Kansas City Medical Malpractice Lawyer
We Are Your Voice In & Out of the Courtroom
Doctors, nurses, and other health care providers are responsible for the health and safety of their patients. According to the law in our state and most other states, health care providers are professionally negligent if they fall below what is known as the "standard of care."
While we all need doctors and pharmaceutical companies to provide us with life-saving medical care and medication, such doctors and companies must be held accountable if they act in ways that cause unnecessary harm to our clients.
At Bertram & Graf, L.L.C. the goal of our Kansas City medical injury attorneys is to obtain fair compensation for our clients to cover the damages incurred by the extent and severity of their injuries. There are a variety of ways in which a person can suffer injuries or death at the expense of medical malpractice.
The Kansas City medical malpractice lawyers at Bertram & Graf, L.L.C. can help you understand your options. Contact our firm at (888) 398-2277 today to get started.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice in Missouri, as defined by state laws, occurs when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standards of care, resulting in patient harm or injury. This could include misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, surgical errors, prescription errors, or inadequate follow-up care. It's important to note that a negative outcome from a medical treatment or procedure does not necessarily equate to malpractice. The key element is proving that the healthcare provider's standard of care deviated from accepted norms, which directly resulted in harm to the patient.
If you believe you have been a victim of such negligence, our team of dedicated Kansas City medical malpractice lawyers at Bertram & Graf, L.L.C. are ready to review your case and guide you through the legal process towards seeking justice and rightful compensation.
What Are Some Examples of Medical Malpractice?
Examples of medical malpractice include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Misdiagnosis: When a patient's symptoms are inaccurately assessed, leading to inappropriate treatment and potential harm.
- Failure to Diagnose: Failing to identify a medical condition in a timely manner, resulting in delayed or improper care.
- Birth Trauma: Inadequate obstetric care during childbirth, leading to preventable injuries to the newborn or mother.
- Surgical Mistakes: Errors during surgical procedures, such as wrong-site surgery or improper technique, causing harm.
- Nursing Errors: Mistakes in medication administration, monitoring, or communication that compromise patient well-being.
- Hospital/ER Negligence: Insufficient care, staffing, or communication within healthcare facilities, impacting patient safety and outcomes.
Understanding the Impact of Medical Negligence
For patients and their families, medical carelessness can have detrimental long-term effects. There may be financial, emotional, and physical consequences when medical professionals don't offer the level of care that is required of them in their line of work. At Bertram & Graf, L.L.C., our staff is committed to assisting victims of medical malpractice in their pursuit of justice and just recompense for their suffering.
Some common impacts of medical negligence include:
- Physical injuries or complications
- Emotional distress and trauma
- Financial burden from additional medical expenses
- Loss of income due to inability to work
- Diminished quality of life
If you or a loved one has been affected by medical negligence, it's important to seek legal guidance as soon as possible. Our experienced medical malpractice lawyers in Kansas City, MO can provide the support and advocacy you need to navigate the complexities of a medical malpractice claim.
How Long Do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Claim?
According to Missouri Revised Statutes section 516.105, you have two years from the date you sustained your injury or the date you discovered your injury to file a claim with a maximum time period of ten years to file a claim.
Since injuries incurred through medical malpractice are not always discovered right when the injury occurs, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases works a little different than that of other personal injury claims. The statute of limitations can be a complex area of medical malpractice law.
What Is Considered Medical Negligence?
As a society, we are taught to unconditionally trust our doctors, surgeons, nurses, and other medical professionals to keep us safe and healthy when we are in need of their expert services. While the majority of physicians and specialists uphold excellent standards of treatment and care, medical negligence is a rising concern throughout the United States as it continues to cause irreparable harm to countless Americans.
Unfortunately, when a medical professional is negligent, he or she is directly putting you or your loved one’s life at risk. Holding these irresponsible and reckless parties accountable is crucial in obtaining the justice you deserve as well as protecting the next unsuspecting patient from a similar experience.
Medical negligence includes, but is not limited to:
- Surgical errors – Few things are as terrifying as going into surgery and waking up worse than before. Unsafe procedures and improper care before, during, and after the surgery can all result in permanent damage. Common examples include using nonsterile instruments, failure to control bleeding, failure to adequately monitor vital signs, damaging nerves or organs, etc.
- Misdiagnosis – if your conditions present themselves in unusual ways, this is not considered a misdiagnosis. However, it is negligence when a doctor fails to diagnose or misdiagnoses something that any other professional with their level of training and access to information would have known.
- Delayed diagnosis – As with misdiagnosis, this is considered negligence if other doctors under the same circumstances would not have missed the illness.
- Childbirth injuries – These commonly occur as a result of hemorrhaging, oxygen deprivation, improper use of forceps, C-section complications, and more.
- Medication errors – Irresponsible or inaccurate handling of medication is extremely dangerous as it can lead to overprescribing and other fatal errors.
- Anesthesia errors – These include giving the wrong dosage, either too much or too little, as well as failing to properly monitor and recognize complications.
- Hospital infections – Pneumonia is one of the most dangerous consequences of hospital-acquired infections, which also include urinary tract infections and surgical site infections.
How Can a Medical Malpractice Lawyer From Kansas City, MO Help With Your Case?
When medical negligence results in injury or death, victims and their families often turn to a medical malpractice attorney in Kansas City for assistance. Medical malpractice attorneys are experienced at investigating the circumstances of an incident, gathering evidence and presenting a case that can help injured individuals get the compensation they deserve. They have extensive knowledge of state laws and regulations related to medical malpractice cases as well as experience working with insurance companies, hospitals and other healthcare providers. With their help, victims can receive financial restitution for damages such as lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress and more. A qualified medical malpractice lawyer from Kansas City MO will fight hard on your behalf so you don’t have to suffer any longer than necessary due to someone else’s carelessness or recklessness.
An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can:
- Investigating the Medical Record: A medical malpractice lawyer can review medical records to determine if a medical professional has acted negligently or failed to provide care that meets accepted standards of practice.
- Evaluating Damages: A medical malpractice attorney will look into the extent of damages suffered by the patient due to negligence and assess whether those damages warrant filing a claim for compensation.
- Building Your Case: An experienced legal team can help gather evidence, interview witnesses, and obtain expert testimony on your behalf in order to build a strong case against negligent parties who breached the duty of care owed to you as a patient/client.
- Negotiating with Insurance Companies: Insurance companies can try to give you less money than you deserve if you have been hurt because of medical malpractice. A lawyer who knows about medical malpractice can help make sure that you get fair compensation. They will talk to the insurance company and negotiate a fair settlement for what happened.
- Take Your Case to Court: If a fair agreement cannot be reached with the insurance company, your lawyer can take your case to court. They will present evidence and arguments on your behalf so that you can get the justice you deserve.
Why You Should Choose Bertram & Graf, L.L.C. to Represent You
Medical malpractice cases can be extremely complex and require the skill and experience of an attorney. Our medical malpractice lawyers in Kansas City know just how devastating personal injuries caused by medical negligence can be.
Injured individuals and their loved ones deserve a team of advocates who take every step possible to ensure their clients receive the legal representation that they deserve. Therefore, you should consider working alongside Bertram & Graf, L.L.C. if you believe your or a loved one’s injuries are the result of medical malpractice.
Related Reading
- The Effects of Medical Malpractice
- Informed Consent & Medical Malpractice Claims
- Who is Liable in a Medical Malpractice Case?
Do you believe you have been the victim of medical negligence in Kansas City? Call (888) 398-2277 and schedule your free, initial consultation!