Maryland Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Helping Victims Recover Compensation

Doctors and healthcare providers go through years of schooling and extensive training to be able to work competently in their field. People justifiably rely on physicians, surgeons, and other medical staff to provide the best care possible to keep them healthy. However, situations sometimes occur where a patient is injured because of negligence on the part of someone in the medical community. In such instances, the negligent individual who caused the injury can be held responsible for their actions in a court of law in a Maryland medical malpractice lawsuit.

If you believe that you have suffered an injury because of the negligence of a medical professional, it’s critical that you speak to an experienced Maryland medical malpractice lawyer as soon as you can. At Alpert Schreyer Poe, LLC, we are committed to helping the victims of medical malpractice recover compensation for all of their losses. We will review the facts of your case for free and will never collect legal fees unless we successfully recover compensation on your behalf.

To schedule your free case evaluation with a medical malpractice attorney in Maryland, call our office today at (301) 812-4777 or contact us online.

Common Examples of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional fails to use the degree of care that would be used by another reasonable healthcare professional with the same training and experience. This means that not every mistake made by a healthcare provider is medical malpractice. The question is whether a reasonable healthcare professional with similar experience or training could have made the same mistake.

There are a number of different circumstances where a patient can suffer injury, illness, or death due to medical malpractice. For example, a doctor may perform a surgery on a patient that would otherwise be considered a routine procedure, but could accidentally leave a surgical tool inside the patient, causing additional pain and suffering once the procedure is completed. Another example is the misdiagnosis of a condition or the failure to diagnose a condition, both of which can potentially lead to serious illness or even death.

A fairly simple example of a mistake that is often not malpractice is when a physician fails to diagnose a medical condition that presents a lot like another, more common medical condition. So long as the doctor performed the right tests and came to a reasonable conclusion, it’s unlikely that medical malpractice occurred, even if he or she came to the wrong conclusion.

It’s important to understand, however, that there are cases where misdiagnosis of a medical condition is medical malpractice. For example, if a patient presented with a set of symptoms that would lead another physician to order certain tests to rule out a diagnosis but your physician didn’t, it’s possible that medical malpractice occurred. For this reason, it’s always important to have an attorney review the facts of your case after a medical mistake.

Here are some examples of medical errors that commonly rise to the level of actionable malpractice:

• Surgical errors: When you go under the knife, you are putting your life in the hands of the medical team that is performing your surgery. While not every surgery can go off without a hitch, there are certain errors that should never happen during a surgical procedure. These include leaving surgical instruments or sponges inside of patient’s bodies, operating on the wrong limb, breaking sterile technique, performing the wrong procedure, and operating on the wrong patient.
• Birth injuries: Many birth injuries are the result of medical malpractice that happens during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. In the most serious cases, the birth injuries caused by medical malpractice can leave victims with lifelong problems, such as those caused by conditions like cerebral palsy. Examples of medical malpractice that can lead to serious birth injuries include failure to diagnose medical conditions in the mother, failure to monitor fetal vital signs, misuse of forceps or vacuum tubes, and failure to order a cesarean section in a timely manner.
• Medication errors: Medication errors are another type of medical malpractice that can result in serious injury to patients. Common examples of medication errors include prescribing or administering the wrong medication, prescribing or administering the wrong dosage, administering medication to the wrong patient, or failing to check for contraindications prior to prescribing or administering medication.

What to Do if You Were the Victim of Medical Malpractice

It is imperative that anyone injured or harmed because of medical negligence contact an experienced hospital error lawyer or medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. The medical community carries a huge responsibility to ensure that all patients are given the proper caliber of care and that all procedures and regulations are followed. However, when a medical practitioner overlooks their responsibility, whether for profit or another reason, their negligent actions can significantly affect the lives of their patients. In some cases, the consequences of medical malpractice can affect victims for years or even decades, significantly affecting their quality of life and causing millions of dollars in completely avoidable medical expenses.

As a patient, it’s important to understand that there are certain things that you can do to protect your legal rights after you’ve been injured by medical malpractice. These include:

• Change healthcare providers. If your healthcare provider suspects that you are thinking about filing a malpractice claim, he or she may modify records or your treatment plan in an effort to minimize your chances of success.
• Get a copy of your medical records as soon as you can.
• Continue to seek medical treatment for your condition or for your malpractice-related injuries. In addition, follow your treatment recommendations and attend all follow-up appointments.
• Document details about the malpractice and the way your injuries have affected you. Medical malpractice cases can drag on for years, and it’s important to keep records of your contemporaneous observations about what occurred as well as the way in which the malpractice has affected your life.
• Finally, contact an attorney as soon as you can. Malpractice claims must be filed within a certain amount of time; if they are not, a judge will bar the claim entirely. In addition, it’s best to contact an attorney sooner rather than later, as waiting to start investigating an incident of medical malpractice can result in the loss or destruction of evidence critical to the success of your claim.

The dedicated medical malpractice lawyers at Alpert Schreyer Poe have handled a variety of personal injury cases over the years and have extensive knowledge of the medical malpractice laws in Maryland. A patient who sustains injury due to a medical professional’s negligence deserves to know what their legal options are. Many times, a medical injury or condition caused by a healthcare provider’s oversight can be overwhelming for a family. The injured person may not be able to return to work, either temporarily or permanently in some cases, which can cause significant financial strain. In addition, mounting medical bills, decreased quality of life, and depression can take a serious toll, leaving the injured person and their family feeling utterly alone. However, the understanding attorneys at Alpert Schreyer Poe are here to help. Call us today to learn how our legal team can help you.

What Damages Are Typically Available in a Malpractice Case?

When a negligent medical professional is held accountable for their actions, they may be required to financially compensate a patient or family members of a wrongfully killed patient for certain losses they suffered.

Some compensatory damages that may be available include, but are not limited to:

• Funeral expenses (if a wrongful death results)
• Loss of present and future income
• Medical expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Rehabilitation costs

Contact a Maryland Attorney Today for a Free Consultation

If you have recently been the victim of medical malpractice, there’s a good chance that you’re concerned about the costs associated with hiring an attorney. This is certainly understandable, especially if the malpractice to which you were subjected resulted in additional medical expenses and is preventing you from working. Even if it didn’t result in either, it’s a well-known fact that lawyers can charge high hourly fees, and most of us want to save money whenever possible.

At Alpert Schreyer Poe, we never charge our clients any up-front fees to work on a medical malpractice case. In addition, we will only collect fees at all if we successfully recover compensation on your behalf, and the fees we collect will be a percentage of your total recovery. In other words, you’ll never have to use money you already have to pay for legal representation. By using this type of fee arrangement, we can ensure that everyone who needs legal representation because of medical malpractice can get it, regardless of the ability to pay up front.

If you have suffered serious injury or illness due to medical malpractice in Maryland, please contact the personal injury law firm of Alpert Schreyer Poe to see how we can help. Our dedicated legal staff is here to ensure that you understand your rights and options.

To schedule a free and confidential case evaluation, call today at (301) 812-4777 or email us.