You should never bear the cost of a preventable medical error. The responsible doctor, nurse, hospital, or other medical provider acted improperly and harmed you. Texas law allows patients to file a lawsuit demanding full compensation for their expenses and losses related to the injury.
Our Houston medical malpractice attorneys at AK Law Firm will:
- Work with independent medical experts to analyze your medical records and any hospital records to determine what happened, the nature of the harm, and who was responsible
- Establish the full amount of your medical damages
- File a medical malpractice lawsuit against the careless medical provider or hospital
- Negotiate aggressively on your behalf for a fair settlement
- Take your medical malpractice case to trial if there are no acceptable settlement offers
Let a personal injury lawyer from AK Law Firm help you while you recover from your medical injury. Our medical malpractice attorneys are compassionate listeners and want to help you meet your individual recovery goals. Call our Houston trial lawyers today.
Medical malpractice occurs when a medical doctor, hospital, or any healthcare professional deviates from what is considered the accepted standard or level of care when providing care to patients. Proving medical malpractice requires an attorney to show that the provider’s care was negligent, and their medical negligence resulted in harm or wrongful death to the patient.
Common medical malpractice claims include the following:
- Delay or failure to diagnose a medical condition
- Delay or failure to properly treat a medical condition, such as cancer
- Errors in blood tests or other laboratory errors
- Failure to diagnose
- Misdiagnosis
- Nursing home abuse
- Hospital errors
- Prescribing or administering the wrong medication (medication errors)
- Improper administration or use of anesthesia
- Surgical infections
- Surgical errors
- Unnecessary surgery
- Birth injuries
- Brain injuries or brain damage
- Failure to obtain patient consent
Compensation in a medical malpractice claim depends on the extent of a victim’s serious injuries. Medical malpractice awards may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of future lost earnings
- Lost wages
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Medical bills
- Accommodations for disability
- Mental and emotional trauma
There are exceptional medical malpractice cases where a doctor or healthcare provider acted so recklessly or so egregiously that the court awards punitive damages. Punitive damages are a rare form of damages meant to punish or deter future conduct.
Medical malpractice is rarely intentional. Sometimes, personal judgments lead to mistakes. However, it is unacceptable for any patient to pay for the error of a medical or healthcare provider.
Suffering a medical injury can cause significant financial hardship, leading to thousands in unpaid medical bills, lost wages, and other losses. Many medical malpractice victims refrain from filing lawsuits against the professionals responsible for their injuries because of this instability.
The truth is that many medical malpractice lawyers are aware of these barriers to justice. To make medical malpractice litigation more accessible, AK Law Firm accepts all cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that you only pay for our attorneys’ services unless we secure compensation on your behalf. If we do not win, you do not have to pay legal fees.
Under this arrangement, our firm assumes the risk for your case. Contingency fees also reduce your out-of-pocket costs; instead of paying for legal services outright, our Houston medical malpractice lawyers will retain an agreed-upon percentage of your final settlement as payment. The typical contingency fee is around 33%, and your attorney will inform you of the details of this arrangement beforehand.
If you plan on filing a medical malpractice claim, it is important to know the statute of limitations. This law sets a deadline for filing a civil lawsuit in Texas court, and if you fail to file by the specified deadline, the court will dismiss your claim.
Texas medical malpractice victims have two years from the date of their injury to file a lawsuit against a negligent healthcare worker. If you experienced this harm due to an ongoing course of treatment, you have two years from the date that your treatment concludes to file your lawsuit. If you were a child under the age of 12 at the time of the malpractice, you must file the lawsuit by your 14th birthday.
In addition to the statute of limitations, Texas enforces a rule known as the statute of repose. According to this law, you have no more than 10 years from the date of the alleged medical error to file your claim. A statute of repose acts as a catch-all deadline for civil lawsuits, so if you file more than 10 years later, the court will almost certainly dismiss your claim.
Texas is stricter than many states in regard to statutes of limitations due to the lack of a discovery rule, which usually extends filing deadlines in cases where the patient could not have reasonably known about a medical injury until a later date. While there may be some exceptions to this rule, such as cases involving fraudulently concealed information, it is important to speak to an attorney from our medical malpractice law firm as soon as possible to determine your filing deadline.
A medical error can have a devastating impact on your health and well-being. However, the lawsuit process can be lengthy and complex, requiring several pieces of evidence and specialized medical knowledge to prove.
To preserve evidence and protect your health, take the following steps as soon as you realize you may be the victim of medical malpractice.
- Find another doctor. Your first priority should be your health and health care, and if you believe a medical professional committed an act of malpractice, you need to find another physician who can undo the damage and provide appropriate treatment. In addition, seeking the opinion of a second medical professional will provide valuable evidence for your case.
- Request copies of your medical records. These records will play a vital role in your claim, so it is important to obtain as much documentation as possible. Save all records from any future appointments as well.
- Document your symptoms and experiences in a journal. Keeping a journal will create a record of what you had to endure due to the doctor’s negligence, which can be valuable for your claim. Each day, write notes about your condition, how the medical error has impacted your life, the treatment you receive, and whether you had to take time off from work to correct the error.
- Contact a medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. Medical malpractice lawsuits are very complex and can be difficult to win without the knowledge, support, and resources of an attorney. Your medical malpractice lawyer from AK Law Firm can guide you through each stage of your case, allowing you to focus on treatment and recovery.
The moments after experiencing medical malpractice can feel overwhelming and disorienting. However, acting quickly to secure evidence and seek help will protect your best interests later on in the case process. Since Texas’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice is relatively short, taking these steps immediately will help you ensure that you meet the appropriate filing deadline and preserve your right to compensation.
