Since 1948, CCD Law has helped injury victims in Coeur d’Alene. Injuries can happen in a wide range of accidents, even when you go to a hospital or doctor’s office for medical care.
If you or someone you care about was harmed by medical malpractice, having the right team is key to fighting for your rights and financial support. Our experienced Coeur d’Alene personal injury lawyers can help. Contact us for a free consultation to learn more about your options.
Should You Hire a Lawyer?
Legally speaking, a medical malpractice claim falls under the personal injury umbrella, so it’s the same thing as a car accident or slip and fall. That said, there’s several things about medical malpractice cases that make them difficult. As such, you’re probably wondering if you should hire a lawyer if you’re involved in one. The answer there depends on the circumstances. In cases of a minor injury resulting from routine medical care, it’s probably not necessary to get a lawyer.
However, in the event that your injuries are more severe, having our team by your side can make things much easier. We can look into the malpractice, help you figure out who’s responsible, and show you what you can do to fully explore your legal options.
Who’s Responsible For Medical Malpractice?
When you stop to think about the sheer number of healthcare providers in Coeur d’Alene, it becomes clear how easily medical malpractice can happen. Those involved in providing you with medical care are, quite obviously, held to high standards in terms of their training and actually caring for you. Whether it’s a simple checkup or more complex surgery, a lot of things can go wrong.
What makes this a legal issue is when there’s negligence involved. In a medical malpractice claim, it’s crucial to prove several key elements:
- The healthcare provider had a duty to provide a certain standard of care to you, the patient.
- It must be shown that the provider failed to meet accepted medical standards.
- There must be a direct connection between the provider’s actions and your injuries.
- Evidence of harm or injury must be shown.
Additionally, many medical malpractice claims involve “vicarious liability.” This legal concept holds not only the individual provider responsible but also the company or facility that employed them.
So, in cases of medical malpractice, responsibility may lie with various parties:
- Surgeons
- Primary care doctors
- Specialists
- Medical firms/partnerships
- Hospitals
- Medical clinics/centers
- Residential treatment facilities
- Nurses
- Medical technicians
- Pharmacists
With this in mind, a medical malpractice claim can get complicated. Still, it’s incredibly important to nail down all the liable parties, because that’s who will have to pay for your damages.
What Are Your Damages in a Medical Malpractice Claim?
Like any injury situation, the best way to make a recovery is to fully go after your legal options. In the vast majority of cases, this means filing an injury claim for damages. This can typically be done by filing either:
- An insurance claim
- A lawsuit
This step is vital because medical malpractice claims, like other injury claims in Idaho, have a two-year time limit. If you miss this deadline, you lose the chance to recover this financial support. Once your claim is filed, though, you can potentially get back:
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Lost wages and earning capacity
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of quality of life
- Punitive damages, in certain cases
- Wrongful death expenses
What Should You Do in a Medical Malpractice Situation?
Another way that a medical malpractice claim is like other injury claims is that what you’re ultimately able to recover in your claim is going to depend on the extent of your injuries and other losses. This is something that you’ll need to show an insurance company or jury, and you can do this by taking the following steps to strengthen your claim:
- Report the incident – Report the incident to the provider once you’re aware that something’s wrong. This helps make sure it’s looked into and stopped from happening again.
- Document everything – Write down all the details about what happened and keep any papers or messages from your doctor. This helps keep track of what’s been done and what needs to happen next.
- Get a second opinion – Ask another doctor to check if everything was done right. They can tell you if there were any mistakes or if things could have been done better.
- Talk to the provider – It might be intimidating, but you should also bring up the incident with the doctor or surgeon directly. They may attempt to explain their reasoning or actions, which can give you a better idea of the situation.
Hopefully, these steps will help you show that there was medical malpractice. But because every situation is different, it’s important to look into how these things happen.
How Does Medical Malpractice Happen?
Medical malpractice is broadly defined as any situation where a healthcare provider fails to provide proper treatment, neglects necessary medical actions, or gives subpar care that harms you or any other patient. This can include various scenarios:
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, which worsens health outcomes.
- Surgical errors like wrong-site surgery or leaving instruments inside the patient.
- Medication errors, such as wrong dosage or improper administration.
- Birth injuries caused by negligence during childbirth.
- Anesthesia errors leading to complications or adverse reactions.
- Infections due to poor hygiene in hospitals.
- Lack of informed consent before a procedure.
- Insufficient follow-up care after medical procedures.
- Neglecting patient history or allergies when prescribing treatment.
- Errors in medical records resulting in incorrect treatment.
But how do these things happen? Again, medical professionals are highly trained and held to rigorous standards. And while no provider is perfect, medical malpractice can happen for a variety of reasons:
- Communication breakdown – Miscommunication among healthcare teams or between providers and patients can lead to mistakes in diagnosis, treatment, or medication administration.
- Lack of experience or training – Inexperienced or poorly trained providers may make errors in judgment or procedure, increasing the risk of patient harm.
- Fatigue or burnout – Healthcare providers working long hours or under high levels of stress may experience fatigue or burnout, hurting their ability to provide quality care and increasing the likelihood of errors.
- Equipment or system failures – Malfunctioning medical equipment, inadequate facilities, or inefficient systems within healthcare organizations can contribute to errors and patient harm.
- Short staffing – Understaffing or shortages in healthcare facilities can lead to increased workloads for providers, compromising the quality and safety of patient care.
- Failure to follow protocols – Healthcare providers may fail to adhere to established protocols or guidelines, increasing the risk of medical errors.
- Poor communication with patients – Poor communication with patients regarding their diagnosis, treatment options, or risks can lead to misunderstandings and errors.
- Lack of supervision – Inexperienced staff may make mistakes if they are not properly supervised by senior healthcare professionals.
- External factors – Pressure to reduce costs, time constraints, or organizational culture within healthcare settings may influence decision-making and compromise patient safety.
Regardless of what ultimately causes it, medical malpractice can have a huge impact on your life. You’re literally putting your health in the hands of someone else, so when they don’t take that responsibility seriously or neglect the standard of care, you need to do what you can to hold them accountable.
Experienced Coeur d’Alene Medical Malpractice Lawyers
At CCD Law, we’ve helped those that have been injured in medical malpractice incidents since 1948. Our experienced Coeur d’Alene medical malpractice lawyers will be there to support your claim and help you through the process, allowing you to focus on getting better. Contact us today to set up a free consultation to get started.