Medical Malpractice (Negligence)

 

We have a wealth of experience in handling: medical negligence (malpractice) cases where the patient died or received serious permanent injuries.  These include but are not limited to cases involving: birth injuries, birthing deaths, cerebral palsy, bariatric (weight loss gastric bypass) surgery, early and late complications of roux en y or other bariatric procedures, gall bladder removal (cholecystectomy) nursing home malpractice, negligence occurring in psychiatric hospitals, sexual assaults on patients in hospitals, vascular damage, infections, strokes, drug reactions, surgical errors, medication errors, botched plastic surgery, orthopedic and spinal surgery, arachnoiditis, negligent gynecological surgery, patient falls, emergency room, facial and sinus surgery, nerve injuries and the rest.

We are equipped to handle all areas of medical negligence cases. We have successfully tried and settled failure to diagnose cases as well as cases involving surgical errors and post-operative errors. We have settled several bariatric claims for over $1,000,000.00. IN ONE RECENT WRONGFUL DEATH CASE AGAINST A SURGEON, A BARIATRIC HOSPITAL AND ITS WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM, THE SETTLEMENT TOTALED $4,500,000.00.  THIS SETTLEMENT WAS REACHED AFTER DISCOVERY WAS COMPLETED AND WITHIN MONTHS OF TRIAL. We have access to top experts in their respective medical fields. We handle cases involving nurses, physician assistants, chiropractors, medical doctors, physical therapists, dentists and all areas of the health profession.  Our firm has successfully prosecuted many malpractice claims to settlement and verdicts including holding a verdict against a medical doctor before the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri.  We have handled multiple medical negligence cases in Illinois and Missouri, including in Chicago’s Cook County.  No only are we also licensed in Illinois, we have Cook County bar numbers allowing full practice in Chicago.

We have achieved the largest Missouri Medical Malpractice Settlement for 2007.  This is according to the Missouri Lawyer’s Weekly survey, ( Missouri Lawyer’s Weekly is a weekly publication for the legal profession).  Our Settlement is well over two times more than the top reported medical malpractice settlement for the entire State of Missouri, in this publication’s annual largest reported verdicts and settlements issue. Every year Missouri Lawyer’s Weekly reports the Top Settlements and Verdicts in Missouri by surveying the members of the bar.   According to the January 28, 2008, issue of Missouri Lawyer’s Weekly, the largest reported Missouri medical malpractice settlement for 2007, was Two Million Dollars.  Due to confidentiality agreements with the defendants and their insurers in our record case, our 2007 medical malpractice settlement could not be submitted to Missouri Lawyer’s Weekly. However, our 2007 Medical malpractice settlement was FOUR MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($4,500,000.00), well more than double the highest reported Missouri medical malpractice settlement reported in 2007.  The information regarding this case is contained in the Past Experiences section of this site, and discloses that limited information which was specifically permitted to be disclosed in the settlement agreement and only on the internet.

MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CASES CAN INVOLVE INVESTMENTS OF LARGE SUMS OF MONEY AND TIME. IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A LAW FIRM WITH RESOURCES AND A TRACK RECORD TO GO AGAINST BILLION DOLLAR HOSPITALS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES. CHOOSE WISELY.

WHAT IS MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE (MALPRACTICE)?

Broadly stated, medical malpractice is the misconduct by any health care provider such as a doctor, nurse, physical therapist, hospital, health maintenance organization and others. Misconduct can occur in the form of intentional misconduct, assault, battery and negligence. The most common form of misconduct in the civil arena is negligence. To prevail in a negligence claim, a jury must find that a healthcare provider failed to use that degree of skill and learning ordinarily used under the same or similar circumstances by members of the defendant’s profession. Not only must misconduct occur, but the misconduct must be the legal cause of injury.  That is, the injury and damages had to either: be the direct result of the negligence; or that the negligence directly contributed to cause the injury or damage (where more than one cause led to the damages); or that the negligence combined with the acts of another or another condition to directly cause the injury and damage.

Medical malpractice claims can be the most expensive types of claims to bring before a jury. The costs and expenses associated with a typical medical malpractice claim can range from $10,000.00 to $50,000.00 or more. To take such a case to trial the costs are typically over $20,000.00 and seem to average almost twice that figure.  Therefore, experience, cash resources, skill and dedication are important factors in successfully prosecuting a medical malpractice claim.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

Generally, the statute of limitations in which to file a medical negligence lawsuit is two years in Missouri and Illinois. There are exceptions to this general rule but they are generally strictly construed and shouldn’t be relied upon. Because of the short statute of limitations, prompt legal advice is highly recommended. It can take about a year to fully prepare the launching of a medical malpractice case and therefore a victim or their family should not relied upon any thought that they have two years to bring a case to the attention of an attorney.  There are many types of claims that can be pursued including: lost chance of recovery; failure to diagnose; inadequate informed consent; wrongful death; failure to report an adverse lab or other test result such as a mammogram; and fraudulent concealment of a claim.

If you believe that you have a medical malpractice claim against a healthcare provider, we will be happy to discuss your situation. Our consultation would begin with a detailed telephone conference and a follow-up meeting.

Typically medical records are obtained and reviewed by counsel and then by expert witnesses in the healthcare field pertinent to the matter. It may take an extended time period to obtain all of the information and complete all of the investigation necessary prior to launching a lawsuit. Therefore, time is of the essence in these types of claims. If you wish to contact our firm to discuss your medical malpractice issue, please act promptly.

For more information go to our past experiences page.