Missouri Medical Negligence Lawyers
Medical malpractice is when you are injured or fall ill due to negligent medical care. More than that though, it is a life altering experience that takes a toll on individuals and their families. There is an element of trust involved in healthcare, and when that trust is betrayed—whether it is by a doctor, nurse, or surgeon— it is a difficult thing to move past.
At Schlapprizzi Attorneys at Law we are known for our successes in medical malpractice lawsuits and we have a large number of cases for people and families injured by medical negligence. In the last year alone we have achieved results in excess of $3 million. While we are proud of our successes in this area, we take even more pride in our sheer ability to help people affected by this life-changing negligence.
If you have been affected by medical malpractice, you understand the changes we’re talking about. Your recovery time is lengthened, your medical expenses heightened, your life altered indefinitely. While you’re healing, coping, and recovering, your insurance company is calling about your coverage.
Whether a doctor has approached you about the negligence or you just have an intuition, if you suspect your medical care has been compromised, contacting a lawyer is in your best interest. A common misconception about lawyers is that by reaching out to them, it means you are starting this long, stressful trial process. While we can take your case to trial if need be, that isn’t necessarily what is the path for each and every person. Your family’s situation is unique, and we will treat it as such.
At Schlapprizzi Attorneys at Law, we want to fight for you, but we also want to do what is right for you. After you call us, we’ll immediately become your advocates. Our family will begin looking out for yours in every way we can. Our team will work with medical experts to review what happened; we will contact the hospital, retrieve medical records, and ultimately, do our utmost best to get you the closure and compensation that you deserve.
Medical Malpractice: Defined
If a medical professional or hospital deviates from their duty to a patient, the result may spell physical, mental, and even financial disaster for the patient and his or her family.
Medical malpractice occurs when a patient is hurt or injured as a result of professional negligence (deviation from the standard of care which is the degree of skill and learning used by physicians in the same or similar field).
Doctors don’t need to be the “best” doctors, or the “best” anesthesiologist. But in medicine, there is a minimum standard of care. And if a health provider’s care falls below that minimum standard, that is when medical negligence is a factor.
Missouri Medical Malpractice
The Missouri legislature has created laws that make pursuing medical negligence claims quite difficult. Uniquely, these cases require a written affidavit from a legally qualified healthcare provider that states:
- The defendant deviated from the standard of care, and
- That deviation directly caused or contributed to cause plaintiff’s injuries.
Generally, a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed within two years. However, there are many exceptions and nuances to this time limitation, especially with regard to the injury of a child, making it essential to seek the advice of a St. Louis lawyer familiar with this type of complex claim.
Medical Malpractice Injuries
Types of injuries include hospital errors, failure to diagnose, surgery and anesthesia errors, birth injury or child delivery errors, delayed diagnosis and intervention, nursing errors, nursing home abuse and neglect, and more.
- Birth Injuries: As childbirth technology has increased, avoidable birth injuries have continued to decrease. Unfortunately though they do still occur. Cerebral palsy, infant brain damage (traumatic brain injury), and wrongful death of an infant can be caused by medical negligence.
- Surgical Errors: In the medical world, these are called “never events” because they are mistakes that shouldn’t happen. A surgeon leaves a sponge or instrument in a patient, or makes another serious or fatal error. While healthcare providers are working to prevent these errors from happening, the still do occur. Learn more about surgical errors.
- Anesthesia Errors: Anesthesia is a drug that is administered so that a person doesn’t feel pain during a procedure. There are a few different types of anesthesia: general, spinal, local, regional, and dissociative. Anesthesia errors are quite apparent; a patient will feel something they shouldn’t or awaken amidst a procedure; or in the worst case scenario an avoidable error can result in death. The incorrect dosage or anesthetic could be administered and/or not monitored properly. If you or a loved one has been hurt because of an anesthesia error, residual consequences may include dizziness, blood pressure issues, organ damage, or in the worst cases, coma or death. Learn more about anesthesia errors.
- Other injuries include harsh chemical burns, slip and fall injuries, and wrongfully contracted illnesses.
Related Page: What are common surgical and anesthesia errors?
Important Documents
In preparation for our meeting with you and your family, we will ask that you bring all medical records related to the potential medical malpractice treatment involved. In addition, prior medical records may be necessary in our review in order to provide you and your family with our full and complete legal opinion. Certainly, after our review, should we decide together that your claim must be pursued, as your medical malpractice attorneys, we will work with hospitals and medical providers to collect all of the medical records with an affidavit. We will undergo a repeat review of these records to locate nursing notes, progress notes, physician notes, op reports, physical therapy, etc. that are informative of what happened to you or your loved one. We will also review your prior medical history as well.
To learn more about how our medical malpractice attorneys at Schlapprizzi Attorneys at Law can fight for you and your family, contact our St. Louis, Missouri office.