Columbus Medical Malpractice Lawyers
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Doctors and
other medical professionals have a duty to exercise care. However, even highly
skilled professionals can make mistakes. Birth injuries, surgical mistakes and
failure to diagnose cancer can be devastating to the victim and family. To
protect the legal rights of someone injured through medical negligence, it is
wise to consult an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as
possible. Within the first week, important physical evidence can be lost, and
witnesses may forget important details. Furthermore, strict time limits apply
to these claims.
Questions To Ask
Medical
malpractice cases are complex and difficult. They require familiarity with
doctors, hospitals, medical procedures, and expert witnesses. They are
complicated and expensive to litigate, and they require a law firm with the
experience and resources to prepare the case properly. Cases involving medical
malpractice are frequently a battle of experts. Securing the assistance and
testimony of qualified experts can be one of the most important, difficult and
expensive tasks in preparing and presenting a medical malpractice case. Before
hiring a lawyer to represent you in a medical malpractice claim, you should ask
the lawyer how many malpractice cases the attorney has handled in the past two
years. How many cases has the lawyer tried to verdict rather than settled? Be
sure to ask how many cases the lawyer has tried in front of a jury. Most
lawyers have little experience with jury trials. For a list of other questions
you should ask before hiring a lawyer, click here.
Examples
At Clark Perdue, we represent victims with legitimate claims
for medical malpractice. We do not accept or file frivolous lawsuits. We
emphasize that poor medical outcomes are occur everyday without medical
malpractice. We have extensive experience handling medical malpractice claims,
and expertise trying these cases to juries. For example:
- A 30-year-old woman went into the hospital for
an elective C-section. At 8:20 a.m., an anesthesiologist was injecting an
anesthetic into her lower back to provide "spinal" anesthesia.
The anesthetic is capable of causing heart stoppage if injected into the
bloodstream. Unfortunately, rather than injecting the anesthetic into the
cerebrospinal fluid, he injected it into a blood vessel, and the patient's
heart stopped beating ten minutes later at 8:30 a.m. She could not be
resuscitated. An autopsy was performed. It confirmed that the anesthetic
had been injected into the bloodstream. We filed suit against the
anesthesiologist for negligence. After a 3-week jury trial, the jury held
in favor of the patient's family and against the physician, rendering one
of the largest wrongful death awards ever in Franklin County, Ohio.
- A 45-year-old woman entered the hospital for a
heart catheterization. The test revealed that there was nothing wrong with
her heart, but at the conclusion of the procedure she developed a blood
clot in her leg. A vascular surgeon surgically removed the clot, but it
redeveloped. The surgeon went home for the evening, despite being paged
several times to return. For the entire night the patient's leg had no
appreciable blood flow. It turned black, blue and cold. Eventually the leg
was amputated above the knee. We claimed that it was because of the
surgeon's negligent postoperative care. The matter was settled for a
significant figure.
Damages
Damages that a
victim and the victim's family are entitled to recover may include: hospital
and medical expenses; past and future lost earnings; past and future permanent
physical disability, such as a limp, scars, loss of a limb; emotional distress,
such as depression and anxiety; grief and emotional suffering caused by the
death of a loved one; loss of love and companionship caused by the death of a
loved one; physical pain and suffering; and loss of enjoyment of life.
Consultation
If requested, we
will meet you--in your home or at the hospital, if necessary--to explain your
legal rights and make suggestions for immediate action on your claim. There is
never a charge for an initial consultation. For more information about
protecting your legal rights, or for a free consultation about your situation,
please call or e-mail the law firm
of Clark Perdue. We promise to respond promptly.
