Being in the hospital can be a scary experience, even for those with minor injuries. When doctors betray your trust and cause you injuries, an attorney can help you get justice.
One important thing to remember is that not every medical mistake in a hospital will constitute malpractice. Malpractice might occur when the treatment provided by medical professionals does not meet standards of care. Numerous medical professionals might be liable, including doctors, nurses, and anyone else who played a role in your case. On top of that, the hospital itself should be named in your lawsuit. Damages in medical malpractice lawsuits are known for being substantial, and plaintiffs often claim very significant compensation for their injuries. Filing a medical malpractice case is not the easiest, as we must make extensive preparations with the help of other medical experts.
You can arrange to have a free, confidential evaluation of your claims with our medical malpractice lawyers by calling the Rhatigan Law Offices at (312) 578-8502.
When Medical Mistakes Become Malpractice in Aurora, IL
Medical treatment can do amazing things for very sick people, but doctors can never guarantee a cure. Mistakes are bound to happen from time to time, but they are not inherently malpractice. Medical malpractice is generally negligent medical care that fails to meet standards of care. Even if a doctor makes a mistake, but that mistake is considered to be within the standards of care, there might be no malpractice.
This can be a frustrating problem for people who were injured by medical mistakes. Doctors have a lot of responsibility, but courts do not demand that they provide perfect treatment every time. If the doctor made a mistake under the good faith belief that they acted in the patient’s best interest, it might be hard to prove malpractice.
One method attorneys and medical experts use to review medical malpractice claims is to compare the defendant’s actions with what is expected of a reasonable doctor under similar circumstances. For example, you might want to sue for malpractice because your doctor misdiagnosed you. If such a misdiagnosis would not be expected from another reasonable doctor treating a similar case, you might have a strong medical malpractice claim.
Some common examples of medical malpractice claims in Illinois include misdiagnoses, surgical mistakes, hospital negligence, and a failure to warn or advise patients. A misdiagnosis might delay necessary treatment, leading to serious complications. Surgical mistakes might include leaving surgical instruments inside a patient’s body. Hospital negligence might involve small yet serious failings, like failing to properly document when medication is administered, leading to the patient receiving too much or not enough medicine. Failing to warn patients can be disastrous if treatment goes wrong. Doctors are required to warn patients of potential complications so patients can give knowing, informed, and legally valid consent to treatment.
Medical Professionals Liable for Medical Malpractice in Aurora, IL
Medical malpractice might be the result of one medical professional’s negligent care. However, many cases are instead based on malpractice perpetrated by several medical professionals. Doctors are often not the only person in charge of your case, especially in a hospital or emergency room setting. Nurses and various specialists also play a role in your treatment and might be implicated in the malpractice.
To determine who treated you during your time in the hospital, we need to review our hospital medical records. Your hospital records are a thorough accounting of the care from your doctors, nurses, specialists, and other medical professionals working on your case. These records are supposed to be incredibly detailed, and the names of anyone and everyone involved in your care should be in those records for us to find.
In addition to medical professionals, we can also help you sue the hospital for your injuries. The hospital usually employs the doctors and nurses involved in your malpractice claims, making the hospital open to vicarious liability. Alternatively, unsafe or improper regulations imposed by the hospital might have directly contributed to your injuries. Either way, we should definitely include the hospital in your lawsuit.
Damages in Aurora, IL Medical Malpractice Cases
Medical malpractice damages and compensation are famous for being very large. It is not unheard of for medical malpractice plaintiffs to be awarded hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, depending on the severity of their injuries. While juries might award very large sums of money, the final amount of compensation might be reduced under statutory caps on damages.
In medical malpractice claims, perhaps the biggest contributor to economic damages is medical expenses. You should claim the cost of the injurious care that caused your injuries in the first place, and the value of subsequent treatment needed to treat your injuries. If you need ongoing care for long-term injuries, we can help you calculate future expenses.
If your injuries resulted in long-term complications or disabilities, you can claim the cost of treating and living with your new condition. For example, a surgery gone awry might have caused a spinal cord injury that resulted in paralysis. You may claim the costs of physical therapy and mobility aids like wheelchairs as part of your damages.
Non-economic damages also tend to run very high. Physical pain might be agonizing, and the emotional fallout from the injury might leave you devastated. In cases where people are permanently injured by their doctors, they spend years coming to terms with their new condition, and that pain and suffering deserve significant compensation.
In years past, the State of Illinois imposed caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice claims. You could not recover more than $500,000 from a negligent doctor or more than $1 million from a hospital. However, the Illinois Supreme Court declared those caps unconstitutional. For now, there are no caps on damages in medical malpractice lawsuits in Illinois.
Contact Our Aurora, IL Medical Malpractice Lawyers Today
You can arrange for a free, private assessment of your claims with our medical malpractice attorneys by calling the Rhatigan Law Offices at (312) 578-8502.
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