Flint Medical Malpractice Attorney

Medical malpractice cases arise when doctors, nurses or other medical professionals deliver improper or harmful medical care to a patient. If this has happened to you, you may be eligible to file a claim for damages.

With over 150 years of combined legal experience, Jay Trucks & Associates has helped many medical malpractice victims in the Flint area and across Michigan state to obtain the compensation needed to move forward with their lives.

Our legal team understand how to build a strong medical malpractice case and can help to explain your legal options in easy-to-understand terms.

A Flint medical malpractice attorney from our firm is available to review your potential claim and discuss the legal options that may be available to you. The initial consultation is free and no fees are involved unless we obtain a recovery on your behalf.

What I most appreciated was how informative every step was. I always knew what was going on and what to expect...

– K. Cowick

Why Does Medical Malpractice Happen?

A doctor's actions or inactions may be considered medical malpractice if he or she:

• Fails to perform necessary or correct medical tests
• Fails to treat a known condition in a timely manner
• Fails to advise a patient of all reasonable treatments
• Fails to refer a patient to other specialist when a medical condition demands it

Generally, medical malpractice claims fall into one of three categories:

• Inadequate diagnosis – A doctor who fails to discover a patient's medical condition or does not attempt a different diagnosis that would have led to a better outcome may be grounds for a claim.
• Improper treatment – If a doctor fails to select the proper treatment or administers it incorrectly unlike a competent doctor would have, the patient may be able to take legal action for malpractice.
• Lack of warning – A doctor may be liable for medical malpractice if he or she failed to warn a patient of all risks and potential complications involved in a surgery or operation and harm resulted.

How Can You Prove Medical Malpractice?

The ability to prove medical malpractice generally means establishing that the doctor or medical professional did not provide care within the accepted standards of the medical community, either through a negligent act or omission, causing injury to a patient. That negligence could be the result of errors in diagnosis, treatment, aftercare or health management. However, these types of cases are often too complex to handle alone.

This is why we recommend consulting with an experienced attorney who is well-versed in negligence and medical malpractice laws for the state of Michigan and how these laws may apply to your situation. A Flint medical malpractice lawyer from our firm is prepared to help you prove the elements of negligence required:

• The existence of a doctor/patient relationship – When a doctor agrees to provide treatment, a doctor-patient relationship exists. This means that he or she owes you a duty of care to do everything possible to prevent harm.
• The doctor failed to meet the duty of care – He or she breached this duty by not exercising the degree of care or medical skill that another medical professional in the same specialty would have used in a similar situation. Medical experts are often used to attest to the adequate standard of care.
• The doctor's negligence resulted in your injury – Had the doctor not been careless in his or her actions, you would not have otherwise been injured. Statements from medical professionals or patients, photographic evidence and testimony from expert witnesses may help to provide proof.
• Your injury caused you to suffer damages – Damages impact you financially, physically and/or emotionally, such as medical bills, loss of income from missing work, and pain and suffering.

Difference Between Medical Malpractice and Negligence

Sometimes medical malpractice and medical negligence are used interchangeably when discussing this type of personal injury case. While these terms are closely connected, they are not exactly the same. Medical negligence is simply one component of medical malpractice.

Medical negligence occurs when a doctor or other medical professional fails to meet the standard of care. The mistake, error or oversight was not intentional or was not reasonably discovered at the time care was being issued. It may be determined to be malpractice if established that another similar doctor would not have made the same mistake.

When a doctor or medical professional makes a careless mistake and a patient suffers, this could be considered an act of medical malpractice. The doctor was aware or should have been aware of the potential consequences of his or her actions or inactions.

For instance, a doctor fails to diagnose a patient with cancer, even though the patient's medical records show possible signs of cancer. The patient is not diagnosed until weeks or months after the initial symptoms began and now has to battle an aggressive form of the disease that could potentially be fatal.

Common Examples Of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice can happen during the course of any treatment. The most common examples include:

Misdiagnosis

Misdiagnosing an illness or delaying a diagnosis altogether can be damaging to a patient's well-being. Failing to diagnose a patient correctly stops him or her from receiving the treatment needed early on. This can cause the illness to progress and become more serious.

Incorrect Medication

Incorrectly prescribing medications or administrating drugs can result in overdoses, fatal interactions and other harmful side effects. This can happen when a patient is given the wrong drug for an illness, receives another patient's medication, or the wrong dosage of medication is administered.

Surgical Mistakes

Surgeons can make mistakes, and in the operating room this can result in life-changing injuries, such as disfigurement, disability or death. Some examples of surgical mistakes include:

• Leaving surgical tools inside a patient's body
• Operating on the wrong body part
• Failing to sterilize surgical equipment
• Negligent post-operative care
• Failing to properly monitor an infection

Anesthesia Errors

Errors that occur while administering anesthesia could cause permanent brain damage or death. This can happen if an anesthesiologists gives an incorrect dosage or fails to review a patient's medical records for potential allergies, heart-related issues, high-blood pressure, or other previous anesthesia complications.

Childbirth Injuries

Injuries that happen during the labor and delivery process can cause life-long harm to a child, such as cerebral palsy, nerve damage and developmental delays. An injury may happen if a doctor fails to monitor for fetal distress, delays a C-section, improperly uses birthing tools or fails to diagnose a mother's medical condition.

What Forms of Compensation May Be Available?

If you have a valid claim, you may be eligible to seek compensation for a number of damages based on factors unique to your situation. These damages typically come in two forms: economic and non-economic.

Economic damages help to reimburse victims for financial losses that can easily be calculated based on bills or paychecks, such as medical expenses, rehabilitation, physical therapy, prescription medications, as well as past and future loss of earnings and employment benefits.

Non-economic damages are difficult to calculate because they contain no monetary value, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, diminished quality of life and loss of companionship. The state does place cap or limit on these damages – for cases being filed in 2020, the cap is $495,700.

Although Michigan does not award punitive damages meant to punish the at-fault party for reckless negligent or malicious intent, exemplary damages are available. These damages are awarded when the at-fault party's willful or complete disregard for a victim's rights causes the victim to feel mental anguish, humiliation, outrage, or increased injury.

A Flint medical malpractice lawyer is ready to discuss your likely damages in a free consultation. 989-254-6113.

Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim in Michigan

Michigan adheres to a statute of limitations that puts a time limit on your right to file a claim. Not filing before the deadline expires may result in a court dismissal of the case and an inability to recover damages.

Generally, medical malpractice claims must be filed within two years from the date of the injury. There could be certain exceptions that exist. If the injury was not discovered at the time the malpractice occurred, such as a delay in diagnosis, you have six months from the date of discovery. All claims however must be filed within six years of the date of the act or omission giving rise to the claim in accordance to state law.

Call a Flint Medical Malpractice Lawyer For Legal Help

If you believe you are the victim of medical malpractice, you may be able to take legal action against the negligent doctor or medical professional who caused your injury. Our lawyers at Jay Trucks & Associates have helped obtain millions in compensation on behalf of our clients throughout Genesee County.

We welcome the opportunity to review the details of your claim and are available to help you today. Our consultations are 100 percent free and come with no obligation to move forward. We charge no upfront fees for using our services and only receive payment if we successfully help you recover compensation.

A Clare medical malpractice lawyer from our firm is ready to come visit you at McLaren Flint Hospital or another health care facility in the area if you are physically unable to come to our office.