White Marsh, Maryland, Medical Malpractice Lawyer

With the extortionate costs of medical care and medical insurance that Americans face in this country, you should be able to seek treatment and medical attention without fear of incompetence and negligence.

Medical providers should be trained to a high standard and should follow the medical practices they have been taught to follow. When they deviate from these practices or act without due care and attention, this is medical malpractice.

Victims of medical malpractice have every right to feel angry, especially if they have suffered a further injury, the worsening of their conditions, or, in the worst-case scenario, the wrongful death of a loved one. As a result of medical malpractice, victims may face pain and suffering, financial strain, rising medical bills, and emotional trauma. This isn’t fair to the victim, and fortunately, the state of Maryland agrees.

If you or a loved one have been the victim of medical malpractice, you are entitled to recover all damages that you have suffered as well as compensation for your suffering, both mental and physical. Sometimes these injuries can last a lifetime, affecting how the victim lives their life forever.

If this has happened in White Marsh, Maryland, you should seek a medical malpractice lawyer that practices in the area to assist you in your claim. Together, with their help, you will be able to recover what you are owed.

When you call Peter Angelos Law, we assign an experienced medical malpractice attorney to your case. Our team has combined experience of over 500 years, and during this time, we have amassed a long history of victories in similar cases to yours. With our reputation for fierce advocacy and an unparalleled approach to the client-attorney relationship, we take over the process, fighting aggressively to recover the compensation you deserve so call our medical malpractice team today on 410-216-0009.

Peter Angelos Law – Representation From Dedicated White Marsh, Maryland, Medical Malpractice Lawyers

One of our goals here at Peter Angelos Law is to offer all victims the chance to seek representation without fear of ending up worse off. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you only pay for our services if we win your case. There are no upfront fees to find, and there is nothing to pay if we lose. This means you can seek to recover your damages and compensation without fear.

One way we achieve this goal is through the offering of free consultation and case evaluation to our victims. You can seek the legal advice of an experienced medical malpractice attorney, ask the questions you need to ask and have your case evaluated for free, with no strings attached.

We will advise you whether your case is worth pursuing, and we will answer your questions; if you want to walk away afterward, you can. If you decide to pursue the case, we can explain our fee structure and get the process started as soon as possible.

What Defines Medical Malpractice In White Marsh, Maryland?

In order to recover compensation and damages, you will need to first prove that you have been the victim of medical malpractice.

If you are unsure of what constitutes as malpractice, medical malpractice occurs when a medical provider that owes you a duty of care, breaches it through their negligence. This may be by deviating from standard medical practices, or it may be from a lack of due care and attention.

As negligent behavior is any behavior that is seen as different from how a reasonable medical provider in the same position would have behaved, all medical malpractice cases are based on a certain amount of negligence.

Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

For you to succeed in a medical malpractice case, you and your attorney will need to prove four things.

1. Firstly, you will need to prove that the party responsible owed you a duty of care. Almost all medical providers automatically assume a duty of care to their patients.
2. Secondly, the medical providers actions meant that they breached this duty of care.
3. Thirdly, this breach in the duty of care directly caused your injury or harm.
4. Finally, this harm resulted in you suffering an injury that required medical treatment and damages on your behalf.

Common Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Over our long history of service to our clients, we have seen most forms of medical malpractice cases. Here are some of the common ones:

Delayed/Failed Diagnosis

One of the most important tasks you expect your doctors to carry out is the timely diagnosis of your conditions. They should be competent enough to figure out what the problem is quickly and accurately once presented with the symptoms.

If a doctor takes too long to diagnose a condition or illness, the patient may not receive the treatment they need quickly enough for it to be as effective as it should be.

If the doctor cannot accurately diagnose the condition or fails to diagnose it at all, this means the patient may not receive any treatment.

In both cases, the patient may end up suffering further injury or a worsening of their conditions that could have been prevented by a quick and accurate diagnosis.

Misdiagnosis

Sometimes the doctor may diagnose a patient with the wrong condition. This can be extremely problematic for the patient, who may then be administered the wrong treatment, sent for the wrong tests or the wrong procedure.

If a patient is given the wrong treatment for a serious condition, it could prove fatal, or cause serious side effects.

Emergency Room Errors

Emergency room employees need to be trained, competent and capable of doing their job optimally under severe stress. The emergency room will see a steady flow of patients throughout the shift and employees must prioritize them correctly in order of severity.

If the emergency room is under immense strain and the employees cannot handle it, this can result in patients being left longer than they should have been. This can lead to their injuries becoming aggravated and causing further damage or, in the worst-case scenario, proving fatal.

Birth Injury

A newborn baby and their mother are both extremely vulnerable during the pregnancy and birth process. During this time, they need to be treated with extreme care and monitored closely for problems.

When doctors act without due care and attention, they can cause serious injury, even death. Common examples are when doctors fail to monitor the fetus properly during the pregnancy or when they fail to convert a mother to C-section in a timely manner during birth.

Prescription Medication Errors

Your doctors need to be extremely vigilant when prescribing medication. Before they prescribe anything, they should ensure that you are aware of all side effects and that the medication will not have any interactions with previous medication or allergies.

If they have prescribed you medication without explaining the potential risks and you have suffered a known risk, you may have a claim, and you should speak to a medical malpractice lawyer immediately.

Surgical Error

Surgery is a high-pressure environment, one where the smallest mistake can have drastic consequences. For this reason, you expect your surgeons to be trained to the highest possible standards and extremely competent.

If they act without due care and attention or deviate from the standard medical practices they should adhere to, the results can be serious injuries or even fatalities.

Another common problem is when surgeons and physicians push patients into surgery without the patient being offered other conservative treatments. They might do this to increase their billing. Conservative treatments such as physical therapy and medication should always be offered to patients before surgical procedures.

If you have been pushed into surgery without being offered conservative surgery and you have suffered a known risk, you may have a claim.

Failure to Inform Patients of Risks

In the state of Maryland, you must give your full consent before you are sent for treatment or any surgical procedure. This consent is only valid if you have had the procedure, with all the known risks and potential side effects explained beforehand.

If you have been pushed to give your consent for a procedure or treatment without having the known risks explained to you before you gave your consent, and you have suffered a known risk, you should consult with a medical malpractice lawyer immediately.

Anesthesia Errors

While you are under the effects of anesthesia during surgery, you should be moved often so that you are not left in the same position for too long. If your nurses and surgeons have failed to do this and you have suffered an injury or deformity, this is malpractice.

Medical Record Errors

It is extremely important that your medical records are kept up to date and accurate to prevent errors. Things like previous conditions and allergies are important to know as it prevents you from being given medication that might interact with current medication or cause you to have an allergic reaction.

Statute Of Limitations For A Medical Malpractice Claim In White Marsh, Maryland

When considering a medical malpractice claim, you need to be aware of the statute of limitations.

According to these statutes, you only have three years from the date of the injury to raise a claim. If the injury was only discovered later, you have five years, but no longer than three years from the date the injury was discovered.

If you do not file your lawsuit within these deadlines, your case may be barred. This will mean that you will never be able to raise a claim relating to the incident.

Who Can You Bring A Medical Malpractice Suit Against In White Marsh, Maryland?

Most health care providers and medical providers that owe you a duty of care can be found negligent, including:

• Hospitals
• Nursing homes
• Health care companies
• Doctors
• Nurses
• Technicians
• Anesthesiologists
• Aids or Assistants
• Many other medical providers

What Damages Can You Recover Through A Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

In any personal injury or medical malpractice case, your attorney will need to consider how much your damages are worth. This will form the basis of any settlement offers. To calculate how much the damages you wish to recover are worth, they will need to first sum up your economic damages.

Your economic damages are the ones that you have suffered that have cost a set amount. Things like medical bills and property damage are economic as they have a physical price tag, invoices, receipts or bill attached. They can be added up easily and supported with documentation.

Next, they will need to figure out what they believe your noneconomic damages are worth. These damages are less tangible. They do not have a clear price-tag and will need to be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Your noneconomic damages include the pain and suffering you went through, such as mental trauma and physical pain, and any loss of enjoyment of life, such as losing the ability to play basketball on the weekends.

Here are the most important damages that you should be aware of:

• Medical bills – Growing medical bills are often the most immediate and worrying of all the damages you might incur. In serious malpractice cases, the injuries suffered may require costly treatment and procedures to put right and this may exceed even the strongest medical coverage. You can recover all medical bills relating to the incident, including transport costs, treatment costs, procedure costs, medication and physical therapy. You should ensure that you keep records and copies of all medical bills and receipts for proof.
• Loss of wages and earning capacity – In the majority of medical malpractice cases, the victim will have to take time off work in order to receive treatment and recover. For some people, this will mean that they suffer a loss of wages and income. This isn’t fair, especially when your family may rely on your income. Fortunately, you can claim all lost wages, both past and future. If your medical experts believe you will need to take time off in the future, you can claim for this and if you can never return to work in the same capacity again, your attorney may pursue a lifetime of lost wages.
• Pain and suffering – Your pain and suffering damages include the pain you have been through as a result of the incident, the mental trauma and distress you have suffered, and any change to your lifestyle. If you can no longer play the sports you used to due to the injuries or you have developed phobias of the hospital or doctors, this is classed as a loss of enjoyment of life and you should be compensated.

For all of these damages, you can assist your attorney by keeping a daily diary. In this diary, you should note down how you are feeling about your situation on a daily basis, as well as any pain you are in. If you receive treatment, you should note down what treatment you are receiving and you should keep a note of all expenditure, such as taxi costs too and from the airport.

Filing A Medical Malpractice Claim In Maryland

The steps for filing a medical malpractice claim in Maryland are the same for every case. The first thing you will need to do is to file your claim with the Director of Maryland Health Claims.

Once this has been done, you will be required to obtain what is known as a certificate of merit, signed by a medical expert who meets all the relevant requirements. Most people will use an expert who has been provided by their attorney. They will have a panel of experts that meets the requirements ready to hand.

Your attorney can do most of this on your behalf.

Certificate Of Merit By A Qualified Medical Expert

Your medical expert is going to need to meet certain requirements in order to sign your certificate of merit, verifying your claim as a valid medical malpractice claim. The requirements are as follows:

1. Firstly, they must be a health care provider with clinical experience in the same field as the medical provider responsible for your injuries.
2. Secondly, they must have experience in the field within five years of the incident.
3. Thirdly, they may not devote more than 25% of their professional time to giving testimony in personal injury matters.

Filing A Wrongful Death Medical Malpractice Claim In White Marsh, Maryland

In the most tragic cases of medical malpractice, the consequences are the wrongful death of a loved one. These are the most complex and most serious of cases and will require an extremely strong, extremely skilled attorney to navigate.

Filing a wrongful death lawsuit will allow for the family to seek compensation for what has happened to their loved one. While this money will not ease the grief and suffering of the family, it will cover their loss of support, services and funeral arrangements, reducing their financial burden while they deal with their loss.

This claim can be brought by an estate representative, often a personal representative appointed by the court, or a named representative in the decedent’s will.

Medical Malpractice FAQs

How long do medical negligence claim cases take?

The length of time that a medical malpractice or negligence case will take is entirely dependent upon its complexity. Some cases are fairly clear cut. The liability is clear; the injuries are simple and the damages are easily calculated. In these cases, the other party may settle outside of court with relatively little friction.

In more complex cases involving serious injuries, wrongful death and where the liability is less clear, the other party may decide they wish to fight the claims. This will result in a much longer case, one that requires a lot of fighting.

Most medical malpractice cases will take over a year to complete, with many taking several years.

How are medical negligence cases funded?

Most attorneys that fight on the behalf of medical malpractice victims, Peter Angelos Law included, work on a contingency fee basis. This fee structure is designed to allow victims to seek representation without the fear of being left financially worse off in the event they lose their case.

When an attorney works on a contingency fee basis, it means they do not charge upfront for their fees and they do not charge at all if they lose the case. If they win the case, they will take a percentage of your settlement, a percentage that has been predetermined and agreed upon during the initial consultations.

For personal injury and medical malpractice claims, most lawyers will work on a contingency fee basis where you only pay for your legal representation if you win your case.

Do all medical negligence cases go to court?

Again, the deciding factor on whether your case will end up in court is the complexity of the case. The other party will make the decision on whether to settle based upon whether they think they can win in court. If the other party was clearly liable, then it is likely they will settle.

In more complex cases, you will have to fight in court, and your attorney will need to use the evidence, the case they have built for you, and their skill in the courtroom to fight your case.

Should you accept the first offer of compensation?

You should always include your attorney in your decisions. If you are offered a settlement figure, speak to your attorney and ask them what they think of it. A common tactic is to offer a settlement that seems attractive, especially if you need the money, but is not really a fair representation of your suffering and damages. The first offer is almost always lower than they are truly willing to offer you.

Speak to your attorney and heed their advice. They will let you know if it is a good offer or not and will be able to negotiate on your behalf if they think it is a poor offer.

Our Maryland Medical Malpractice Attorneys May be Able To Help

Nobody should have to suffer because of the negligence of a medical provider. You seek their help in the confidence that they are competent, will treat you with the due care and attention you deserve, and that they will adhere to the standard medical practices they have been trained to follow.

When this isn’t the case, and you need reliable representation, you should speak to our team at Peter Angelos Law. With a long history of success, both in and out of courtrooms across the state, we are proud of our reputation as the fiercest of advocates.

We pride ourselves on our approach to the client-attorney relationship. We keep our clients informed and in the loop at all times. We listen compassionately, and we fight aggressively without rest.

Call us today at 410-216-0009.