Medical Malpractice in Austin, TX

Austin Medical Malpractice Attorney

Are You or a Loved One Suffering Due to Medical Malpractice?

If you think you or a loved one are a victim of medical malpractice, contact Dunk Law Firm. These cases are usually difficult. If you intend to prevail in your case, it is essential to work with attorneys who have the necessary experience. The Austin Medical Malpractice Attorneys at Dunk Law Firm, have years of experience taking on personal injury lawsuits. They are here to help determine if you have a case.

Many people have heard of medical malpractice. You might typically associate it with very extreme mistakes in medical treatment. For example, conducting an invasive surgical operation on the wrong patient. However, medical malpractice happens in several less extreme forms. Further, a Austin medical malpractice attorney knows the results can be just as damaging or even deadly.

What Are Typical Types of Medical Malpractice?

Avoidable medical care mistakes can constitute a solid claim for medical malpractice. These claims may result not only from a surgical error. It could be mistakes made by nurses, doctors, and various other caregivers. Several of the most common medical malpractice claims come from the following kinds of mistakes:

Medication error

This can take the form of:

• Using the wrong medication (from a doctor's prescription, from a mistake committed by a pharmacist, or by being given to the wrong patient).
• Being prescribed a medication that causes serious negative effects because of a known allergy or by being combined with other medications.
• Being prescribed the wrong dose.
• Neglecting to prescribe a needed medication.

Diagnosis failures

These are circumstances where a physician fails to correctly diagnose a problem, resulting in a delay in treatment. This can thereby cause an injury that could have been prevented or minimized. This can also be a doctor failing to perform essential or appropriate diagnostic tests or procedures, or misdiagnosing a problem.

Negligent supervision

This happens where a patient under the care of a medical facility is not monitored sufficiently. The lack of supervision can lead to a failure to provide adequate and/or appropriate care.

Delayed treatment

A delay in treating a known condition causes a more serious condition.

Failure to obtain informed consent

As it suggests, this involves injuries resulting from procedures in which the care provider fails to:

• Fully inform an individual of the likely or potential outcome of the procedure.
• Let the patient know the dangers associated with a procedure.
• Neglects to obtain any consent at all.

Lack of adequate training or skill or proper credentialing

This claim happens when a patient sustains an injury from a medical procedure and the medical provider should not have been conducting because of lack of training or expertise.

Birth injuries and obstetric malpractice

This includes situations in which actions or lack of actions during delivery result in permanent injury to the child or mother.

Surgical errors

These situations include injuries because of a surgeon that took unnecessary or incorrect measures which caused injury. Or, if there is a failure to perform the procedure with the care or skill sufficient to satisfy acceptable standards.

Equipment failure

Many medical procedures rely upon the proper performance of medical equipment. Failures of equipment due to poor maintenance, calibration, or operation can cause major injuries. These are injuries that would not happen when equipment is operating correctly.

Insufficient monitoring or follow-up treatment

Many potential complications or negative effects from a treatment or procedure-- even if done properly-- might not show up until later. A claim for poor monitoring arises when medical professionals neglect to look for known potential negative effects or consequences.

Lack of teamwork or communication

Frequently, patients are under the care of many providers. They could be treated with primary care doctors, specialists, nurse practitioners, and so on. Even in the operating room, teams of surgeons and nurses are all in charge of different parts of patient care. If there is a failure to communicate a vital piece of information between the various professionals during care, significant injuries can develop. For instance, a physician who fails to document a medication allergy to a nurse that does not report a patient in distress.

Contact a medical malpractice attorney in Austin if you think any of the above is the cause of a major injury or fatality.

How to Make a Claim for Austin Medical Malpractice?

As specified above, medical malpractice can take various forms. At the same time, medical malpractice comprises a particular type of negligence case. In medical malpractice suits, a claimant alleges that a healthcare provider-- which can involve not just physicians and surgeons, but dentists, therapists, nurses, or individuals working under the supervision of these professionals-- either acted or failed to act in a way that fell below the accepted standard of practice or care in the applicable medical community. In addition, this act or omission leads to the injury or death of the patient.

However, even when someone has sustained a major injury as a result of a medical procedure, verifying that you have a legitimate malpractice claim is not an easy task. Medicine is not a perfect science. Even when everything is done right, things can go wrong.

The majority of medical malpractice claims, over 95%, resolve before they go to court. In some of these suits, the parties settle. For example, when the physician or healthcare facility believes that the claim for negligence is fairly clear.

But in over half of the suits on file, the defendants will be able to dismiss a case for one reason or another. One difficulty is that almost all of the proof lies in the hands and minds of the doctors and hospitals who are defending the cases. Lastly, for those medical malpractice cases that do go to trial, plaintiffs win only around one-third of the time.

Should You Consult With an Austin Medical Malpractice Attorney?

If you suffer injuries due to insufficient or faulty care, or somebody you love has serious injuries or passes away due to the errors of a medical professional, contact Dunk Law Firm for a free consultation. Call (888) 744-5642, or simply use our online case evaluation form right here on this website. Remember, at Dunk Law Firm, you pay no attorney's fee unless you win your case.