Medical Malpractice Lawyer, AL

Patients in need of medical care trust their healthcare providers to provide appropriate treatment. Alabama law recognizes that patients are vulnerable by requiring that all healthcare providers examine, assess, and treat their patients with reasonable care, skill, and diligence.

Failing to do so constitutes medical malpractice in Alabama when the failure causes harm to the patient. This law applies to all healthcare providers, including physicians, chiropractors, hospitals, nurses, therapists, and pharmacists.

Medical malpractice cases are among the most complex and difficult cases, requiring thorough investigation and expert witness evaluation before a case is filed. When preventable medical errors occur and patients are harmed, our Birmingham medical malpractice lawyers are advocates who fight the powerful insurance companies on your behalf.

Our attorneys and staff at Riley & Jackson, P.C. dedicate ourselves to thorough preparation so we can better fight for our clients and secure them the maximum possible result. We consult with a national team of experts who practice in the same field of medicine as the healthcare provider who committed the error.

When we file a medical malpractice case, we have already determined from expert witnesses that a preventable medical error occurred and that the error caused harm to our client.

Common Medical Malpractice Errors Patients can Suffer

Medical errors can happen in all areas of healthcare. We have learned over the decades that most medical errors are caused by a system failure. Only rarely do we find that a “simple human error” cost a patient their life or resulted in severe harm. Rather, most serious errors would have been avoided with appropriate training, seamless continuity of care processes, and adequate staffing.

Medical errors are not concentrated in one particular area of medicine. Instead, cases we have handled include serious, preventable errors across all disciplines of medicine. Some of the most common medical errors include:

Misdiagnosed conditions
Failure to diagnose or treat patients
Unreasonable delays in diagnoses
Surgical errors
Unnecessary treatments
Medication errors, including the wrong patient, wrong drug, wrong dose, and wrong time
Birth trauma
Failure to provide proper care

If you suspect that you or a loved one have been the victim of medical malpractice, it is important to receive medical attention from a different physician to identify the problem and assess the extent of the damage. It is important to keep records of all results and medical expenses to use as evidence to support your medical malpractice claim against the doctor, hospital, or other personnel who injured you.

Contributing Factors in Medical Malpractice

Negligence is often an underlying cause of medical errors. Whether intentional or not, there are many aspects of the healthcare industry that are conducive to physicians and medical personnel failing to provide patients with the proper level of treatment. There are many reasons why medical malpractice occurs, but some of the primary contributing factors include:

Fatigue and exhaustion
Lack of knowledge and/or training
Errors in communication and relaying information
Insufficient staffing
Failure to keep proper policies and records

These actions, or lack of actions, are costly for both patients and hospitals. The National Library of Medicine reports that medical errors cost the healthcare industry more than $20 billion every year. They also add that an estimated 400,000 patients suffer preventable harm annually, while more than 200,000 die as a result of medical errors.

These numbers highlight the frequency with which medical malpractice occurs, and how much of the U.S. population is affected. If you or a loved one has experienced a medical error while being treated, it is important to seek counsel from our medical malpractice lawyers in Birmingham as soon as possible to help you fight this injustice.

Medical Malpractice Attorneys are Committed to Fighting for You

A significant amount of evidence is required to establish that a medical error occurred. Hospitals have robust legal teams to contend with as well. However, with the help of our seasoned medical malpractice attorneys in Birmingham, you can pursue the necessary legal action to receive the compensation you need to move forward with your life.

Our lawyers will help you establish the standard of negligence necessary to demonstrate that medical malpractice occurred. With sound strategies and ample evidence, we will prove that the negligent parties breached their standard of care and caused you harm. Through negligent actions, they violated their obligation to you and were the direct cause of your injuries.

For more than 25 years, the medical malpractice attorneys at Riley & Jackson, P.C. have represented medical malpractice victims like Mary L. Watson who died during a surgical procedure.

We helped her representative get the compensation they needed. We have represented victims who are minors and those who have sustained serious injuries such as death, paralysis, amputations, birth injuries, and unnecessary additional surgeries because of surgical equipment that was left inside the patient.

Our team conducts in-depth research and investigations to prepare better than anyone else. This allows us to have a competitive edge, fight effectively for our clients, better protect their rights, and secure a successful outcome for them. We understand what is at stake for our clients, and we work tirelessly to fight for our clients and never back down.

Medical Malpractice Claims Subject to Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases is two years according to Alabama Code § 6-5-482. In some situations, discovery of the medical malpractice may be delayed until much later. If there was no way that the error would have been discovered sooner, then a patient can sometimes file a claim within 6 months of the discovery, but no longer than four years after the negligent act.

Compensation Reduces Financial Stress After Medical Errors

Medical errors are a serious form of negligence that not only causes significant health complications for patients, but they can result in overwhelming financial stress as well. From the exorbitant costs of the original treatment to the ensuing costs to diagnose and treat the results of the error, patients can struggle to pay for their medical bills and get the care they need to remedy the problem.

To mitigate the financial burden, damages help patients recover their losses and help them have peace of mind and an increased sense of wholeness. Damages can help cover the following:

Medical labs, tests, diagnostics, surgeries, therapies, treatments, and medications
Lost wages
Pain and suffering
Emotional and mental distress
Diminished quality of life
Loss of enjoyment
PTSD, anxiety, and depression.

For some patients, medical errors can mean irreparable harm or severe injury. In these situations, patients may be eligible to receive punitive damages to cover the additional losses they were subjected to due to malpractice. Punitive damages also act as a deterrent so the party at fault does not commit the same or similar mistakes in the future.

Contingency Fees Increase Access to Legal Representation

At Riley & Jackson, P.C., we understand that the thought of hiring legal representation can feel overwhelming and leave you questioning how to pay for an attorney. To alleviate our clients’ stress, we use a contingency fee model so they do not have to pay any attorneys’ fees or case expenses unless we win their case. Payment is then deducted from the awarded compensation.

With this model, our clients can be confident that our goals are aligned with theirs, and that they can receive representation when they need it the most.

Our expertise spans a wide range of personal injury cases, including:

Riley & Jackson, P.C. are Dedicated Partners and Advocates to Clients

The attorneys at Riley & Jackson, P.C. develop lifelong partnerships with our clients. We are committed to their wellbeing, the protection of their rights, and ensuring they receive the maximum compensation they deserve.

Our firm understands the difficulties medical errors can cause, and we strive to provide relief and hope. To learn more about filing a medical malpractice claim and what our attorneys can do for you, contact us today online or at (205) 879-5000 to schedule a free consultation.