Dallas Medical Malpractice Claims

Dallas Medical Malpractice Attorney Michael Grossman Talks About Dallas Medical Malpractice Claims

Suffering through an injury or an illness is often painful enough. When further pain or suffering occurs due to the possible malpractice of a medical professional, both the physical and emotional toll that such an exacerbated injury or illness can take on a victim is great.

Medical Malpractice victims often have many more questions than answers if they believe that they have been the unfortunate recipient of poor medical care:

• Why did this happen?
• Who’s responsible?
• Who’s going to pay for my medical treatment?
• What about my additional pain and suffering?
• What about the time I’m losing at work?
• What about my family?
• Do I need a medical malpractice lawyer?
• How can I work to make sure this doesn’t happen to someone else?

These are all legitimate questions that anyone who has experienced medical malpractice in Dallas or elsewhere in Texas has asked. Often, the answers to these questions are quite difficult to discover. However, with the help of an experienced medical malpractice lawyer in Dallas, like Michael Grossman, and an investigative team that can work with medical experts to vet your Dallas medical malpractice claim, you can likely learn the answers to these questions while also working toward standing to receive compensation for your injury and your pain and suffering, in addition to holding the liable parties accountable for their negligence. The following informative article offers insight into Dallas medical malpractice claims, what is often required in order to see such a claim through to a successful conclusion, and the likely challenges that can arise in medical malpractice lawsuits in Texas.

Who’s to Blame in a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Dallas?

Most people assume that the only liable party in a medical malpractice civil suit is the medical professional that performed the surgery, or provided the drug, or, essentially, was the direct cause of the accident causing injury or death. While such an entity is a liable party, they are often not the only liable party. Medical malpractice can occur in a wide variety of ways. In many instances, a failure to diagnose or treat an issue within a reasonable amount of time can be grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. As such, there can be a number of medical professionals that may have played a role in contributing to an occurrence of medical malpractice. For example, any or all of the following types of medical professionals can be held accountable for their negligent behavior (whether active or passive) if such behavior resulted in a patient experiencing further injury or illness:

• Doctor
• Surgeon
• Nurse
• Chiropractor
• Dentist
• Dental Hygienist
• Anesthesiologist
• Nursing Home Attendant
• Obstetrician
• Pharmacist

Damages can be sought from each liable party in connection to their portion of liability in the medical malpractice injury. As these types of defendants will often be covered by various insurance policies, a medical malpractice lawsuit against multiple liable parties will quite often involve insurance agencies, which is one of the challenges of medical malpractice cases in Texas that will be discussed shortly.

Furthermore, medical malpractice lawsuits are often the most challenging types of personal injury or wrongful death cases there are in Texas. This is so for a number of reasons, including the highly technical nature of the medical profession, as well as the likely involvement of a number of liable parties responsible for the injury. As such, an injured victim stands little to no chance of being able to see a Dallas medical malpractice claim through to a successful completion without the legal help of an experienced Texas medical malpractice lawyer. Such a lawyer will be able to located relevant medical experts that can pore over your medical records in order to determine whether or not a medical malpractice lawsuit has merit. Furthermore, an experienced attorney will have the proper means to conduct a thorough investigation into your case so that substantial evidence can be gathered in order to build a robust case on your behalf. With 20 years of experience in personal injury and wrongful death law in Texas, including Dallas medical malpractice claims, Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices can help you identify all liable parties so that you can seek fair compensation from them for your injury in addition to holding them responsible for their negligent behavior so that their actions do not have to cause further harm to another person.

Proving Dallas Medical Malpractice Claims

A victim of medical malpractice in Texas bear the burden of proof in a civil lawsuit for medical malpractice. In other words, the victim’s legal representation must be able to prove upon preponderance of the evidence that a defendant caused a victim’s injury. Consequently, this also means that it is incumbent upon the injured victim to seek legal action against a liable party. An injured victim cannot simply wait to be reimbursed for their injury from the negligent party; the negligent party owes nothing to the victim unless they are compelled to award compensation to the victim through a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. In order to compel a liable party to award you compensation, your legal representation must be able provide strong and substantial evidence that works to indict the liable party, proving that the following four circumstances occurred:

The Medical Professional Owed You a Legal Duty

In medical malpractice cases, a legal duty is often described as a standard of care. Medical professionals owe their patients a certain standard of care that is commensurate with their peers’ standard of care. In other words, doctors must treat their patients as other doctors in their same field of specialization would. This is considered a high standard of care since medical professionals receive specific training and endure extensive schooling in order to learn how to be safe in treating their patients. As such, society as a whole expects such medical professionals to be knowledgeable in regards to their ability to properly diagnose and treat a patient without causing the patient further harm. Essentially, a doctor is held to a much stricter standard of care than a regular, untrained person is due to their specialized profession.

The Medical Professional Violated Their Legal Duty

Once a standard of care has been proven, it must also be shown that the liable medical professional violated that standard of care in some way. For instance, a surgeon breaches their standard of care if they operate on the wrong leg. A doctor breaches their standard of care if they prescribe a drug that is known to cause negative reactions when taken in conjunction with a drug a patient is already taking. In both instances, the medical professional should have known not to take those steps, since those steps would be considered outside of the norm of their standard of care.

However, most people do not have the necessary medical knowledge to know why a doctor, surgeon, or medical professional chose to do what they did. As a result, expert medical witnesses must be procured in order to ascertain whether or not a medical professional violated the standard of care for their profession. These expert witnesses, to truly be beneficial to Dallas medical malpractice claims, must have experience in the same field of medicine as the defendant. In other words, a plaintiff seeking compensation from an obstetrician accused of medical malpractice will benefit from the use of an expert witness in the field of obstetrics. Only such a witness will be able to properly assess whether or not a standard of care was violated. We can help you locate such expert medical witnesses in Dallas so that breach of care may be able to be proven.

The Medical Professional Acted Negligently in Some Way, Resulting in the Plaintiff’s Further Injury or Illness

A plaintiff’s legal representation must also be able to prove that the medical professional’s negligence was the cause of their further injury or illness. While some injuries are all-too-apparent, defense attorneys and insurance companies will demand hard proof that such injuries were sustained due to the negligence of a medical professional. Again, the involvement of a relevant medical expert can prove beneficial toward proving such a claim. Armed with their specialized knowledge, such medical experts can show how an injury may have been sustained due to negligence, and can also work to convince a jury that such a series of events led to the plaintiff’s further injury or illness.

The Plaintiff Incurred Damages

Damages is the legal term for financial losses incurred as a result of an injury or loss. Damages must have been incurred in some fashion by a plaintiff due to the injury sustained as a result of medical malpractice. Damages can be sought for economic losses such as medical costs, lost wages, lost future earnings, and pain and suffering. Calculating damages is an important aspect to Dallas medical malpractice claims since the amount of damages is equal to the amount of compensation a plaintiff may be able to receive. Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys have 20 years of experience in proving up damages so that our clients can stand to receive full and fair compensation for their injury or loss. Our goal is to help you back onto the road to recovery.

Challenges to Dallas Medical Malpractice Claims

As with any civil lawsuit, certain challenges germane to medical malpractice lawsuits often arise when a plaintiff decides to seek compensation for their injury through a medical malpractice lawsuit in Texas. For example, recent Texas tort reform was enacted to prevent frivolous lawsuits from being brought against medical professionals, but it simultaneously made it much more challenging for legitimate medical malpractice claims to be brought against negligent medical professionals. Caps on the amount of recoverable damages were set in place, effectively limiting the total amount of damages that an injured plaintiff could stand to receive. As a result, when we take on a medical malpractice case, we will also look for other possible liable parties on whom no cap for recoverable damages may exist. However, the challenges presented by recent tort reform should be no reason for you to not proceed in seeking justice against a liable party for your injury caused by medical malpractice. Many attorneys in Texas may refuse to take on medical malpractice cases due to their complexity or the amount of work that must often be put into such cases. With two decades of practice, the Dallas medical malpractice claims attorneys of Grossman Law Offices are prepared to help you seek justice and seek compensation against the negligent parties responsible for your injury.

Additionally, prior to treatment or undergoing a medical procedure, a patient must often sign an informed consent document. While an informed consent document may appear harmless, as it often describes the procedure being performed, possible complications, alternatives to the surgery, and what may happen if the procedure is not performed, the document also serves as a safeguard should an accident occur during the procedure. Many medical professionals attempt to use an informed consent document to exonerate themselves from any type of liability in the event of an accident. However, the existence of a patient’s signature on an informed consent document does not determine whether or not a negligent medical professional can be held accountable for their actions. The circumstances of a patient’s case determines if a medical malpractice lawsuit can be brought. If you have questions regarding your ability to sue a negligent medical professional through a medical malpractice lawsuit, even if you’ve signed an informed consent document, consider contacting our Dallas medical malpractice law firm toll-free at 1-855-326-0000.

Seeking a Dallas Medical Malpractice Attorney’s Help

Medical malpractice lawsuits in Texas are often far too complex and challenging for a victim to represent themselves. The amount of information needed, the access to investigative resources and expert medical witnesses, and the experience needed to see a medical malpractice lawsuit through to a successful completion is simply beyond the often limited legal knowledge of a layperson. Furthermore, when the Dallas medical malpractice attorneys of Grossman Law Offices are enlisted to help a victim seek compensation, we will:

• Deal with any insurance adjusters or insurance companies on your behalf so that you don’t have to.
• Take phone calls and receive correspondence, i.e. we’ll take care of the paperwork.
• Prove up your damages so that you can stand to be fairly compensated for your injury.
• Procure expert medical witnesses to testify on your behalf.
• Help you seek proper medical attention if necessary.
• Thoroughly investigate your Dallas medical malpractice claim in order to gather substantial evidence to help prove your case.
• Pressure the defendants to negotiate a fair settlement offer so that you may not have to step foot in court.
• Work to defend your case in court if a trial is necessary.

If you have reason to believe that your injury or illness was the result of medical malpractice in Dallas or elsewhere in Texas, contact the Texas medical malpractice lawyers at Grossman Law Offices at our toll-free number, 1-855-326-0000, for a free and confidential legal consultation. We’ll answer your questions and provide you with your possible legal options. We want to help you seek compensation that can assist you on the road to recovery while also working to hold the negligent medical professionals responsible for their behavior so that a future accident does not have to harm someone else.