MEDICAL MALPRACTICE, DENTAL MALPRACTICE, NURSING HOME ABUSE AND NEGLECT

                Cases against physicians, nurses, hospitals, dentists, nursing homes and other healthcare providers are difficult to win in Alabama.  Just because something goes wrong or was unexpected does not mean the physician, nurse, hospital or nursing home did anything wrong or that anything they did or failed to do caused an injury to either you or some member of your family.

             In order to be successful in a case against a healthcare provider in Alabama, you must show, first of all, that the healthcare provider was negligent.  In order to prove negligence, you must prove the healthcare provider breached the accepted standard of care in the national medical community.  Testimony as to the standard of care must come from a “similarly situated healthcare provider.”  For example, if your claim is against an orthopedic surgeon, you must have testimony from another orthopedic surgeon who was practicing in the same line of practice within the year prior to the alleged negligent act.  Therefore, if your lawsuit is against an orthopedic surgeon, you will not be successful by presenting evidence from a pediatrician regarding the orthopedic surgeon’s care and treatment of you.

             Assuming you are able to prove your physician breached the standard of care in the national medical community, you must also show that his breach of the standard of care caused an injury or worsened your condition.  Just because a physician breached the standard of care does not mean he caused an injury to you.  For example, assume your physician prescribed the wrong antibiotic for your infection.  You then consulted another physician who prescribed the correct antibiotic and you made a full recovery.  Although there may have been a breach of the standard of care, the breach only delayed your recovery and did not cause an injury or worsen your condition. 

             Assuming you are able to prove your physician breached the standard of care and his breach of the standard of care caused you to suffer an injury or worsened your condition, you must also prove you are entitled to sufficient damages to warrant a lawsuit.  Damages would include compensation for medical bills, lost wages, mental distress, pain and suffering, etc.  The amount of damages you claim must be sufficient to warrant a lawsuit against a healthcare provider.  T he cost in pursuing a malpractice case to trial is expensive.  The cost of pursuing a lawsuit to trial might actually be greater than the damages recovered.  Under those circumstances, an attorney is likely to decline to represent you in a malpractice action.

             Decisions whether to pursue a malpractice claim need to be decided within a specific time period.  Normally, under most conditions, an adult would have two years from the date of any malpractice to file a lawsuit and no more than four years from the date of malpractice under certain extenuating circumstances.  If the claim is against a city or county owned hospital, you are required to give notice by verified claim within a much shorter time period, namely, within six or twelve months of the negligent act, prior to filing a lawsuit.  Therefore, there is a limited time in order to investigate and decide whether or not to pursue a malpractice lawsuit.  Such a decision necessitates obtaining the medical records and having the medical records reviewed by an appropriate “similarly situated healthcare provider” who is willing to testify against an Alabama healthcare provider if there is a breach of the standard of care.

             The first step in order to determine whether you have a legal right which can be addressed by the proper court of law is normally to consult an attorney.  After consulting an attorney, it may be determined you do not have a credible claim against an Alabama healthcare provider.  If the attorney is not sure, he may ask you to sign authorizations in order for him to obtain copies of your medical records.  Obtaining copies of your medical records might take six to eight weeks.   After receiving your medical records, the attorney will evaluate the records.  If the attorney believes there is a medical malpractice claim, he will normally forward the records to be evaluated by a “similarly situated healthcare provider', also referred to as an expert witness, willing to testify against an Alabama healthcare provider if he or she believes the healthcare provider breached the standard of care and that the breach of the standard of care caused an injury.  The expert witness will normally report back to the attorney regarding the appropriateness of the medical care provided and whether the healthcare provider breached the standard of care.

             After a report is obtained from the expert witness, the attorney can advise you whether he or she is willing to file a malpractice action on your behalf.  Once a lawsuit is filed, it may take two years or more in order to reach trial.   Few healthcare provider malpractice lawsuits filed in Alabama settle before trial.

            Should you have any questions regarding a potential claim against an Alabama healthcare provider, feel free to contact me at  205.879.2490 or Email Me.