Louisville Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Typically, we expect physicians and other medical providers to treat us in a reasonable manner. But at Gerling Law, we know that this does not always happen. Medical malpractice or negligence by a healthcare professional can cause severe injuries and add stress to you and your family. It might be challenging to determine if malpractice has taken place, but our lawyers are here to assist you.

If you are suffering because of medical malpractice, contact a skillful Louisville medical malpractice lawyer. We can help you file your claim and recover compensation for your injuries. 

What Is Medical Malpractice?

Overall, medical malpractice takes place when a healthcare provider is negligent in the care of a patient. In part, this means the medical professional’s action (or inaction) fell below the reasonable standard of care. There are four elements to medical malpractice or negligence claims, and all four have to be present. These are duty, breach, causation, and damages. 

To see if you may have a claim and for more information, contact a Louisville medical malpractice attorney at Gerling Law.

Duty of Care

First, the provider has to owe a duty of care to the patient. You can establish a duty of care through a doctor-patient relationship. For example, you may have made a doctor’s appointment to address symptoms of lung cancer. 

Breach of the Duty of Care

For negligence or medical malpractice, there also has to be a breach of the duty to the patient. A violation of the duty of care means that the medical provider did not act reasonably in the care of the patient. One example of medical malpractice might be a physician failing to run required tests for lung cancer. A failure to run tests is not always negligence, but it could be.

Causation

Causation is the third element that has to exist for negligence to be present. Causation means that, but for the breach of duty by the medical provider, there would not be an injury to you. So the healthcare worker’s negligence must have been the cause of your injuries. In the above example, but for the physician not ordering tests, you would not have developed late-stage lung cancer.

Damages

This last element of negligence or medical malpractice means that there must be damages for you to recover. This is often a physical injury, but other damages are also possible. If no damages are present, you cannot bring a claim for medical malpractice.

Consider calling a Louisville medical errors lawyer at Gerling Law for guidance on filing a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Types of Medical Malpractice

Several kinds of medical malpractice can occur. If you have been hurt, you may be able to recover medical malpractice damages for your injuries. You should reach out to a Louisville medical errors lawyer if you have suffered harm because of malpractice. Our seasoned attorneys are here to advocate for you so that you can heal.

Birth Injuries

This is a significant type of medical malpractice and a nightmare for any parent. A birth injury could include cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, and other conditions. Brain injuries or damage to the skull may also occur due to malpractice.

Diagnostic Errors

Errors in diagnoses are also a common type of medical malpractice. This could mean that the doctor’s diagnosis of your ailment is delayed, missed, or incorrect. 

A delayed diagnosis, such as a cancer diagnosis, could mean that your symptoms and illness might worsen before it gets treated. A missed diagnosis might happen in the case of someone with a condition such as chronic pain. An utterly wrong diagnosis might also happen and could be malpractice, depending on the circumstances.  

Anesthesia Blunders

Errors with anesthesia are another kind of malpractice that can result. One primary mistake with anesthesia might be giving the patient too much or too little anesthesia. For example, if you wake up during a procedure, this might constitute malpractice or negligence. Another serious error could be the failure of the doctor to monitor the patient properly.

Medication Mistakes

Mistakes regarding medication can mean life or death for a patient and can have severe consequences. This type of malpractice can cause serious injuries, and there is a multitude of ways that a medication error can take place. A medical professional may give you medicine for the wrong amount of time or in the wrong dosage. A healthcare professional may even fail to prescribe the proper medication altogether.

Failure to Treat

Sometimes a healthcare professional does not treat their patient at all. This could mean releasing you too soon, not correctly monitoring you, or failing to refer you to a specialist. 

These failures can have serious consequences. These might include you acquiring a worse medical condition or additional ailments. It may also cause you to have significant extra medical expenses or hospitalization. 

Surgical Errors

A severe blunder during a surgical operation can also constitute malpractice. Surgical errors happen when a reasonable standard of care is not followed by the surgeon and other healthcare workers. This can happen due to extreme fatigue or a lack of communication, for instance. 

One example is if medical professionals do not clean surgical instruments in advance, leading to an infection. Other surgical errors might be operating on the wrong patient or on the wrong site or side of the body. Further blunders could be operating when it is not necessary or damaging the patient’s organs or tissues. In all these scenarios, it is crucial that you get in touch with a lawyer with the expertise to investigate your claim.

Medical malpractice law can be complex to sift through alone when you are trying to heal. If you are suffering due to one of the above types of malpractice, don’t hesitate to give us a call. A Louisville medical malpractice lawyer at Gerling Law can help you recover compensation for your injuries.

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