Did you seek medical care for an injury or illness and the care the medical professional provided caused further harm? It’s possible you were a victim of medical malpractice and have grounds for legal action. While you’re dealing with the new injuries or ailment that you have to treat, a legal claim may sound like a lot to do on your own. That’s why our law firm is here. A Phoenix, AZ medical malpractice lawyer from Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm can fight for your rights.
Negligent medical providers can cause injuries that affect patients for the rest of their lives. We know how uncertain this time can feel when you placed your trust in a medical provider and their carelessness led to injuries. Our law firm will stand up to the responsible party and hold them accountable for their negligence. We’ll assess how you were hurt and seek compensation so you can recover.
What Should You Know About Medical Malpractice in Arizona?
When you’re seeking justice for a medical error, your lawyer will be able to help you navigate the legal process and make sure to file your claim properly. Here are some important aspects about these types of cases that you should know.
You have a certain amount of time to come forward with a medical malpractice claim. The statute of limitations in Arizona states that you have two years after you were injured to get justice. If you wait and miss this time, you will not be able to take legal action. While two years may seem like a long time, it can pass more quickly than you’d think. Having a medical malpractice lawyer on your side as soon as possible will help you protect your rights.
Your lawyer will investigate your case to find out the following points:
- Establish that your doctor agreed to treat you and they owed you a standard of care.
- Show how your doctor failed to treat you in the standard of care.
- Prove their negligence caused you harm that resulted in injuries and losses.
When you need to show that your doctor deviated from the standard of care, you can benefit from an expert witness to provide testimony. Your Phoenix, AZ medical malpractice lawyer will work with someone who had a similar education and works in a similar field. They’ll be able to provide insight into what the standard of care would have been and explain how your doctor didn’t treat you as others would have.
What Are Examples of Common Medical Errors?
Any type of medical professional can make a mistake. Nurses, doctors, surgeons, and pharmacists are a few examples of the type of medical provider who may have harmed you. Our attorneys are familiar with the various ways that medical negligence can occur. Some examples include:
- Misdiagnosis. If you get tests or scans for an ailment or explain your symptoms to a doctor, they may diagnose you with the wrong condition when they should have been able to diagnose you with the correct ailment. You may start treating a condition that you don’t have, which allows the real issue to progress or worsen.
- Medication Errors. You could be given the wrong medication or an incorrect dose that causes medical issues. In some severe cases, a wrong medication could cause an allergic reaction.
- Surgical Errors. Mistakes made in the operating room can include leaving tools or sponges inside the patient, the wrong part of the body is operated on, or the patient is given the wrong procedure. You may need corrective surgery to fix these types of mistakes.
- Anesthesia Errors. Before some procedures, patients could be given anesthesia. If this amount is wrong, then patients could wake up during surgery or have difficulty waking up and have other issues from too much anesthesia.
- Birth Injury. When negligent doctors don’t monitor the baby’s vitals or don’t use a tool properly, the baby can sustain injuries. These injuries could affect them for the rest of their lives.
- Medical Equipment Malfunction. If medical equipment doesn’t work, then doctors may have the wrong information about a patient’s vitals or the patient’s life could be in danger if they depend on medical equipment to survive. If this has happened to you, the manufacturer that made the equipment could be responsible for your injuries.
- Emergency Room Errors. If you went to an emergency room exhibiting symptoms that indicate you need immediate care, then they’re supposed to treat you as quickly as possible. You may have not received care and sustained injuries because of this.
When you’ve been hurt because of a medical error in Arizona, you may wonder how it happened in the first place. There are a few reasons that could have been what led to the mistake. Some doctors may not have the experience necessary to treat a patient who needs a specialist, or a surgeon could be asked to do a procedure that they don’t typically do. Inexperience can lead to mistakes that result in debilitating injuries for the patient.
Other ways that medical errors occur is poor note taking and lack of communication. When nurses and doctors are tracking their patient’s care, they need to take clear, detailed notes so the next shift knows what happened. There also needs to be clear communication between medical facilities, in case a patient needs to go from one hospital to another. If there’s missing information about their care, then the next facility could cause harm because they aren’t treating their patient with accurate information.
We understand that there’s never any excuse for medical malpractice. Our attorneys in Phoenix will examine the evidence of your case to find out how you were hurt and who caused your injuries. We’ll hold them accountable for their actions.
How Will Your Phoenix, AZ Medical Malpractice Lawyer Help You?
The consequences of a medical error can take a great toll on you and your family. You deserve to be able to recover from injuries that someone else caused without worrying about how you’re going to afford it. Our lawyers will seek full and fair compensation on your behalf. We’ll include the following in your compensation:
- Medical Bills
- Lost Wages
- Diminished Earning Capacity/Loss of Earnings
- Pain and Suffering
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life
- Emotional Distress
While med mal cases can be complex, we know that you need medical care and are also likely dealing with past medical bills. In these stressful situations, you may be tempted to reach a settlement with the insurance company representing the medical provider. However, they’ll likely offer you a settlement that’s far less than you deserve. You may not be able to cover your losses with that settlement, which could cause financial stress in the future.
With a medical malpractice lawyer on your side, you can depend on us to always protect your best interests. We won’t accept a settlement that will lead to issues in the future. You deserve peace of mind while you’re recovering.
Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm Is Here for You
If your case needs to go to court, our experienced lawyers are ready to represent you. Presenting your case in a courtroom may seem intimidating, but it may be the best chance for you to get justice. Our trial lawyers will show that you were a victim of medical malpractice and your injuries could have been prevented if the medical provider had acted competently. We’ll do everything we can to secure your financial future.
To get started on your case, reach out to our law firm today. We help clients all over Arizona. You’ll speak with a Phoenix, AZ medical malpractice lawyer about what happened and discuss how you can proceed in a free case evaluation. We can start protecting your rights and helping you move forward right away.
