SURGICAL & MEDICAL DEATHS

When someone dies as a result of a surgical error or medical mis-diagnosis, there can be an incredible amount of confusions as to the actual cause. Medicine is complicated and unless you are a doctor yourself, who is to blame for a death and what exactly went wrong is something that requires professional legal and medical help. But when something does go wrong and is the result of the negligence of a doctor, hospital or other treating medical professional, they can and should be held financially responsible for their deadly error. Medical malpractice deaths are the leading cause of wrongful deaths in the state of California.

COMMON TYPES OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE DEATHS

• Childbirth: While you cannot file a suit in California for the death of a fetus in childbirth, when a deadly mistake leads to the death or serious injury of the mother during what should have been one of the happiest days of a growing family’s’ life, you can and should bring an action against all the offending parties.
• Emergency Room: The emergency room is by far the most hectic place in any hospital for obvious reasons; but that does not mean that there is a lesser standard of care required by the doctors, nurses and hospital because of it. One of the more common ways this happens is not because of the treatment received in the emergency room but the lack of treatment– too many patients are improperly discharged when they should be admitted to the hospital. This mistake can and does end in the death of the trusting patient that goes home thinking everything is ok.
• Misdiagnosis: You go to the doctor to get better and that journey starts with figuring out what is wrong with you in the first place. Too many medical deaths happen because the treating doctor misdiagnosed a patient. A misdiagnosis creates an entire string of issues including the wrong drugs being prescribed, the wrong treatment approach and in many cases the failure of the doctor to correctly diagnose a patient leads to death or serious injury. Cancer, stroke and heart attacks are some of the more common deadly issues related to this area of medical malpractice deaths.
• Error: There are always risks when you see a doctor and many of them are not their fault or our of their control. That being said, when an error should not have occurred and is the cause of death or injury that doctor should be held liable. Doctors are held to a certain standard of care and in cases of error, we show how their deviation from this requisite level of care caused the death.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MEDICAL MALPRACTICE DEATHS?

Who is responsible for a death resulting from surgery or other types of medical malpractice depends on the specifics of your case and something we can discuss further during your initial free consultation with us. The majority of medical and surgical errors occur in hospitals and outpatient centers where the fault is not placed on a single individual but the failure of all the doctors, nurses and the facility involved. In California, hospitals and doctors are required to carry insurance to cover issues like death and injuries and it is these important funds that will be the basis of any financial recovery.

Not surprisingly, medical malpractice cases are very complicated and can take time. When we take on a wrongful death case of this nature, we put together a team of medical experts to make sure that we are presenting the most compelling evidence possible to maximize your recovery potential. If you have lost a loved one as a result of a medical or surgical issue, do not hesitate to get in touch with us today– time is of the essence in these cases and you do not want to miss the deadline to file a case. We know what a challenging time this is and we are here to help ease the financial burden of your loss, among other things. Get in touch with us today and let’s begin working together- we look forward to hearing from you.