Cherry Hill Medical Malpractice Lawyer

For the vast majority of interactions with your physician or another healthcare provider, you are provided good advice and a course of treatment to help you heal. However, on occasion, these medical professionals are negligent. In those cases, their oversight leads to injuries and, in extreme cases, loss of life.

Situations like the ones described above may constitute medical malpractice and are the type of issue you’ll want to call us about at Folkman Law if you’ve been affected by it. We’ll connect you with a Cherry Hill medical malpractice lawyer with whom you can discuss what happened to you or your deceased family member when you reach out. You may be eligible for compensation for what you or your relative went through.

Understanding the Most Common Types of Medical Negligence

Despite years of education, internships, residencies, or fellowships, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers are not infallible. When injuries happen because of negligence, New Jersey law entitles patients or their surviving loved ones (if deceased) to compensation. To build a convincing case that allows you to recover a settlement, your Cherry Hill medical malpractice attorney needs to establish what happened.

Some of the most common types of medical malpractice include:

Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis

The first step for any medical issue is a diagnosis. That often requires more than a doctor asking you questions and checking you with a stethoscope. It can involve a blood workup, X-rays, or other diagnostic tests.

The doctor then needs to interpret the results of those tests. That is how they make a diagnosis. If they make the wrong call or wait too long to order tests, it could be a case of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis.

Surgical Errors

Mistakes like operating on the wrong limb can occur despite all the preparation that goes into a surgical procedure. An object like a sponge or pad could also be left behind in the patient. Additionally, there have been numerous cases of surgeons performing an unnecessary surgery.

Medication Errors

Doctors are notorious for their lousy handwriting on prescriptions, which is why most of them are now generated using computer software. Even using this approach, though, prescriptions aren’t always free of mistakes. Whether it is the direct caregiver or a pharmacist who delivers the wrong medication or dosage, it can have serious implications for the patient.

Birth Injuries

Advances in ultrasound technology and screening tests provide doctors with accurate assessments of a developing baby’s health. However, as with other types of diagnostics, sometimes a doctor can miss something. Direct complications during the labor and delivery process could also lead to a range of injuries to both mom and baby.

Anesthesia Mistakes

Anesthesiologists are part of the surgical team that provides the means to have you sedated during a procedure. Administrating those medications requires precision that must take into account the patient’s medical history. Knowing if the patient went through a proper fast before the operation is also essential.

When anesthesia is administered at too high of a level, it can result in brain damage. On the flip side of the coin, if it’s administered at a low level, the patient might regain consciousness during the procedure.

Emergency Room Errors

In the emergency room (ER), patients go through a triage process, where the most severely compromised are tended to first. It is common for an ER to be overwhelmed by critical cases that all need to be tended to simultaneously.

In the haste to provide care to multiple patients, mistakes can be made. That includes a person being sent home who needs additional medical care.

Testing Errors

When a doctor orders a test for a patient, the sample that is run can go through many hands. A mistake can be made anywhere along the chain, including sending the right results to the wrong patient. This can lead to delayed diagnosis, inappropriate treatment, or unnecessary procedures.

Whether one of the above-referenced situations resulted in an adverse outcome for you or a relative, consider reaching out to our law firm to speak with a Cherry Hill medical malpractice attorney about your right to file an insurance claim or lawsuit. New Jersey law may entitle you to do so, which could be instrumental in helping you recover compensation you’re sure to need to help you along your path of recovery.

How a Cherry Hill Medical Malpractice Lawyer Proves Negligence

Proving negligence in a medical malpractice case is extremely complicated. A skilled attorney will understand the elements you need to establish to secure compensation, including:

A Breach of Standard of Duty Occurred

Your Cherry Hill medical malpractice attorney needs to demonstrate that the doctor, nurse, or hospital staff was negligent in providing care for your condition. That means they need to prove that your healthcare professional did not provide the same level of reasonable care that another medical provider would have given under the same circumstances.

An Injury Occurred and a Healthcare Provider Caused It

Next, your medical malpractice lawyer in Cherry Hill needs to establish that you were injured as a direct result of that healthcare provider’s negligent actions. This is where the case can get complicated because independent expert testimony may be required to establish that negligence is the cause of your complications and not some preexisting condition.

You Sustained Damages

Finally, you and your attorney need to prove that you’ve suffered physical harm and related financial damages because of the negligence. That means showing proof of medical bills that might be associated with your injury, such as additional surgeries or hospital stays. There is also the pain, suffering, and emotional distress that you went through because of your involvement in the injury accident, which can be a bit harder to quantify.

As for the latter, your attorney will understand how to calculate your losses so that you can secure the proper amount you need to cover your losses.

Steps To Take If You Suspect a Healthcare Provider’s Negligence Harmed You

If you have concerns about the medical care you or a family member received, there are several steps you can take to protect your health and uphold your legal rights.

Step One: Get a Second Opinion

You need to take your concerns to a doctor and allow them to conduct a thorough examination. The doctor you choose mustn’t be affiliated with your current doctor or hospital where you were treated. This might also become the doctor you’ll turn to for your future care.

Step Two: Gather Documentation

You need to gather up all the relevant documents that are associated with your condition. If those records are on a medical website, you should print those out and send an additional copy to yourself. You also want to create a folder with all your invoices, bills, and receipts. It might also be helpful to start a journal where you keep a dated log of what you are going through as a result of the negligence that you suspect happened.

Step Three: Talk to an Attorney

Because of the complexities of a malpractice case, you need to get guidance from a Cherry Hill medical malpractice lawyer who specializes in these types of cases. You need that attorney to evaluate your case and provide you with the options to follow to seek remedy.