Medical malpractice claims can be highly contentious legal situations to navigate. In the event that you decide to take legal action against a medical professional who you believe was negligent, you may find yourself facing a team of attorneys representing them. You will not want to endure such a situation alone. The result of doing so could put yourself at risk for making agreements that are not in your best interest. You will most likely need to retain a medical malpractice lawyer in Phoenix AZsuch as one from Rispoli Law, PLLC. We can provide you with premier legal services for your medical malpractice case.

What is Medical Malpractice?

You may have a case for medical malpractice if you have suffered injuries at the hands of a medical professional. If you believe that your doctor was negligent, it will be important to retain the services of a medical malpractice lawyer in Phoenix AZ. Medical malpractice is when a doctor does not uphold their duty of care to a patient. Examples of medical malpractice include:

 

• Your doctor misdiagnoses you and as a result you go through unnecessary surgeries or treatments that are harmful.

• Your doctor treats or operates on the wrong area of the body.

• Your doctor fails to diagnose a disease that ultimately spreads and causes you more harm

• Your doctor does not inform you of the risks associated with treatment.

• Your doctor does not receive your consent prior to providing you with their recommended treatment.

• There was a mistake in the amount of anesthesia administered during a surgical procedure.

 

What constitutes a medical malpractice lawsuit?

There are numerous successful and groundbreaking medical procedures that occur every day in the United States. At the same time, there are many situations where unnecessary injury or even death occurs as a result of negligent action on the part of the health care professional. When it comes to medical malpractice claims, it is a very complicated, time consuming and often costly process. It is imperative that you are able to establish that you have a case and that you understand what is required throughout the litigation process. To do so, you need an experienced medical malpractice lawyer in Phoenix, AZ.

At Rispoli Law, PLLC., we are often asked about the most common grounds for medical malpractice cases. They are:

 

• Failure to diagnose the patient correctly or in a timely manner
  • Inaccurately prescribed medication – this includes the wrong medication or dosage, failure to warn the patient of side effects or a contraindication with the medication and other aspects of the patient’s health
  • Operating on the wrong body part
  • Leaving a surgical object in the patient
  • Error in the amount of anesthesia that was administered during surgery

 

In the event that your circumstance falls within one of the above categories, you may have a case and should consider the type of damages you have suffered. A medical malpractice lawyer in Phoenix, AZ may be able to guide you with the details of seeking compensation and what to expect in the process.

Examples of specific damages:

• Physical pain or distress
• Mental and emotional impact
• Additional medical bills
• Lost wages or long-term loss of earning capacity

You will need to prove the following:

• Doctor-patient relationship - there must be clear evidence that the individual you are holding responsible did in fact treat you directly. If you casually ask a health professional for advice in a social situation, and the advice proved to be injurious, you will not likely have a case since the exchange occurred outside of a traditional doctor-patient relationship.
• Standard of care - in order to prove negligence, it is imperative to provide a clear understanding of what the standard of care should be in a similar situation. In medicine, there are many variables that exist within each patient’s case. For this reason, you will need a medical expert (who practices in the same field of medicine or similar) to testify to the standard that should exist in your case.
• An injury occurred causing specific damages to the patient.
• The injury directly resulted from a lack of standard of care. The medical expert will need to support the claim that the injury occurred as a result of substandard care.

It can be quite difficult and expensive to prove medical malpractice, let alone receive the compensation you may need in order to move forward. It is imperative you adhere to the statute of limitations and not miss the opportunity to seek compensation for the traumatic ordeal you have been through. If you know you have a case or if you think you do and are seeking assistance with the next step, it is advised that you contact a medical malpractice lawyer in Phoenix, AZ as soon as possible.

 

Determining When To Call a Hospital Accident Attorney

Unfortunately, accidents of any kind can happen almost anywhere. When a person goes to a hospital, they expect that the nurses, doctors, and staff will treat them with respect and that they will give them the proper medical care they need so they can leave the hospital healthier than when they arrive. However, this is not always the case. In some instances, going to the hospital can cause injuries and accidents. When this happens, getting in touch with a hospital accident attorney can be extremely beneficial to your claim when you are trying to find ways to protect your rights or the rights of a loved one. Even if a family member died because of a hospital accident, you or a loved one can still file a claim on their behalf with a hospital accident attorney. For more information on determining if you need one for your claim, keep reading below.

Why Not Just Hire a General Personal Injury Attorney?

Simply put, while medical malpractice law does fall under the umbrella of personal injury law, not all personal injury lawyers specialize in the field of medical malpractice. Therefore, you want to be careful to hire an attorney who has worked on hospital accident cases in the past instead of just general personal injury cases. The medical field is nuanced and complicated, and a hospital accident attorney is the right person for the job.

When Is It Appropriate To Seek Compensation After a Hospital Accident?

Like any other personal injury case, you want to ask yourself “could I have avoided this accident?” If the answer is “yes”, you may not have a claim. For example, if you were visiting an ailing family member in the hospital and tripped over your own two shoes and broke your arm, this likely is not the kind of hospital accident you want to file a claim for. It was probably an incident you could have avoided. On the other hand, if you were undergoing a routine appendectomy and one of the surgeons left a tool in your body that caused an infection, you have a reasonable claim for medical malpractice.

Common Hospital Injuries

• Slip-and-Fall Accidents
• Birth Injuries
• Errors In Prescription Drugs
• Misdiagnosing the Patient
• Surgical Errors

When Is a Hospital Injury Valid?

When determining if you have a valid claim to make against a hospital, the primary thing you and your attorney would look for is if the hospital (or doctor or nurse) failed in some way to meet the standard of care. Typically, a claim show must show:

• The hospital has a standard of care that they need to live up to.
• The hospital failed to meet this standard of care (likely through negligence), and
• This negligence directly caused your personal injury, illness, or the death of a loved one in some way.

Although it differs from state to state, these are typically the three elements that you must show.

The Benefits to Working with a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Phoenix AZ from Rispoli Law, PLLC

By retaining our services, you will be provided the legal services that you need. We are committed to our clients who seek legal recourse for what may have been the most physically and emotionally traumatic event in their life:

 

We are passionate about the law and our clients.

We are responsive to our clients’ legal needs.

We provide regular updates to our clients surrounding their case.

We prepare our clients for depositions and courtroom litigation, as appropriate.

We work with the appropriate expert witnesses to help strengthen our clients’ cases.

We assist in gathering the crucial evidence to prove our clients’ cases.

We are experienced and successful settlement negotiators.

We interact with the opposing counsel so that you don’t have to deal with what could otherwise be additional stressful situations.

We provide our clients with considered legal guidance throughout their case.

We do not charge hidden fees or charge for unnecessary items.

We make every effort to come to a successful resolution for our clients’ cases and as quickly as possible.

 

With years of experience managing medical malpractice cases, it’s no wonder Arizona residents choose Rispoli Law, PLLC. By working with our team, you can feel confident that you are in the most capable of hands. Contact Rispoli Law, PLLC today to speak with a medical malpractice lawyer Phoenix AZ residents turn to for our experience.

 

A Phoenix, AZ Medical Malpractice Lawyer Answers: Can a Misdiagnosis of Lyme Result in Medical Malpractice?

According to the CDC, Lyme disease impacts more than 300,000 people per year in the United States. It is believed that these numbers are largely underreported due to many diagnoses being delayed or a person being completely unaware that they have contracted the disease.  Unfortunately, some may have the misfortune of being misdiagnosed for Lyme due to the negligence of their doctor. The result of this can be potentially devastating for a victim and could ultimately lead to filing for medical malpractice with a medical malpractice lawyer Phoenix, AZ trusts from Rispoli Law PLLC.

Lyme Disease

• The first report of the disease was in Lyme, Connecticut in the early 1970s when children and adults began to experience symptoms of the disease. Unfortunately, they went many years without treatment because, at the time, there was no information regarding the disease.
• Lyme is considered one of the fastest spreading diseases in the country and has been reported in all states. The only state not impacted is Hawaii.
• Lyme is contracted through the bite of a deer tick carrying a bacterium called borreliosis.

Why is Lyme so Hard to Detect?

Lyme can be challenging to diagnose if a doctor is not on their toes. This is largely due to the symptoms of Lyme. Symptoms are so common, if a doctor does not pay close attention and run all the necessary tests, they could incorrectly diagnose their patient. As a result of being misdiagnosed, further complications could be presenting in patients who unknowingly suffer from the disease. When it comes to testing for Lyme, there is another challenge; current tests only detect one strain of the bacteria (there are more than 300). As a result, a patient is likely to receive a false negative.

Can your doctor be held Responsible?

As a result of misdiagnosis of the disease, medical malpractice cases are on the rise. If a doctor failed to correctly diagnose and treat the disease and the impact to the patient resulted in further harm being done to them, a medical malpractice suit may follow.  If a doctor did not follow the standards in place by the CDC and a person suffered as a result, an experience medical malpractice lawyer in Phoenix, AZ may be able to prove that the doctor was negligent in providing adequate treatment for their patient and failed to act within their duty of care. Working with a Phoenix, AZ medical malpractice lawyer around this will be important because the statute of limitations around filing for medical malpractice can vary depending on the state.

Misdiagnosis of Lyme can have serious repercussions to the person who was initially treated for a different illness or disease. In some cases, it could lead to an even longer recovery time or even, death. If you have been the victim of Lyme and misdiagnosed by your doctor, you may have a medical malpractice case. Contact a medical malpractice lawyer in Phoenix, AZ  from Rispoli Law PLLC immediately for advice regarding how you should proceed legally.

 

Your Rights as a Patient 

Any medical professional, including a doctor, nurse, technician, and so forth must follow the medical standards of care. These standards are broad, but essentially comes down to any treatment being provided in a way that a professional in a similar field would also do. If this is found not to be true, it may be medical malpractice. Examples include:

 

A surgical error

Failure to diagnose

Misdiagnosis

Anesthesia error

Failure to get the patients' consent

Failure to treat

Poor hygiene resulting in an infection

Medical device misuse

+ More

 

If you or someone you know and love have been poorly treated, misdiagnosed, or otherwise treated in a way that caused you more harm, please call a medical malpractice lawyer. 

 

What We May Look For

Although no two medical malpractice cases are the same, a medical malpractice lawyer will likely need to show:

 

A patient-doctor relationship existed,

The doctor, or professional, failed to act in a reasonable manner, or in a way that a professional in the same or similar field who have done so when in a similar situation or facing similar circumstances; and,

 

The patient was harmed.

Bear in mind that in the event of you being unsatisfied with a treatment result, you may not have grounds for a claim. Realistically, the best way to find out if you have a claim is to ask a medical malpractice lawyer to review your case. 

 

Do You Need Help With Your Medical Malpractice Case

 

Knowing that a doctor, the person you entrusted to help and heal you, caused you more pain than you should have experienced can be upsetting. When a medical error leads to months or years of further losses, physical, emotional, and financial, you might feel a sense of anger that cannot be described through words. If you believe this has happened to you or a loved one, it is recommended that you call a medical malpractice lawyer. 

Client Review

"Thanks to Rispoli Law, our family survived a horrific ordeal and, our Mother’s payout was delayed by ten days because the bank (the bank!) didn't carry the amount of money on hand that Mom put on the Cash back line of the deposit slip. That's a fact."
Karen Timmons