Seeking medical treatment in Amarillo shouldn’t be a risk. When you’re sick or injured, you should be able to trust medical professionals to give you the care that you need and deserve to heal. Most of the time, you go to the doctor’s office or hospital, get evaluated, treated, and released when you’re healthy again, but other times, mistakes are made. When a healthcare worker makes a mistake regarding your care, you could use the help of our Amarillo, TX medical malpractice lawyer.
At Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm, we have experience representing the victims of medical negligence and other errors from inadequate care. We look at your documentation to get to the bottom of what really happened and what caused your injuries so that we can hold the proper party accountable, whether it’s your doctor, surgeon, or the hospital. Our attorneys will work hard to get you justice for your damages.
Texas Medical Liability Laws
The most important part of your med mal claim will be proving that the doctor or other medical professional presiding over your care was negligent in some way to cause your injuries and damages. That’s why your lawyers will ask you for your medical records and all other documentation you have of your damages—because they’ll need to use that all as evidence of the other party’s negligence.
We’ll use your medical records, treatment costs, lost wages, and other costs you incurred to prove these four elements were present in your case:
- A doctor-patient relationship existed between you and the practitioner, and they owed you a duty of care.
- They breached that duty of care through an act of negligence.
- That breach led to you being injured.
- Your injuries directly caused you to suffer damages.
Proving the breach of duty is vital. This means that your doctor or the facility was negligent and made an error that caused your injuries. However, simply being unhappy with the care that you received is not enough to file a claim against a medical practitioner or their facility. That’s why proving negligence is so important.
If you’re just unhappy with the treatment you received, but you still left the office in better shape than you entered, and the staff all made good decisions in your care, then you’re not eligible for a med mal claim. There needs to be proof of medical negligence in the form of an error that caused you further injury in order for you to have a claim.
You might be unsure if what you experienced was medical negligence. By speaking with an Amarillo, TX medical malpractice attorney, you can have all your questions answered and determine if you have a case against the negligent medical professional.
Examples of Medical Negligence
Once you understand that medical negligence leading to an error and injury are necessary for you to have a med mal case, you might be wondering what that looks like. By knowing what different types of medical negligence occurs and the examples of medical errors that could have caused your injuries, you can be sure that what you experienced was negligence and you can file a claim against the other party.
Here are the most common types of medical errors that you could have suffered through in Amarillo that your medical malpractice lawyer can help you get justice for:
- Misdiagnosis. When a doctor doesn’t pay attention to the symptoms that you are voicing and showing signs of, they could misdiagnose you with another ailment. When they treat you for that incorrect diagnosis, you could suffer more damages to your health, and the real ailment can go untreated and worsen.
- Missed Diagnosis. Similar to misdiagnosis, when a doctor misses your diagnosis, it can also cause your health to suffer. When a practitioner misses clear signs of your illness or injury and don’t treat it, your condition could worsen and harm your physical health.
- Medication Errors. Prescriptions need to be specific, ordered correctly, and administered correctly. When there’s an error in any of these fields, it could cause an allergic reaction, overdoses, and other problems for the patient’s health.
- Surgical Errors. When surgeons aren’t vigilant and careful, they could nick other organs, leave tools inside the surgical site, or operate on the wrong body part. These could lead to you needing more surgeries or getting infections.
- Birth Injuries. In birth and deliveries, many things can go wrong for the mother and the baby when a doctor or nurse isn’t giving their best care.
If what happened to you isn’t listed above, that doesn’t mean that you’re not eligible for a med mal claim. Our Amarillo, TX medical malpractice lawyer is here to answer your questions and help you determine whether or not you have a claim against a negligent doctor for the injuries and damages they’ve caused you.
Caps on Med Mal Damages in Texas
Another aspect of your claim that you and your attorney will discuss is the amount you’re owed in damages for what you’ve suffered. With the help of a med mal lawyer, you’ll be able to get the full and fair compensation that you deserve. However, you’ll need to know the caps that Texas has on medical malpractice damages. This means that there are limits for what you can recover in your claim.
According to Texas Code, these are the damage caps on a med mal claim:
- $250,000 per claimant on noneconomic damages against a physician or health care provider
- $250,000 per claimant on noneconomic damages against a single health care institution
- $500,000 per claimant on noneconomic damages against more than one health care institutions
If you read closely, these caps are only for noneconomic damages. This means that there is no cap on your economic damages, or the bills and other physical costs you suffered from the instance of medical negligence. These limits only relate to noneconomic damages, which are the more abstract costs that you incur, like pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.
With the help of your Amarillo, TX medical malpractice attorney, you can know just how much you’re owed, and how those caps might affect your claim.
You Can Trust Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm to Represent You
After experiencing an instance of medical negligence that caused you harm, you could be feeling especially vulnerable. This can leave you in a complicated headspace and feeling intimidated by the idea of taking legal action because it would be just one more thing to handle. That’s where our Amarillo, TX medical malpractice lawyer comes in.
We’ll handle the legal side of things for you so that you can feel completely supported. With Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm on your side, you can rest assured that you’ll have a strong claim and we’ll fight to get you justice. Reach out to us today so we can schedule a free consultation.
