Bergen County Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Medical Malpractice in Bergen County
Medical malpractice is the failure of medical professionals to provide services that meet the standard of care for the medical profession, which results in harm done to a patient. The harm suffered may be a temporary or permanent injury resulting in any economic loss. If you or a loved one were injured by medical malpractice, you have the right to file a lawsuit to gain compensation for the injuries. At The Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Hasson, P.C., our Bergen County medical malpractice lawyers:
- Give every client the unique attention they deserve
- Keep our clients informed of every step of their case
- Prepare every case as if it were going to trial
- Operate on a contingency fee basis, only getting paid if you do
Ensure your rights are protected. Call the medical malpractice attorneys at The Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Hasson, P.C., today to schedule your free consultation.
Why You Need a Bergen County Medical Malpractice Attorney
Medical malpractice cases are complex, difficult to prove and require medical expert opinions. There are filing deadlines in order to preserve your right to pursue a lawsuit in court. Doctors and medical providers have teams of attorneys fighting for their insurance companies, and you should too. After reviewing and accepting your case, our highly experienced lawyers at The Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Hasson, P.C., immediately begin working for you by:
- Taking depositions of medical experts and others relevant to the case
- Gathering and analyzing medical records
- Conducting research relevant to your injuries
- Working with medical experts to develop case theories, review expert reports, and retain expert witnesses
- Scheduling any independent medical examinations needed to evaluate your injuries
The Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Hasson, P.C., represents victims harmed by medical negligence including birth injuries, hospital-acquired infections, and wrongful death. We never charge any upfront fees. Contact our medical malpractice attorneys today.
How Does Medical Malpractice Occur?
Medical malpractice describes a preventable error that a reasonable and prudent health care provider would not make in the same or similar circumstances. It occurs when a physician, nurse, surgeon or another medical professional fails to provide the appropriate level of treatment to a patient. Providing substandard patient care can result in harm, injury, infection or death to the patient. Most examples of medical malpractice involve a breach of the doctor’s duty of care.
The duty of care refers to the responsibility a health care practitioner owes to his or her patients during treatment. It involves many individual responsibilities, such as using approved treatment methods, properly diagnosing a patient using the correct tools and procedures, recommending the appropriate treatments, providing follow-up care, and answering a patient’s questions. The standards of care are high in the medical industry since even a minor mistake could mean life or death for a patient.
When a doctor breaches his or her duties of care, a patient can suffer the consequences. A breach of duty can refer to any action or omission that another medical professional reasonably would not have made in the same situation. It can refer to any act of negligence, carelessness, recklessness or intent to harm. Common examples include medication mistakes, surgical errors, birth injuries and the failure to treat.
If you believe you have grounds for a medical malpractice case in Bergen County as an injured patient, you or your lawyer will need to prove that the physician in question failed to provide the proper standard of care and that this is what caused your injury or losses. Your personal injury lawyer will need to establish that a patient-doctor relationship existed at the time of your injury, that the doctor failed to meet the standards of care for this relationship and that you suffered damages as a result. Our Bergen County medical malpractice lawyers will help you present evidence of all the elements of proof as your legal representatives.
Damages You Can Recover With a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
Medical malpractice compensation depends upon the severity of the injury and the degree of malpractice established. Conduct that blatantly disregards patient safety usually results in higher settlement or jury awards. If there is a wrongful death, family members of the victim may be compensated for their losses. Available compensation may include:
- Expenses including medical bills related to the injury, ongoing treatment costs, physical therapy, in-home care, medical devices, and medications
- Loss of wages or earning capacity present and future
- Pain and suffering from physical and emotional trauma, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, and reduced capacity
- Punitive damages in cases where there was malicious conduct
Common Types of Medical Malpractice
Many New Jersey malpractice cases stem from misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, medication errors, faulty medical devices or failure to treat from medical professionals.
- Misdiagnosis means the doctor examines the patient but fails to diagnose the correct illness or any illness at all. Misdiagnosis prevents the patient from receiving necessary treatment or causes them to receive unneeded treatment.
- Delayed diagnosis allows the condition to become worse because the patient does not receive the necessary treatment in a timely manner.
- In failure to treat, there is a correct diagnosis but the doctor does not recommend adequate treatment.
Surgical errors also account for a large number of malpractice cases. Surgical errors vary, but some of the more common include:
- Performing the incorrect procedure
- Performing unnecessary surgery
- Damaging organs, nerves, or tissues during surgery
- Administering an incorrect amount of anesthesia
- Using non-sterile surgical instruments
- Leaving medical equipment inside the patient
- Providing inadequate care after surgery
Other causes of malpractice cases include birth injury, medical product liability, brain damage and post-surgical infections. This is not a complete list. Consult a medical malpractice attorney in Bergen County if medical negligence is suspected.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Medical Malpractice?
Identifying the defendant during your Bergen County medical malpractice case can be difficult. Although most employers absorb vicarious liability for the actions and misconduct of their employees, things are different in the health care industry. Most physicians, surgeons and dentists are independent contractors, not employees of the centers where they work. In this case, the hospital would not be vicariously liable for the malpractice of its contractors. You may only be able to hold the defendant individually responsible instead.
If, however, the person responsible for causing your injury was an employee of the health care center, you can file a claim against the facility itself. You could have grounds for a case against a hospital, birthing center, surgical center, emergency room, chiropractic center or another facility in Bergen County for medical malpractice. Bringing a vicarious liability claim could result in greater compensation for your losses, as a hospital generally has greater insurance coverage than an individual physician.
Some instances of medical malpractice stem from medical product liability, not the mistake of a doctor. If a medical device malfunctioned while rendering treatment, and this is what injured you, you may have grounds for a claim against the medical product manufacturer or distributor. In this case, you generally will not need to prove negligence to recover compensation.
Finally, you could have a case against a pharmaceutical company for a medication mistake. If your injury or illness occurred as a result of taking the incorrect drug or dosage due to a pharmaceutical error, you may have a case against the pharmacy or pharmacist rather than your physician. Talk to our Bergen County personal injury lawyers to identify the defendant in your particular medical malpractice case.
Contact a Medical Mapractice Lawyer in Bergen County
At The Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Hasson, P.C., our experienced law firm works closely with experts, including accountants, to establish your monetary losses and obtain the compensation you deserve. Our law firm offers free consultations to discuss the specifics of your medical malpractice case, please call us at (201) 928-0300 or contact us via our online contact form. Our Bergen County medical malpractice attorneys have 9+ decades of combined experience serving Fort Lee, Bergen County and the entire state of New Jersey. Medical malpractice cases can have life altering consequences and our attorneys are on your side.