How Do You Know if You Have a Medical Negligence Case in Philadelphia?
February 12, 2024
Sometimes someone visits a healthcare facility and, instead of getting better, things take a turn for the worse. Amid the rising medical bills, pain, and trauma, they may start to wonder whether they could have grounds for a medical negligence case.
Wapner Newman is a trusted Pennsylvania and New Jersey law firm that’s helped victims of medical malpractice hold negligent parties accountable for decades. The best way to find out if you have a case is to call Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900 and schedule a free consultation.
The consequences of medical negligence can be devastating to the victims. Seek legal counsel immediately to find out whether you have a viable case.
What Is Considered Medical Negligence?
Did Trusting Your Healthcare Provider Result in Harm?
Medical malpractice covers any severe injury caused by the negligence of healthcare providers and medical institutions. Here are examples of medical malpractice claims:
Delayed or Missed Diagnosis
A recent Johns Hopkins study revealed that diagnostic errors lead the pack when it comes to the most common, the costliest, and the most dangerous forms of medical malpractice. The study’s authors established that these misdiagnoses contribute to roughly 35.2% of all medical malpractice payouts.
Failure to Treat
You may get the right diagnosis but not the right or enough treatment. You may be released from a hospital too soon. You didn’t get the right follow-up care. You might not be referred to a specialist as quickly as you should have been, or you weren’t referred at all.
Medication Errors
Medication errors are also common, encompassing mistakes that occur during the prescribing, dosing, or dispensing of medication. Medication mistakes cause thousands of injuries annually, and the prescribing physicians deserve to be held accountable.
Surgical Errors
Mistakes like operating on the wrong limb or leaving surgical tools inside a patient are more common than you might think. According to malpractice studies, intraoperative errors are the primary issue in 75% of cases involving surgeons. These surgical blunders can lead to infection, require additional procedures, prolong recovery, or even be fatal.
Birth Injury
In this situation, the malpractice may not injure you but it harms your infant. You may not have received the right prenatal care. Mistakes may have been made during birth or shortly after. Your infant may suffer serious brain damage and physical disabilities.
Medical Product Liability
Malpractice claims may involve devices, like an artificial hip or a mesh used to treat a hernia. The surgeon may have been negligent or the device’s manufacturer may have made profits a priority over safety, causing severe harm.
If you believe you might be a victim of medical negligence, contact Wapner Newman today at (215) 569-0900 for a free case evaluation.
Pennsylvania Laws Protect You When Healthcare Goes Wrong
The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System shows that in 2023, there were 287,997 reported patient safety events. Approximately 33.1% of these incidents involved improper procedures, inadequate or incorrect treatments, and errors during medical tests. While the frequency of these cases is worrying, it’s more concerning to think that there are victims who don’t know they have protections under Pennsylvania law.
Signs You May be a Victim of Medical Malpractice
You might naturally be wondering, Do I have a malpractice case? Many issues may show medical malpractice happened to you. Here are some examples.
A Loved One Dies Soon After Getting Treatment or Seeing a Healthcare Professional
A mistake during surgery may have caused a fatal injury. If there was a misdiagnosis, an untreated condition could quickly worsen. A pharmacy may have provided the wrong medication or the right one in the wrong dose.
The Hospital or Nursing Home Is Understaffed
The staff is responsible for too many patients. Too much is going on and they can’t focus on what they’re doing. Needed help is significantly delayed. Alarms are going off for a long time before anyone appears. The overworked nurse or physician makes a significant mistake and the organization’s management causes the situation.
You Didn’t Fully Agree to Receive Treatment
Forms were put in front of you to sign, but you couldn’t ask questions. An informed decision wasn’t made because the risks weren’t explained. If this happened to you and you were injured, it may be medical malpractice.
Someone Admitted Fault for the Problem
You suffered an injury during treatment and someone owned up to it. That admission, especially if the harm is severe, should cause you to talk to one of our attorneys.
You’re Experiencing Worsening or Persistent Conditions
Your health deteriorates despite receiving treatment, or your condition fails to improve as medical professionals indicated it should. What was supposed to help has made things worse, potentially pointing to a mishandled procedure or inappropriate treatment plan. When expected recovery timelines pass without improvement, it could suggest negligent care.
If you left the hospital worse than when you arrived, consult a qualified personal injury lawyer to find out whether you have a possible medical negligence claim.
When Do You Have a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
Do I Have a Malpractice Case?
To have a valid medical malpractice case, you would need to prove more than a mistake happened. Healthcare providers are allowed a range of decisions and actions, even the wrong ones, as long as they aren’t negligent.
Pennsylvania law requires that the following elements be met for a medical malpractice claim:
The Healthcare Provider Owed You a Duty of Care
A successful medical malpractice case would show that the other party owed you a legal duty. That person or organization needed to provide you with healthcare that was at least the applicable standard of care because of the relationship between the two of you (such as doctor-patient).
That standard is the watchfulness, attention, caution, and prudence that a reasonable provider in the situation would use. This varies on the type of healthcare provider and the treatment or service that’s provided.
The Care Provider Breached Their Duty
What if the standard of care wasn’t met? What if the person did something they shouldn’t have done or did nothing when they should have done something? What if what happened was beyond a simple mistake that healthcare providers are allowed to make? In any of these situations, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
The Breach Caused Your Injury
You would also need to show that any failure to provide you with a proper standard of care caused your injury.
You Suffered Losses as a Result
And if this is the case, you are entitled to compensation for the harm done under Pennsylvania law. How much compensation you can get will vary. Having a skilled medical malpractice attorney to fight on your behalf can substantially increase the amount of compensation you get from an insurer.
Why Choose Us?
Gathering evidence like medical records, expert testimony, and proof of economic and non-economic impacts is essential. Having a knowledgeable attorney on your side can make all the difference.
The skilled attorneys at Wapner Newman have:
- Decades of experience handling complex medical malpractice cases
- A commitment to putting clients first and achieving favorable outcomes
- Offices serving Philadelphia and surrounding areas in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
We understand the devastating effects of malpractice and will pursue the compensation you need to rebuild your life.
How Do You Know if You Have a Medical Malpractice Case? Ask Us.
If you’ve been seriously injured by a medical professional, you may not know where to turn. Medical bills may be piling up and you’ve lost too much time from work. You’re in pain and you can’t do the things you used to do. You need help to make things right.
A skilled Wapner Newman attorney with experience with medical malpractice cases can talk to you, discuss what happened, and explain the law and how it might be applied. We can review your case and work toward getting you the compensation you deserve.
Call us today at (215) 569-0900 to schedule your free consultation. We serve clients throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.