Medical error and patient death have become a far too common pairing. A new study released by the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, has placed medical error as the third leading cause of death in the U.S., claiming over 251,000 victims annually. If you or a loved one suffered preventable injuries due to medical negligence, you could hold the medical professional or establishment accountable for their actions.
A Columbus medical error medical malpractice lawyer at The Fitch Law Firm LLC is equipped to assist you in a claim for just compensation. Through a free case review, we can assess the merits of your case and answer any questions you have about the legal process involved in medical malpractice claims in Ohio.
No Fees to Get Started with Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers
We offer our clients our no-fee guarantee for medical malpractice cases and other personal injury claims. We do not charge you any upfront legal fees for our services. Our time, knowledge, resources, and experience are available to you when we accept your case. You will only pay for the legal help you receive if we resolve your case with monetary compensation.
In other words, if we do not recover, you do not pay. We have this contingency fee pricing in place to effectively level the playing field, allowing equal access to justice for injury victims in Columbus, no matter their economic status. free legal consultation with a medical error lawyer serving Columbus, call: (614) 412-8477
For a free legal consultation with a medical error lawyer serving Columbus, call: (614) 545-3930
Call Now »Pursuing Damages in a Malpractice Claim from Medical Errors
A Columbus medical error medical malpractice attorney at our law firm can seek damages for various losses on your behalf. A medical error can render you unnecessarily ill, injured, debilitated, or disabled. Worse still, each of those may come with another set of challenges. For example:
- You may not be able to work
- You cannot take care of your family
- You cannot help out at home
- You have exorbitant medical bills
- You are left in a mentally withdrawn or depressive state because you cannot function as you used to.
Damages You May Be Able to Recover in a Medical Malpractice Claim
Ohio law allows medical error victims to recover compensation to help make them whole after these types of losses. Consequently, you might be entitled to collect damages for expenses, injuries, and losses, such as:
- Pending and future medical bills for surgeries, in-patient care, emergency care, and other medical treatment
- Medication and medical supplies and equipment
- Loss of income, wages, or profits
- Loss of future earning ability
- Transportation to medical appointments
- Professional home services required for your illness or injury
- Physical and occupational rehabilitation
- Physical pain and suffering (severe pain, loss of bodily functions, damaged nerves, etc.)
- Emotional pain and suffering like depression, shame, emotional withdrawal, mistrust of medical professionals, etc.
- Lost quality of life
If a negligent medical error led to a loved one’s death, you could file a claim for compensation for wrongful death per Ohio Revised Code Section 2125. You may be able to recover money for funeral expenses, lost financial support, loss of consortium, medical bills, and more in a wrongful death lawsuit.y
The Last Thing You Should Worry About Is How You’re Going To Pay For Your Medical Bills.
Talk To An Attorney Now »How Our Medical Malpractice Attorneys Will Fight for You
Our law firm is not just here to help you with your medical error malpractice case—we are here to handle it for you. Filing a medical malpractice claim entails nuances that may be difficult to manage for those unfamiliar with the legalities of such cases. Therefore, an injury lawyer at our firm serving victims of medical error will:
- Investigate the cause of your illness or injuries
- Gather the evidence necessary to tie your injuries to the medical error that caused them
- Obtain the expert testimony legally required to demonstrate that the medical professional violated the standard of care when they treated you
- Compile documented proof of your injuries and losses
- Negotiate on your behalf for a fair settlement
- Prepare your case for trial if an agreement cannot be reached
- Fight for a just financial award in court
- Ensure your case is filed before the legal deadline
- Provide consistent updates on the progress of your case
As much as possible, we want you to rest easy and let our dedicated Columbus medical error medical malpractice attorneys fight for what you deserve.
Medical Error is Responsible for More Deaths Than You Realize
Published on May 3, 2016, a John Hopkins study looks into the inability of the CDC’s current death certificate coding system to be able to reflect medical error as a cause of death. The current system does not allow preventable medical treatment errors to be cited as a cause of death. These medical errors can occur due to miscommunication, incorrect diagnoses, insufficient skills, etc., yet the cause of death will be coded as acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, acute renal failure, or another health condition. While the immediate cause is listed, its preventable precursor goes undocumented.
By extrapolating the statistics and information available from various agencies and establishments within the medical community, the study’s authors revealed the misrepresented cause of death classifications that have hidden medical error as the third leading cause of death.
Researchers believe the reported number may still be too low and misrepresentative of a much larger statistic. The study shares findings based on medical errors that result in patient deaths and does not even begin to shed light on the hundreds of thousands of patients that have incurred pain and suffering due to this exact cause.
Medical Errors are Preventable Mistakes that Claim Lives
Patients turn to healthcare professionals and systems when routine and emergency medical concerns must be addressed. Unfortunately, in this vulnerable state, patients find themselves at the mercy of professionals, systems, and procedures that often lack a checks and balances system. When errors in communication, diagnosis, judgment, and skill present during treatment, patients can find themselves paying the ultimate price with their lives.
The recent eye-opening study out of John Hopkins marks the first time since 1999 that this serious issue plaguing the medical community has been researched. The result, which cannot be ignored, is a frightening and preventable statistic pairing medical error and patient death.
Medical error is not a disease; it is a problem. If the CDC expanded the coding options on death certificates to include medical errors resulting in preventable death, a clearer picture of this common occurrence would be available. The existence of such a code would show that medical error is the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S., being surpassed only by heart disease and cancer. The Way
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The Medical Community Must Be Held Accountable for Needless Injuries and Deaths
Unlike the other two leading causes, a medical error results from human error or a breakdown in procedure or system management. As such, a responsible party is determinable.
Preventable corruption of quality care standards carries the ultimate price tag for far too many patients. This new research study makes it abundantly clear that lives are being lost due to erroneous actions within the medical community. Unfortunately, the reporting system’s flaws for such cases have allowed these actions and practices to be swept under the rug and recorded as other maladies. Patients and families should be able to trust medical care rather than fear a medical error.
Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers Get Results for Our Clients
At The Fitch Law Firm LLC, our legal team has decades of experience handling personal injury cases. We have obtained millions of dollars in settlements and court awards for our previous clients who suffered due to negligent or reckless medical errors. Here are just a few of our notable case results:
- $2,650,000 – after an infant suffered a serious neurological injury at birth due to improper medical treatment of her mother
- $1,550,000 – for the death of a 40-year-old male resulting from a failure to diagnose a rare form of cancer in time
Every case is unique. Our medical error medical malpractice lawyer serving Columbus will investigate your case, determine liability, and calculate your economic and non-economic damages in your compensation claim.
Our Columbus Medical Error Medical Malpractice Attorneys Will Hold Providers Responsible
Disguising the truth can no longer be an option. If you or a loved one has been affected by a medical error resulting in death or preventable injury, contact a Columbus medical error medical malpractice lawyer from The Fitch Law Firm LLC today.