Laredo Medical Malpractice Attorney

Medical mistakes often lead to severe injuries and illnesses for those involved. At Nevárez Law Group, our Laredo medical malpractice attorneys understand how challenging these cases can become, particularly when working to recover compensation for a victim. We have extensive resources at our disposal, and we know what it takes to fully investigate medical mistake cases to ensure that our clients have proper care every step of the way.

Why Choose Nevárez Law Group for Your Medical Malpractice Claim?

• At Nevárez Law Group, we have more than 20 years of experience handling complex injury and malpractice claims throughout Texas and the US.
• Our attorneys, such as our Laredo accident lawyers, are committed to making a difference, even if this means standing up to medical professionals and medical agencies when they make a mistake.
• We take medical malpractice claims on a contingency fee basis. This means that clients will never have to worry about paying a dime in legal fees until we secure the money they need.

Do You Need an Attorney for a Medical Malpractice Case in Laredo?

Medical malpractice claims are notoriously difficult and nearly impossible for individuals without any legal experience. You can be sure that medical professionals and health care agencies will have extensive legal teams to help prevent them from paying out compensation.

A medical malpractice lawyer in Laredo will use their resources to go toe-to-toe with these other parties. This will include fully investigating the incident, working with trusted third-party medical experts, and handling all negotiations with other parties involved.

Medical malpractice claims and lawsuits can arise when people are injured by careless or intentional acts of a doctor, nurse, psychiatrist, dentist, chiropractor, podiatrist, hospital, or other healthcare providers. When these actions cause an injury to another person (but the actions do not rise to the level of a crime), they are said to be a ‘tort,‘ or civil wrong, which can provide the basis for a lawsuit.

When someone is determined to be legally responsible for injuring someone else, they are liable for the injury and may be made to pay the injured person compensatory damages. Compensatory damages attempt to put an injured person back in the position he or she was in before being injured. In some cases, punitive damages are also awarded in these lawsuits. Punitive damages are intended to punish wrongdoers and prevent them from harming others.

If a death has occurred as a result of medical malpractice, please reach out to one of our wrongful death lawyers in Laredo as soon as possible.

What is the Medical Standard of Care?

When working to determine negligence in a medical malpractice case, we will use the measuring stick typically referred to as the “medical standard of care.” Similar to other types of Laredo personal injury claims, we see that medical professionals and facilities owe a duty of care under certain circumstances. If a person is legally considered a patient, meaning that a doctor-patient relationship has been established, then the professional will owe that person a medical standard of care.

The medical standard of care will typically be defined as the level and type of care that a reasonably skilled and competent medical professional with a similar background in the same medical community would have provided under similar circumstances.

How To Prove Medical Malpractice

Establishing the medical standard of care and determining whether or not this standard has been violated can be challenging. Typically, an attorney involved in the case will enlist assistance from trusted medical experts who can evaluate the claim, the medical records, and the patient and provide testimony to insurance carriers or during a medical malpractice trial.

The ultimate goal show that the four elements of negligence have been established:

• Duty. If there is a doctor-patient relationship established, this is enough to definitively say that the medical professional owed the plaintiff a duty of care. The duty of care revolves around the medical standard of care just defined above.
• Breach. If it can be shown that there was a duty of care owed by the medical professional to the plaintiff, the next step is showing that the medical professional somehow breached their duty of care. If a medical professional failed to uphold the medical standard of care, then they will have breached their duty.
• Causation. It must be shown that the breach of duty directly or indirectly caused the injury or illness of the medical malpractice victim.
• Damages. Finally, it must be established that the medical malpractice victim suffered some sort of monetary loss as a result of the incident, including medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering damages.

Types Of Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle

Some of the most common types of medical errors that we help clients with include the following:

• Missed Diagnosis – If a medical professional completely misses a diagnosis because they failed to do their due diligence, this can lead to disastrous outcomes.
• Delayed Diagnosis – Similar to a missed diagnosis, a delayed diagnosis can also lead to significant patient harm. A delayed diagnosis can lead to individuals receiving care much later than they should have, often after an illness or injury causes much more damage.
• Lack of Informed Consent – Medical professionals are required to obtain informed consent from a patient before proceeding with any medical procedures. Failing to do so is a massive breach of trust.
• Birth Injuries – Many birth injuries are entirely preventable if the labor and delivery team continuously monitors a mother and baby before, during, and after the delivery.
• Misread X-rays, Slides, and Ultrasounds – If a radiologist or any other medical provider misinterprets the various scans or tests individuals take, this can lead to a misdiagnosis or a completely missed diagnosis.
• Medical Device Errors – There are many medical devices individuals use both in the hospital setting and in an outpatient setting. If these medical devices are not set up or used properly, it can lead to major patient harm.
• Medication / Pharmaceutical Errors – Medication and pharmaceutical errors can occur at various steps of treatment. These mistakes can include giving a patient the incorrect medication, the wrong dosage of a medication, or not giving them a medication at all.
• Dental Malpractice – Dentists are medical professionals who must also uphold a standard of medical care for each patient. If a dentist makes a mistake, this can lead to patient infections, deformities, and the need for follow-up treatment.

Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect – Nursing home residents could experience a range of types of abuse at the hands of nurses or nursing home assistants. This can include physi

What Are Some Early Signs Of Medical Malpractice? 

There are various signs and symptoms that individuals and their family members need to be aware of that could indicate that medical malpractice has occurred. However, please understand that some signs and symptoms may not be visible for some time after a medical procedure. If you begin to notice anything that affects your health, we encourage you to seek medical care immediately. A medical provider may be able to link your symptoms to a previous medical procedure.

Some of the early signs of medical malpractice can include:

• Worsening of symptoms. If a person goes to a doctor for certain signs and symptoms, but these symptoms continue to get worse even after treatment or after a diagnosis, this could be a sign that either a misdiagnosis has occurred or the doctor failed to diagnose the issue.
• New symptoms after a procedure. If a person begins to experience new symptoms that may or may not be related to the original medical issue, this could be a sign that a mistake was made by a medical professional during treatment or a procedure.
• Reactions to medications. Medication mistakes are a leading cause of medical malpractice claims. If an individual begins to experience any reaction to a medication or a dosage of their medication, this could be a sign that malpractice has occurred.
• Death during or after a procedure. Anytime an individual loses their life during a medical procedure or soon after the procedure, the case should be investigated. This does not necessarily mean that a mistake occurred, but it could be a case of malpractice that should be looked into.

There are times when doctors or other medical professionals on the team will admit that a mistake was made. This confession could come in an offhand comment or a conversation overheard by family members or the patient themselves.

Compensation Available for Medical Malpractice Victims

Medical malpractice victims may be able to recover various types of compensation for their losses. At Nevárez Law Group, we work diligently to recover both economic and non-economic damages on behalf of medical malpractice victims in Laredo.

• Economic medical malpractice damages. This includes the calculable expenses that medical malpractice victims experience. Some of the most common economic damages in these situations include:
  • Extended medical bills caused by the medical mistake
  • Physical therapy and rehabilitation expenses
  • The cost of prescription medications or medical devices
  • Lost wages if a victim cannot work
  • Out-of-pocket expenses 
• Non-economic medical malpractice damages. This refers to the types of losses that are not as easily measured by gathering bills or receipts. These are often referred to as “immeasurable” losses, though there are ways to properly measure them. Some of the most common non-economic medical malpractice damages include a person’s:
  • Physical pain and suffering caused by the mistake
  • Emotional and psychological trauma caused by the malpractice
  • Loss of consortium or companionship for a spouse or family members

Texas Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations  

Every state places limitations on how long individuals have to file medical malpractice lawsuits against the alleged negligent medical provider. When we examine Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 74.251, we can see that all medical malpractice claims should be filed within two years from the date of the alleged malpractice. If the harm occurs as part of an ongoing course of medical treatment, the two-year time frame does not begin counting down until the course of treatment has concluded.

Of course, there are some exceptions to these deadlines that you should be aware of.

What is a Statute of Repose?

A statute of repose is a limitation beyond the typical statute of limitations that applies only in certain scenarios. In Texas, individuals can still file a medical malpractice lawsuit beyond the original two-year statute of limitations. Individuals cannot file a medical malpractice lawsuit more than ten years after the alleged malpractice, no matter when the victim discovers that a medical error occurred.

What About Minors Harmed Due to Medical Negligence?

If a child is harmed due to a medical mistake before they reach the age of 12, then their parent or guardian has until the child turns 14 years of age to file a lawsuit, even if they will not reach the age of 14 until after the two-year statute of limitations. If a child is injured at or below the age of five, then the parent or guardian will have until that child turns nine years of age to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

How To File A Medical Malpractice Claim 

Medical malpractice claims are notoriously challenging, and just initiating the case comes with different steps than a traditional personal injury lawsuit. Medical malpractice victims must serve the defendant (the alleged negligent party) with written notice of intent to file a claim at least 60 days before filing, and this notice must also include the victim’s authorization for the release of their protected health information. The defendant will have 45 days to obtain your health records. Failing to go through these steps will halt any further legal proceedings.

After this initial process, the discovery phase will begin. This is when both sides exchange evidence and information with one another so they know what to expect at trial. There will also likely be depositions taken from the victim and any expert medical witnesses related to the case.

There are very complex interrogatories associated with medical malpractice claims in Texas. These are written questions sent to the opposite side requesting answers that can be used to establish facts presented to a jury.

There are other timelines associated with these phases of a medical malpractice claim. After written interrogatories are completed along with other phases of the discovery process, there will likely be some pretrial litigation and negotiations. If evidence has pushed one side or the other towards a resolution, including a settlement or completely dropping the claim, then the case will be over. However, the case may need to go forward to a trial, which means a jury will hear both sides.

Contact A Laredo Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today

If you or somebody you love has sustained an injury caused by the negligent actions of a medical professional in the Laredo area, the Laredo injury attorneys at Nevárez Law Group are standing by to help. We have vast resources at our disposal, and our team has an extensive history of success in recovering significant settlements and jury verdicts on behalf of clients. Let us investigate your claim and stand up to aggressive turn carriers to ensure that you are cared for. When you need a Laredo medical malpractice attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation of your case by clicking here or calling us at (830) 776-7003.

NEIGHBORHOODS IN LAREDO, TX WE SERVE

Las Cruces, Colonia Los Obispos , El Cuatro , El Tonto, El Trompe, Ponderosa Hills , Canta Ranas , Siete Viejo , Dellwood Park , Chacon, Regency Park, J.S.J. Estates , Crown Ridge, San Jose, Woodlands, Towne East, Creekside, Cielito Lindo, Colonia Los Obispos, Las Lomas, Las Polkas, Los Amores, La Ladrillera, El Trece , Chaparral Village, Vista Hermosa, Santa Rita, Santa Fe, Sierra Vista, George Washington, Concord Hills, and more!