Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Denver, CO
Colorado is known to have some of the top hospitals and clinics in the nation. In fact, Denver’s UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital is considered one of the best in the country and the Denver Health Level One Trauma Center has one of the highest survival rates among trauma patients, when compared to any trauma center in any state.
Despite the outstanding quality of care in the city and despite the dedication of highly skilled and compassionate medical staff, patients in Denver and throughout the state of Colorado do still experience medical malpractice. If you suspect that you have suffered injury or complications because of a healthcare provider’s negligence, speak with medical malpractice lawyers in Denver, CO. You can do so by contacting the Denver offices of Flaxman Law Group for a free consultation.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice happens when a healthcare professional provides care that is below the accepted standard, causing harm to a patient. Medical malpractice can include things like making the wrong diagnosis, performing surgery incorrectly, or giving the wrong medication.
For a case to be considered malpractice, all four of the following things must be true: the healthcare provider had a duty to care for the patient, they failed in that duty, this failure caused harm, and the patient suffered damages as a result.
To understand this better, let’s look at an example. Let’s say that a surgeon operated on the wrong body part. In this case, the surgeon had a duty of care. They were supposed to be taking care of the patient. They failed to perform that duty and a healthy body part was operated on. The patient therefore will need to have additional surgery and a longer hospital stay. Their healthy limbs may be affected, too.
Medical malpractice is not a simple error. It is a preventable type of negligence. With this type of situation, another medical professional would have acted differently to prevent harm to the patient.
Types of Medical Malpractice in Denver, CO
There are several types of medical malpractice that can occur, because there are different types of care that patients receive. Medical malpractice cases often occur because of:
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. This happens when a doctor incorrectly identifies a condition or fails to diagnose it in time. For example, missing a cancer diagnosis can lead to serious consequences because early treatment is often lifesaving.
- Surgical errors. Operating on the wrong body part, leaving surgical tools inside a patient, or causing unnecessary damage to surrounding tissues are all surgical errors that can lead to serious harm for patients.
- Medication errors. This type of preventable situation happens when a medical professional prescribes the wrong medication, incorrect dosages, or fails to account for a patient’s allergies or interactions with other drugs.
- Anesthesia errors. When anesthesia is improperly administered or monitored, complications can happen during surgery or recovery.
- Birth injuries. These can occur during childbirth and can involve healthcare providers failing to monitor the mother and baby or failing to respond to signs of distress. Birth injuries can cause permanent injuries for the baby and can even cause fatalities for mothers.
Even if you don’t recognize your situation in the above, if you’ve suffered a serious complication, such as a serious side effect to a medication, an infection, or anything else, it’s worthwhile to speak with medical malpractice lawyers in Denver, CO. In many cases, clinics and hospitals are not forthcoming when a mistake is made, because they worry about claims. In a consultation with an attorney, your lawyer can explain whether you have a claim.
Common Causes of Medical Malpractice in Denver, CO
Medical malpractice can occur for various reasons, usually linked to human error or systemic issues within healthcare. For example, misunderstandings between healthcare providers or between providers and patients can lead to mistakes. Healthcare providers may also fail to follow the procedures they have been taught, or may fail to keep proper notes, which can lead to preventable errors.
There are also systemic issues in the healthcare system that can lead to medical malpractice. For example, healthcare providers may not get the proper training and experience to provide adequate care.
In the overstretched healthcare system, overworked staff can make preventable errors due to fatigue, or there may simply not be enough staff to offer adequate care for patients. Healthcare fatigue can also stem from residency requirements and staffing procedures. At some hospitals, new residents and emergency room doctors are expected to stay on shift for many hours, which can lead to fatigue that can affect decision-making.
Facilities like hospitals and clinics are also expected to have procedures in place that protect patients. They’re expected to have adequate staff on hand and on call, to have checklists and processes to reduce errors, and to provide a workplace environment where medical staff can do their best work. When facilities are negligent in providing a safe working environment and reasonable policies, patient care can suffer.
Insurance issues can also affect patient outcomes. When insurers refuse to cover specific medication or specific test results, patients may not get the necessary tests or care, which can lead to misdiagnosis or delayed treatment.
With healthcare increasingly relying on technology, poorly designed tech, malfunctions, and system errors can impact patient care. For example, issues with electronic records can lead to preventable mistakes in a patient’s surgical aftercare.
How To Prove Medical Malpractice
Proving medical malpractice is often challenging. Medical practitioners and facilities spend a lot of money on malpractice insurance and they’re reluctant to admit wrongdoing because they don’t want exposure to lawsuits. In addition, medical malpractice often happens for complex reasons. For example, if your cancer diagnosis was delayed, there may have been a series of tests completed by the hospital and sent to a distant lab for analysis. Your doctor would have reviewed the results and entered the notes into electronic records. Negligence could have occurred at any one of these stages, or even at multiple points in the process.
Medical care today is overseen by managers, specialists, family physicians, facilities, and many other parties. The complexity of the system makes it especially hard to find out what happened when you’ve had a negative medical outcome. It’s even harder to get proof of medical negligence. This is one thing you won’t want to take on by yourself. Medical malpractice lawyers in Denver, CO may be important to get to the bottom of what happened.
Medical malpractice attorneys can establish that there was a formal relationship between you and the healthcare provider. This is essential to launch a case. Attorneys can also secure expert testimony from another medical professional who can explain what a competent provider would have done in the same situation.
Medical malpractice lawyers in Denver, CO can subpoena records and secure evidence you may not be able to get on your own. They can interview healthcare professionals and collect relevant medical records, test results, and any other documentation. They also work with investigators who can establish what happened in your case.
Even more importantly, attorneys can take all the evidence and use it to build a strong case. This can show insurance companies or a court that medical malpractice happened and that you deserve compensation.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Medical Malpractice?
In many cases, physicians are held liable for missed diagnosis, birth injuries, and other instances of medical malpractice because doctors are usually the ones who are most directly responsible for a patient’s care. However, there may be multiple liable parties in your case. These can include:
- Nurses
- At-home healthcare providers
- Pharmacists and pharmacies
- Clinics and hospitals
- Dentists
- Oncologists
- Surgeons
- Anesthesiologists
- Medical imaging labs
- Medical lab techs
- The manufacturers of medical equipment and medical devices
- Pharmaceutical companies who manufacture medication
- Nurse and doctor aides
- Medical assistants, radiology techs, and other assistants and technicians
- Healthcare and hospital administrators
- Physical therapists, oncologists, specialists, and other healthcare providers
It’s important to find all liable parties because doing so allows you to pursue fair compensation and allows you to hold the responsible parties accountable for your pain and suffering. Working with medical malpractice lawyers in Denver, CO can help, because experienced lawyers have access to the investigators, medical experts, and other resources needed to find all liable parties.
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What Damages Can I Recover for Medical Malpractice?
If you’re considering a medical malpractice claim, it’s important to understand how much your claim may be worth. In general, you can seek compensation for all reasonable expenses related to your injuries and losses. This can include:
- Medical costs. You can seek compensation for all the costs related to your treatment, including hospital stays, rehabilitation, medical devices, psychiatric care, medications, and more. You can recover the expenses you’ve already paid as well as those you may incur in the future.
- Lost wages. If you’ve had to miss work or your earning capacity has been reduced because of medical malpractice, you may be able to recover both past wages you’ve missed and potential future earnings.
- Pain and suffering. Your lawyer can help you quantify these damages, which are meant to compensate you for the physical pain and emotional distress caused by the malpractice.
- Punitive damages. In cases where a healthcare provider’s actions were particularly reckless or were intentional, you may be awarded punitive damages. These are meant to punish the wrongdoer, so they don’t hurt others in the future.
- Wrongful death. If medical malpractice caused the death of a loved one, you may be able to seek a wrongful death claim. This can help you pay for final medical bills, funeral expenses, and can help you recover for the financial contribution a family member made to your household.
Some patients secure thousands of dollars in settlements in court wines while others are awarded over a million dollars. It depends on the severity of your injury, how long you will live with the effects of the injury, the liable parties, and other factors. The amount you can secure from a products liability claim against a drug manufacturer can be different from a birth injury case.
It’s important to note that Colorado has a $1 million cap on medical malpractice damages and a $300,000 cap for medical malpractice noneconomic damages. A medical malpractice attorney in Denver will work to make sure you get an accurate estimate of your claim’s worth. Your attorney can also help you determine whether there is an exception to these caps in your case.
How Long Do You Have to Sue for Medical Malpractice in Colorado?
In Colorado, you generally have two years from the date you were injured to file your medical malpractice lawsuit. However, there are exceptions. For example, you may not have known about wrongdoing right away. In that case, you may have two years from the date you found out or should have known about the potential malpractice.
If the person injured is a child under the age of six, you have until the child’s eighth birthday to file a claim. You may also have more time to file if a medical professional or facility tried to hide the malpractice or if a foreign object was left in your body during surgery.
Always speak with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer in Denver as soon as you realize you may have a claim. It’s important to file early to give yourself the best chance of securing compensation.
Medical Malpractice Is Not Limited to Doctors
Medical malpractice claims can involve many liable parties and can get very complex. Before you decide whether to file a claim, contact Flaxman Law Group for a free consultation with a medical malpractice lawyer in Denver, CO. Find out whether you have a claim—and how much your claim may be worth.
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