When doctors make mistakes, the results can be extremely painful and lead to permanent disabilities. We trust doctors to perform to professional standards and with a reasonable degree of care, but sometimes they get lazy or distracted, and they don’t provide the care you need.
When that happens, you deserve to receive compensation for your losses, including your suffering.
The knowledgeable team at the Grimmett Law Firm fights to help victims of medical malpractice receive full and fair damages. No amount of money can make up for your pain, lost opportunities, and other aspects of a medical mistake, but compensation can provide a sense of justice and provide resources to meet your future needs.
Diagnosing Medical Malpractice
Not every harmful result in a medical setting is caused by malpractice. A doctor or other health care provider is liable for malpractice when they act (or fail to act) in a manner that meets reasonable standards under the circumstances. A doctor working in the fast-paced emergency room environment, for instance, is not expected to provide the same attention to detail as a doctor with the time to conduct a thorough examination.
Many different types of behaviors can constitute medical malpractice. Victims have been able to recover compensation after suffering harm caused by:
- Failure to diagnose a disease or delay in diagnosing a condition
- Prescribing an incorrect dose of medication
- Errors committed during surgery such as leaving a medical item in a patient’s body
- Mistakes with anesthesia
- Performing a procedure without informing the patient of the risks
- Not providing proper treatment for a diagnosed condition
Doctors are not likely to admit it when they’ve made a mistake, so it is often necessary to bring in experts who can testify as to what the standard should have been and how the doctor failed to live up to that standard. You will also need to show how the medical malpractice caused your harm.
Special Rules that Apply to Medical Malpractice Cases
It is important to pay attention to some rules and requirements that apply to malpractice cases in Tennessee. First, victims have a very limited time to file a claim. A lawsuit must be prepared and filed within one year of the mistake or within one year of the time the patient learned about the mistake. Even if it took a while for the medical error to become obvious, the patient must file a claim within three years unless there is evidence that someone tried to cover up the mistake or the case involves a foreign object negligently left inside a patient’s body.
Before the victim can file a lawsuit, they are required to send written notice of the claim to the health care providers involved. In addition, they also need to obtain a certificate of good faith with a statement from a medical expert expressing a belief the patient has legal grounds for filing a claim based on the medical evidence.
Because of all of these requirements, it is important to start working with a medical malpractice attorney as soon as you realize a mistake may have been made.
The Grimmett Law Firm Fights for Victims of Medical Malpractice
Proving that a doctor failed to live up to professional responsibilities can be a challenging task, but at the Grimmett Law Firm, we firmly believe that every victim deserves the best chance to receive fair compensation for their losses. We dig deep to uncover evidence to support your claims and we fight hard to show why you are entitled to receive maximum damages.
If you or a loved one suffered because of a doctor’s negligence, contact us for a free consultation to learn how we can help.