medical malpractice Archives

Sep 17, 2020 | By Gayle Gerling Pettinga | Read Time: 4 minutes | medical malpractice

Do I Have a Medical Malpractice Case?

When you are sick or injured, you trust healthcare workers to do their best to heal you. But when a medical professional fails to uphold the standard of care expected in their field, a patient can suffer serious health consequences. If you’ve suffered injuries due to the actions of a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional, you may be wondering, Do I have a medical malpractice case? You can seek compensation by filing a claim against the negligent party. In Illinois and Indiana, this is known as a medical malpractice suit. In Kentucky, it is known as medical negligence, but the claims are essentially the same. There are several common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. An experienced medical malpractice attorney can help you understand whether you have a claim and how to pursue compensation. Common Medical Malpractice Causes While negligence can happen at any time during treatment, there are some common situations that result in medical malpractice. Diagnosis Errors & Failures A common malpractice situation is when a healthcare professional misdiagnoses or fails to identify the patient’s condition. If a condition is left uncorrected, the patient can suffer injury, and the condition may need serious intervention to correct later on. Medication Errors/Medical Records Mismanagement Proper recordkeeping and patient tracking is a vital part of providing competent care. If a patient’s records aren’t current and all treatments and medications tracked, a doctor or nurse might accidentally make a serious error. Anesthetic/Surgical Errors Surgery takes a high level of skill and education. Procedures on nerves, blood vessels, arteries, or vital organs are delicate, and mistakes can cause serious injuries. In addition, anesthesia is a critical part of surgical and medical care. Doctors who specialize in this area of medicine must make sure drugs are administered in a safe manner. What Can Make or Break Your Medical Malpractice Claim? A malpractice suit may be warranted when a medical worker’s actions fail to meet the accepted standard of care for their profession. If a patient suffers further injury or illness as a result of those actions, they can seek compensation. The basic elements of a medical malpractice claim are: Person owed a professional duty to the patient; They breached that duty; The breach caused the patient’s injury; and The patient suffered damages as a result. However, medical malpractice cases are complex and technical. They require proper evidence and expert opinions, which is why seeking legal help is important. It is the best way to make sure your case isn’t dragged down by common pitfalls. Standard Of Care A medical provider’s duty depends on the professional standard of care that applies to them. Many medical malpractice cases are tossed out because the plaintiff couldn’t prove that the defendant deviated from the standard of care that would be expected of a physician with similar education and training. Rare complications, unforeseeable issues, or bad luck may not be negligent if the professional performed as someone in their position should. In these cases, recovery is unlikely. Proving Causation Another issue can occur if the defendant is able to challenge causation. They may argue that another factor was the cause of the patient’s injury or that their actions did not affect the patient’s outcome. Proving Damages The final element of the claim requires you to show the malpractice resulted in measurable damages. If you can prove malpractice but cannot show that an injury resulted, you will not be able to win your case. A plaintiff needs proper supporting evidence, often backed by expert opinion. This includes documentation of necessary corrective medical care, future medical costs, lost wages, and more. If you cannot prove any actual damages resulted, you will not be able to recover from the negligent party. Ultimately, having the right evidence and the right experts will make your case. Any legal proceeding can be complicated, but the technical complexity of medical malpractice claims means that they require special experience and skill to prove. Seek Legal Help as Soon as Possible Medical malpractice laws are complicated, and the time for filing a claim is limited by your state’s statute of limitations. This time limit can quickly evaporate if the patient’s recovery takes a significant amount of time. Many states now require a plaintiff to file an affidavit from an expert confirming a meritorious claim or provide evidence to a panel before proceeding with their suit. Because of this, it is important to contact an attorney as soon as possible. They can assess your case to determine what legal course of action is right for you. An experienced medical malpractice attorney can help you gather the right documentation to prove your claim and tell you if your state has a cap on medical malpractice damages. Injured Due to Medical Malpractice? Go with Experience. Go with Gerling. If you want to know whether you have a medical malpractice case, contact Gerling Law today. If you or a loved one sustained serious injuries due to medical malpractice in Indiana, Illinois, or Kentucky, don’t let the bills pile up while you suffer and struggle to recover. Right now, you need an experienced medical malpractice attorney on your side, fighting to get you the compensation you deserve. The team at Gerling Law is here to help you get your life back. We have over 50 years of experience successfully representing people in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, and offer a free case evaluation for potential clients. Call us at 866-651-2195 or fill out our online contact form to schedule an appointment today!

Apr 15, 2020 | By Gayle Gerling Pettinga | Read Time: 3 minutes | medical malpractice

Are You the Victim of Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice happens when your doctor or other healthcare provider fails to meet the standard of care expected of them. This can be anything from a simple misdiagnosis to wrongful death. Here is an example of medical malpractice. A female patient has been struggling with pneumonia of the right lung. Eventually, her doctor says she will need a minor procedure done to remove part of her right lung to remove the pneumonia because she was not getting better. The doctor promises this is a routine operation and she will be in and out of the hospital same day. Fast forward to six hours post-op. Her family is told to come to the hospital immediately as they might not have much time left. So, what happened? How did this simple routine operation caused by pneumonia turn into an almost fatal situation? This could be medical malpractice. The patient ends up losing almost 9 pints of blood. Keep in mind, that is the average amount of blood in the human body is 9 to 12 pints. Imagine how traumatic this situation was for not only the patient, but her loved ones. She spends almost an entire month in the hospital intensive care unit with a respirator down her throat. Eventually, when things calm down and she is stable, it’s revealed that during the operation, the surgeon realized it was not the right lung that needed to be operated on, like the doctor had informed him. In the end, the surgeon had to remove her entire left lung, which was completely black due to untreated pneumonia of the left lung. The Startling Truth in Numbers See how a misdiagnosis can lead to so much more? This is why it is vital for doctors to listen to their patients concerns. According to MedicalNewsToday, 1 in 20 adult Americans will be victim of some type of misdiagnosis every year. To put that into perspective more, that is approximately 12 million Americans. These numbers are not the amount of malpractice cases, this is solely the number of misdiagnoses. Why are these numbers so high? Negligence. Are there genuine mistakes made in the medical field? Of course. However, when something goes wrong as the result of a mistake, doctors need to be held accountable for what they have done. A lot of times doctors will deny what happened or refuse to speak on the matter. They will not even apologize for what has happened because that would mean admitting to guilt. Medical malpractice should not be taken lightly and needs to be addressed. Many people don’t look into medical malpractice suits. This is because they like their doctor a lot or have been with them for years. But recognizing these mistakes and acting on them protects not only you, but future patients to come. Gerling Law is a leading personal injury law firm dedicated to providing aggressive legal representation to individuals and their families. With over 50 years of experience, Gerling Law has helped thousands of people in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in a wide variety of personal injury and consumer protection cases, including trucking accidents, wrongful death, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence and social security disability. Gerling Law takes pride in the fact that we have never represented insurance companies, hospitals or large corporations and that we fight against powerful companies for our clients. If you need an experienced, dedicated personal injury lawyer, Gerling Law is here to help. You can always reach us at 888-GERLING (888-437-5464) or through our website at www.gerlinglaw.com.

Feb 26, 2020 | By Gayle Gerling Pettinga | Read Time: 3 minutes | Birth Injuries

Is a birth injury 100% avoidable? Nearly always.

Some say there is no greater joy in the world than becoming a parent. After nine months of excitement and emotion, all you could want as a soon-to-be parent is a healthy and safe delivery. However, what happens when someone else’s negligence leads to your precious baby having a birth injury? The last thing you’ll want to worry about is having to seek justice for your innocent newborn because of someone else’s carelessness. We are here to help. Here are some things you should keep in mind if you’re expecting. Truth in numbers While you may think a birth injury is unlikely to happen to you, let’s look at the alarming statistics. Approximately 28,000 babies are born with a birth injury every year That is 1 in every 9,714 births 76 babies per day are born with some form of a birth injury Over 150,000 birth injuries occurred between mothers and babies during childbirth in 2006 (all avoidable) So, what can you do to best protect yourself and your unborn child? First, make sure you trust your OBGYN and their staff. If at any time you feel uncomfortable or as if they are not taking your health seriously, it may be time to find a new doctor. Birth injuries occur more often in tool-assisted births. This means the use of forceps or a ventouse (vacuum). Although safe births can happen with the use of these instruments, it is vital to discuss with your doctor why/if these are necessary for your delivery. Birth injuries or birth defects? Sometimes, it can be hard to determine whether or not the issue is a birth injury or a birth defect. And while birth injuries can sometimes happen despite all the proper steps taken, it is vital to make sure you have all the information. Lack of oxygen during birth can lead to conditions like cerebral palsy. However, it can also be the result of a birth defect. A birth defect is something that cannot be avoided, and is not the result of a doctor’s negligence. Who is liable? You might be wondering who is responsible for an injury inflicted during birth. Anyone whose care you are under, whether that be a nurse, OBGYN, family doctor, or other hospital staff can be held liable. The hospital as a whole can also be liable for its employees’ actions. When the day your baby arrives finally comes, make sure you feel comfortable and safe with your delivery team. And, if at any moment, you think you are being given the less-than-standard care that you deserve, it might be time to seek legal consultation. We can help. Gerling Law is a leading personal injury law firm dedicated to providing aggressive legal representation to individuals and their families. With over 50 years of experience, Gerling Law has helped thousands of people in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in a wide variety of personal injury and consumer protection cases, including trucking accidents, wrongful death, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence and social security disability. Gerling Law takes pride in the fact that we have never represented insurance companies, hospitals or large corporations and that we fight against powerful companies for our clients. If you need an experienced, dedicated personal injury lawyer, Gerling Law is here to help. You can always reach us at 888-GERLING (888-437-5464) or through our website at www.gerlinglaw.com.

Nov 20, 2018 | By Gayle Gerling Pettinga | Read Time: 2 minutes | medical malpractice

Are you a victim of medical malpractice?

It is possible that you could benefit from speaking to a medical malpractice attorney. You have undoubtedly heard of medical malpractice, but how familiar are you with the term? For example, did you know that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ten percent of all deaths in the United States are caused by a medical error or mistake? Specifically, medical malpractice refers to any medical error that is preventable, meaning it should never have happened. Following the medical error, an injury generally occurs. These injuries can range in severity, and in worst case scenarios, lead to death. Need an Attorney? Any type of legal case can be complicated, confusing, and tedious. However, medical malpractice cases generally top the list, because they are expensive and hard to prove. Therefore, having a medical malpractice attorney on your side can be beneficial, as well as increase your chances of having a successful outcome. At Gerling Law, our professional team has years of experience with these types of cases. Unfortunately, there is a wide range of cases that fall under the medical malpractice umbrella, including the following: anesthesia, brain injuries, gastric bypass surgery, medication errors, wrong-site surgery, doctor and hospital errors, botched plastic surgery, and more. Since these types of cases run the spectrum, it is best to not fight alone. After all, you’ve been through more than enough. Leave the legal process to the professionals, allowing you to fully focus on getting healthy. Contact a Medical Malpractice Attorney at Gerling Law Now may not be the best time to think about the legal process and a settlement, though, medical malpractice cases are often constrained by a statute of limitations. And while there isn’t enough compensation in the world to counterbalance your negative experience, a monetary settlement can assist with medical bills, specialist fees, and missed wages. If you are in Evansville, Indianapolis, Louisville, or Owensboro, and you need a medical malpractice attorney, then contact Gerling Law today. Gerling Law is a leading personal injury law firm dedicated to providing aggressive legal representation to individuals and their families. With over 50 years of experience, Gerling Law has helped thousands of people in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in a wide variety of personal injury and consumer protection cases, including trucking accidents, wrongful death, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence and social security disability. Gerling Law takes pride in the fact that we have never represented insurance companies, hospitals or large corporations and that we fight against powerful companies for our clients. If you need an experienced, dedicated personal injury lawyer, Gerling Law is here to help. You can always reach us at 888-GERLING (888-437-5464) or through our website at www.gerlinglaw.com.

Nov 13, 2018 | By Gayle Gerling Pettinga | Read Time: 2 minutes | medical malpractice

Benefits of a Louisville Doctor's Error Attorney

Anyone can make a mistake, and doctors are no exception to this rule. If you find that your doctor has made a medical mistake, you may need a medical malpractice attorney from Gerling Law to help you deal with the fallout. Unfortunately, not every attorney is willing to handle malpractice cases, meaning that you may need to shop around and find the right attorney to handle your case before you can proceed with it. Consider the benefits of hiring an attorney from our Kentucky law firm that specializes in this type of law. Why You Need a Louisville Doctor’s Error Attorney If you have been involved in a medical situation where your doctor committed an error, you want to hire an attorney who is well versed in this type of law. You will want to hire an attorney who is no stranger to medical malpractice, and who has won cases like this in the past. Malpractice cases are typically contingency cases, meaning that your attorney is going to take a percentage of the money that you receive in the settlement, rather than a flat or hourly fee. This is one benefit of a doctor’s error attorney. These types of attorneys are also well versed in receiving settlements rather than going to trial, meaning that they can usually get you a money award quickly. Why Consider an Evansville Medical Malpractice Attorney A medical malpractice attorney is an attorney that specializes in cases where a doctor, surgeon, or other medical professional has done something wrong while working within the scope of their license. Although this is not a common occurrence, it does happen, and sometimes it can lead to serious injury, higher medical bills, and even wrongful death. If you or a loved one has fallen victim to medical malpractice, make sure that you have a doctor’s error lawyer working on your case to help you deal with the fallout. The bills can become overwhelmingly large because of medical malpractice, and you are going to want to make sure that you have an attorney available to help you with the legal issues that follow. What to Expect When Hiring a Louisville Doctor’s Error Attorney Sitting down to consult with a doctor’s error attorney is an effective way to have your questions answered and to gain some understanding about your legal issue, so make sure to call us today to find out more about the legal issue that you’re facing. Give us a call today at Gerling Law by dialing 888-437-5464 to find out more about what we can do for you today.

Nov 6, 2018 | By Gayle Gerling Pettinga | Read Time: 2 minutes | medical malpractice

Why Consider an Evansville Medical Malpractice Attorney

A medical malpractice attorney is a lawyer that specializes in cases where a doctor, surgeon or other malpractice has done something wrong in the practice of their job. Although this is not a common occurrence, it does happen, and sometimes it can lead to severe injury, higher medical bills, and even wrongful death. If you or a loved one has fallen victim to medical malpractice in Indiana, make sure that you have a medical malpractice lawyer from Gerling Law involved in your case to help you deal with the fallout. The bills can become overwhelming because of medical malpractice, and you are going to want to make sure that you have an attorney available to help you with the legal issues that follow. Do You Need an Evansville Medical Malpractice Lawyer? If you are struggling with a medical malpractice situation in Indiana, the odds are good that you are going to need a lawyer. There are so many legal issues surrounding medical malpractice that it will be difficult if not impossible to go through it alone, and so hiring an attorney is an effective way to make sure you have the representation that you need while answering your legal questions and putting your legal concerns to rest. What to Expect When Hiring an Evansville Medical Malpractice Attorney Hiring an Evansville medical malpractice attorney from our law firm will begin with a consultation, wherein you will learn if you’ll have a case, and you will have all your questions and concerns answered. This is a pivotal time to get to know your attorney and find out about the firm that you will be working with as well. If you believe that you are dealing with a medical malpractice situation in Evansville and you might need legal advice or assistance, it might benefit you to sit down with an attorney to discuss this issue. Consult with us today to find out if a medical malpractice attorney can meet your needs. Give us a call today at Gerling Law by dialing 888-437-5464 to find out more about what we can do for you.

Oct 30, 2018 | By Gayle Gerling Pettinga | Read Time: 2 minutes | medical malpractice

Contact a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Though shocking, the fact remains: According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), medical negligence is the third leading cause of death in the United States. If you or someone you know has been affected by medical malpractice, then you may need to contact a medical malpractice lawyer. Your Medical Malpractice Lawyer Medical malpractice can refer to a myriad of medical errors. Specifically, medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional fails to provide or treat a patient appropriately, resulting in injury or death. More so, if the medical professional lacked proper skills or acted carelessly, the professional in questions could be found negligent, and therefore, held accountable for his or her actions. The hospital can also be held accountable for its employees’ actions. Common types of medical malpractice cases often include the following: anesthesia, missed diagnosis, medication errors, botched plastic surgery, spinal cord injuries, wrong-site surgery, birth and infant injuries, and more. Medical malpractice cases can often be complicated, time-consuming, and difficult to prove. Therefore, it’s recommended you have a medical malpractice attorney on your side. At Gerling Law, our professional team has decades of combined experience working on these types of cases. From tracking down witnesses to collecting expert testimonies, we handle all aspects of the legal process for our clients. After all the pain and suffering endured, we want our clients of only focus on one thing: healing. A Medical Malpractice Lawyer at Gerling Law Finding a lawyer is not always a fun task, especially if you are in a lot of pain due to a medical error that should have never transpired in the first place. However, you can trust and count on the medical malpractice lawyers at Gerling Law. We want to successfully help our clients move on with their lives, and we can! Though a monetary settlement cannot undo pain and suffering, compensation can assist with missed wages and medical bills. If you are in Evansville, Indianapolis, Louisville, or Owensboro, then contact us today for more information.

Oct 23, 2018 | By Gayle Gerling Pettinga | Read Time: 2 minutes | medical malpractice

What is a Hospital Negligence Lawyer?

If you have suffered an injury or illness due to the negligence of a hospital, you should contact an Evansville hospital negligence lawyer from Gerling Law for legal help. We can provide you with the help you need getting compensation for your suffering, loss of wages and medical expenses. Hiring one of our skilled lawyers will bring back up to your corner and someone to protect your rights as you deal with your medical situation. They will be the first point of contact for the insurance companies and other lawyers so that you can focus on your health and family. What to Expect from the Evansville Fatal Accident Attorney Initially, you will want to provide the Evansville hospital negligence attorney with any documentation related to the events that caused your medical condition. You will also want to provide medical records and reports as well as information relating to loss of wages and other bills related to the situation. Make sure that you give as much detail as possible so that they can begin their work. The legal professional will ask you to sign an authorization to release all medical records and related documentation from the past to present. This allows them to keep tabs on the progress of your health as well as look at the details of the hospital negligence at hand. The best way to help them get started is to let them take on the position of first contact for you and your family. Waste No Time Contacting an Evansville Fatal Accident Attorney While you might be busy trying to heal or deal with your medical conditions caused by hospital negligence, it is wise to seek the help of an Evansville fatal accident attorney as soon as possible. There are statutes of limitation to be concerned with, and the attorney can relieve you of some of the constant contact with insurance companies and attorneys from the hospital. The sooner they get started, the better case they can put together for you. Call Gerling Law at 888-437-5464 and talk to professionals that have been in situations like yours.

Nov 27, 2017 | By Gayle Gerling Pettinga | Read Time: < 1 minute | medical malpractice

How to Spot Medical Malpractice

Knowing when you’re the recipient of medical malpractice is an extremely difficult thing to discern. Trained eyes must be consulted in order to determine if you have a case or not. But even with the help of professionals, understanding whether a doctor can be held accountable is a fairly murky process. Despite their superhuman powers to heal the wounded, doctors too are fallible creatures who can’t be blamed for every mistake they make. To determine whether malpractice has occurred, one must establish that the health care provider has not met the “standard of care” that is universal among doctors in the USA. “Standard of care” can be a difficult thing to define and requires a number of outside doctors to assess whether the health-care provider was acting in a negligent manner. A claim is only viable if as a result of medical treatment, the patient sustained an injury or an injury was compounded. However, such incidents are the bare minimum that a case needs in order to hold water. Lawyers will only take on cases if medical practitioners review the case and can ascertain that medical negligence was, in fact, the source of the injury. Lawyers require such certainty before moving forward with the case due to the statistic that 80% of medical malpractice cases end with no payment to the person or persons injured. If for example, a doctor prescribes a patient the wrong medication, a case may be viable, and the patient should get in touch with a Drug Injuries Attorney. That being said, few other injuries are overt grounds for a civil lawsuit. If you’re located in the Evansville, Indianapolis, Louisville, Owensboro or surrounding areas and feel that you have been wronged by a medical practitioner you should get in touch with the Gerling Law Firm.

Oct 19, 2017 | By Gayle Gerling Pettinga | Read Time: < 1 minute | medical malpractice

Woman dies after childbirth due to misdiagnosis

In our last post, we talked about medical malpractice and the serious nature of this form of negligence. People count on their doctors and medical professionals to treat them with the utmost care, and in the absence of that, people can suffer horrible medical effects or even lose their lives. Today we have an extreme and unfortunate example of that. A woman who gave birth to her first child died days after childbirth due to a misdiagnosis. According to a lawsuit filed by her husband and family, the 30-year-old woman gave birth and was cleared to leave the hospital the next day. But she started feeling nauseous and had a headache, so she soon returned to the hospital’s emergency room. Once there, a nurse practitioner diagnosed the woman with a urinary tract infection and sent her home. In actuality she had sepsis, an extremely dangerous blood infection that can cause fatal inflammation and complications within the body. And unfortunately, this is what happened to this first-time mother. She died of complications due to sepsis. The lawsuit filed by the woman’s husband and her family was recently completed, and the result of the lawsuit earned the plaintiffs $20 million, which is the new record for a medical malpractice award in the state of Minnesota. Medical malpractice can have life-changing – and, as this story sadly shows, life-ending – consequences. A misdiagnosis can lead to someone’s death, and the doctors or medical professionals responsible for such a misdiagnosis should be held accountable. Source: Star Tribune, “Twin Cities jury awards $20M in malpractice case for woman who died after giving birth,” Paul Walsh, Aug. 29, 2017