For the most part, you can trust that any doctor, nurse, or other medical professional you visit will provide you with the same high-quality treatment as he or she would provide to any other patient. However, not every physician always meets this basic “standard of care,” which sometimes leads to patients suffering injuries or worsening illnesses that could have been avoided were it not for their doctor’s misconduct.
When you sustain harm under these circumstances, you may have a right to take legal action. However, given the various legal restrictions around these kinds of lawsuits that do not apply to other types of personal injury claims, it is almost always worth seeking guidance from a Somerset medical malpractice lawyer. Our well-practiced injury attorneys have won fair compensation for people who have suffered losses from avoidable medical mistakes, and they are prepared to help you get the payments you deserve.
One important rule to know about prior to pursuing medical malpractice litigation in Pennsylvania is the statute of limitations, which generally sets a two-year filing deadline after the incident. In some situations where the patient could not have reasonably known of the problem, the time limit might begin when a patient discovers or reasonably should have discovered his or her injuries. In either case, it is important to not delay because investigating the potential claim takes time, and you want your seasoned medical malpractice lawyer to have the best possible chance of success.
Additionally, 231 Pennsylvania Code § 1042.3 requires anyone who intends to sue a medical professional for malpractice to first get a written opinion from an “appropriate licensed professional”, certifying that the claim has merit. This means that the defendant violated the applicable “standard of care”, meaning that the defendant failed to act reasonably in those circumstances. An injured party must then submit this affirmation in the very early stages of the lawsuit, in the form of a “certificate of merit”—which a capable Somerset medical negligence attorney could help a plaintiff accomplish in a timely manner.
Through a successful lawsuit or settlement demand against a negligent physician or medical facility, someone injured by malpractice could demand compensation for both economic and non-economic repercussions of that misconduct, including:
In the event that medical malpractice in Somerset directly leads to a patient’s premature death, a dedicated lawyer could assist surviving family members with recovering for their ensuing losses through wrongful death litigation.
Everyone deserves to be treated with care, compassion, and diligence when visiting the doctor’s office or going to the hospital. Unfortunately, this does not always occur. When reckless or careless conduct by a doctor leaves you with injuries that proper care could have prevented, civil litigation may be your best means of recovering from that harm.
A conversation with a Somerset medical malpractice lawyer could give you answers to pressing questions and guidance on what next steps to take. Call Marcus & Mack today to schedule a free meeting with one of our compassionate attorneys.
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