What Type of Lawyer Do I Need to Sue a Doctor?

When you visit your doctor or go to an emergency room for treatment, you trust the medical providers who treat you to be professional, knowledgeable, and to care for you to the best of their ability. Unfortunately, not all healthcare providers can be trusted, and many do more harm than good. If you believe your doctor has made a serious mistake in your treatment, misdiagnosed your illness or injury, failed to diagnose you, or delayed your diagnosis, you may be entitled to compensation for your suffering. To receive the compensation you deserve, you may need to sue the doctor, medical professional, or healthcare service provider that provided or failed to provide treatment to you. The best and most experienced type of lawyer that can help you with your case is a medical malpractice lawyer.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice is a widespread issue that can happen to any patient when they least expect it, causing someone who may have never been involved in the legal system before to need to sue a doctor. It can happen in many ways and be caused by a variety of medical professionals or even the company that employs the doctors and nurses who treated you. Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, nurse, or healthcare provider does not follow the appropriate standard of care outlined by the medical community and injures or harms a patient. Some of the most common types of medical malpractice include improper treatment, medication dosage or prescription mistakes, anesthesia issues, improper delivery of a baby, misdiagnosis of an illness or injury, performing unnecessary surgery, performing surgery incorrectly, failing to diagnose cancer and other serious medical conditions, and infections stemming from improperly sterilized equipment or facilities. All of these terrible mistakes are a result of the physician’s or hospital’s negligence and can cause catastrophic injuries and even wrongful death.

All doctors and medical professionals have the responsibility to act with a certain duty of care to perform in a way that similar medical professionals with reasonable skills and competence would have performed under the same circumstances. This means listening to their patient, understanding their symptoms, performing the appropriate diagnostic tests, interpreting test results appropriately, diagnosing the correct injury or illness, and treating it appropriately. When a doctor does not adhere to the appropriate standard of care and a patient is injured, medical malpractice occurs. While some medical errors may be minor, some can be severe and cause life threatening injuries or death. If a patient survives a medical error, the mistakes may exacerbate medical conditions, cause unnecessary complications, or cause new illness or injuries to appear that would not have without the doctor’s negligence.

Hiring a Lawyer To Sue a Doctor

Medical malpractice laws recognize that injured patients have the right to seek financial compensation, but the process is very confusing and requires an experienced personal injury lawyer to navigate. If you have been injured by improper medical care, you should consult with a reliable medical malpractice lawyer who can sue a doctor, nurse, or hospital to hold them accountable for your injuries.

Find a lawyer that:

• Will discuss their ability to get results so you can ensure they will be able to help you receive compensation that allows you to recover fully
• Has significant experience successfully handling medical malpractice cases with similar facts to yours in or near your geographic area
• Can describe their successes with medical malpractice lawsuits and their experience in cases similar to yours
• Has years of experience practicing law and handling malpractice claims

To build your case, a medical malpractice lawyer will utilize medical experts as expert witnesses to help prove the healthcare provider’s action or failure to act constituted medical negligence. An experienced medical malpractice attorney will be able to find the best medical experts to testify on your behalf. These experts will review your medical records and the treatment provided, or lack thereof. The best medical malpractice lawyers have established relationships with medical experts in a variety of fields that they have worked with previously who are quick, thorough, and reliable. Medical malpractice cases without a qualified medical expert witness opinion that the defendant acted negligently are often dismissed quickly.

Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Healthcare professionals have an obligation to their patients to act in accordance with the oath they swore to “Do No Harm.” No patient seeking care should ever have to endure additional pain and suffering caused by those they trusted to heal them. The stress, pain, and suffering associated with medical malpractice injuries takes a tremendous toll on victims and their loved ones, preventing much needed emotional and physical healing. Philadelphia doctors, nurses, hospitals, nursing homes, and long term care facilities who have harmed patients must be held accountable. The trial attorneys at Lopez McHugh LLP will be your advocates and will effectively and efficiently handle your case from start to finish.  If you or a loved one has been injured by a medical provider, contact the Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys of Lopez McHugh LLP for a free case consultation.