has severe injuries or dies due to the mistakes of a medical professional, reach out to Thomas K. McKnight for a free consultation. Call 1-800-466-7507, or simply use our online case evaluation form right here on this website. Remember, at Thomas K. McKnight, you pay no lawyer's fee unless you win your case.
For more information about a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Anaheim, California, contact Thomas K. McKnight LLP at (800) 466-7507 or visit our website at TKMLLP.Com for a free consultation!
