Seeking out medical care can be intimidating. When you need to visit a medical professional for treatment, you’re already in a vulnerable state because you’re injured or sick. It can be intimidating to know that a doctor will examine you, and then knowing what’s wrong, but it helps in the long run to get evaluated as soon as possible so your treatment can start.
When you finally make it to the doctor, you expect to leave the office or hospital with your illness on the mend and feeling better. Sometimes, the opposite happens. That’s when you could use the help of a Laredo, TX medical malpractice lawyer. We’ll investigate what happened, which healthcare worker or institution was negligent, and hold them accountable for your damages.
You can trust Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm to represent you during this difficult time in your life. With our help, you can focus on your physical and emotional healing while we work to get you the financial compensation you deserve.
Medical Errors Considered as Medical Malpractice
After leaving a doctor’s office or hospital where you didn’t receive the care that you were owed, you might be wondering if you have a medical malpractice claim against the negligent practitioner who treated you. Medical errors can be the key signs that what you went through is considered medical malpractice and that you need a lawyer to help you stand up for your rights.
It’s important to note that simply being upset with your care does not constitute as med mal. There needs to be a negligent action that breaches the medical worker’s duty of care. That breach needs to be the direct cause of your injuries and damages as well. If none of these elements are present, and you’re just not happy with your doctor’s treatment, but you still were properly cared for, then you most likely don’t have a claim.
Here are the medical errors that you could have experienced under the care of a physician that left you with injuries and constitute hiring a med mal attorney:
- Misdiagnosis
- Missed Diagnosis
- Infections
- Wrong Medication
- Wrong Dosage and Administration of Medication
- Failure to Read Chart
- Misreading Lab or Test Results
- Wrong Surgery Site
- Leaving Surgical Tools in the Body
- Unnecessary Surgery
- Anesthesia Errors
- Birth Injuries
While some of these mistakes might cause you mild harm, others could cause permanent damage to your body and health. They could even affect the rest of your life and cause you to need continual medical treatment in the future or use medical devices.
Having an experienced Laredo, TX medical malpractice attorney on your side will help you determine whether or not what you experienced is considered med mal. We’ll investigate your situation and determine if the medical professional was negligent and breached the duty of care so that you can get the financial recovery you deserve.
Steps of a Med Mal Claim
When you determine that you’ve experienced medical malpractice and have hired a med mal lawyer to take you through the claim process, you might be wondering what that process looks like and about how long it will take. While it’s impossible to know exactly how long your claim will take, it will likely be anywhere between months and a year or more.
The first step in your claim process will be you meeting with your medical malpractice lawyer to talk about your potential case. To this meeting, you’ll need to bring all the evidence you have regarding what happened. Documents like medical records, medical bills, and paystubs showing missed wages are all solid proof that medical malpractice occurred and give your attorney a good idea of what happened right away.
The next step is the discovery process. This part of your claim could take many months, as it’s when both parties will use this time to request information from each other in order to build their own cases. In this time, your med mal lawyers will also reach out to experts in the field to testify what they would have done in the same situation to show the error that your doctor made compared to the standard of care.
Once each side builds their case, next comes negotiations to attempt to reach a settlement. Most personal injury claims end in a settlement, which means that the negotiation step could be fruitful for you and be the last part of your claim process. In settlement negotiations, it’s essential that you have an experienced lawyer because they will ensure that you don’t settle for less than you deserve.
If an agreement can be reached, then your case will be over, and you will receive your compensation for the injuries and damages that you suffered. If it is not reached, then you will proceed to the next step.
The final step is taking your claim to trial. A judge will definitely be there for your case, and you may or may not have a jury present as well. Both parties will present their sides of the case and bring all of their evidence to get a decision on a resolution. Your lawyer will fight to get you the outcome that you’ve been waiting for.
When you have our Laredo, TX medical malpractice attorney on your side, you don’t have to worry about your claim and whether or not you’ll have the representation you need. Our lawyers only take your case if they’re willing to represent you through your entire claim, including being prepared to take this to court if necessary.
Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm Is Here for You
You shouldn’t have to worry about the legal side of things after you’ve experienced an act of medical negligence. You’re likely suffering through your injuries and trying to focus on healing physically and emotionally. During this time, you’re probably also suffering financially and trying to figure out how you’re going to pay for your medical bills, lost wages, and regular bills that still come even though you don’t have the funds to pay for them.
Our Laredo, TX medical malpractice attorney will take care of your legal claim so that you don’t have to worry about that while you heal. At Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm, we know that this is a hard time, which is why we’re here to support you. Reach out to us today so we can get started working for you.
