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Free Consultation Call: 312-786-5881

Free Consultation: 312-786-5881

Medical malpractice can cause significant injuries to innocent and unsuspecting patients. These injuries often result in severe damages, such as disability, medical expenses, and pain and suffering.

Those that suffer injury should seek the help of an experienced medical malpractice attorney at Midwest Injury Lawyers as soon as possible. Injured medical malpractice victims and their families often call upon our Hammond medical malpractice lawyers to seek justice. Here’s why.

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Why Midwest Injury Lawyers?

Our Hammond medical malpractice attorneys make successfully representing you their priority. We know how to lift these highly stressful and lengthy claims from your shoulders and handle them efficiently. While we can’t change the circumstances, we can explain your legal options and support your choices.

You can count on our attorneys to stand by your side every step of the way, addressing each question and concern you have promptly. We stand up to medical professionals, large medical facilities, and other liable parties in the Hammond area, and we are ready to assess your rights.

Types of Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle

At Midwest Injury Lawyers, we represent clients who experience nearly any kind of medical malpractice.

Our medical malpractice lawyers handle cases involving:

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Birth injuries

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Brain injury

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Surgical injuries

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Cancer misdiagnosis

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Cauda equina syndrome

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Cystic fibrosis

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Emergency room malpractice

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Erb’s palsy

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Heart attack misdiagnosis

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Hydrocephalus

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Kernicterus

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Prenatal misdiagnosis

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Sepsis

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Stroke misdiagnosis

Effective medical malpractice lawyers must understand the medical aspects of your case, not just Indiana medical malpractice laws. When you hire a Hammond medical malpractice attorney from our firm, you hire a dedicated advocate who is not intimidated by your medical issues and experiences or large healthcare companies.

What Is Medical Malpractice?

One study revealed that medical errors had become the third-leading cause of death among Americans. In fact, they are an under-recognized cause of death resulting in 10 percent of all deaths in the United States. Considering that doctors and other medical care providers are supposed to do no harm, these are incredibly concerning statistics.

But not every mistake someone with a nursing or medical license makes is medical malpractice. If the medical professional’s actions fall below the accepted medical standard of care concerning the specific circumstances and cause harm to the patient, it is medical malpractice. The standard of care describes the type of care a similarly-skilled medical professional should provide to a patient in the same or similar situation.

For instance, depending on the circumstances, sending a patient home from the hospital too soon can be medical malpractice. Sometimes physicians prematurely discharge patients based on incomplete information because they didn’t take another course of action.

Causes of improper hospital patient discharge include:

  • Failure to perform adequate testing
  • Failure to refer the patient to a specialist when a doctor exhausts their expertise in a certain field
  • Misdiagnosis
  • Delayed diagnosis

Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, other healthcare professionals, or a hospital causes an injury to a patient, whether by a negligent act or an omission. When a medical care facility, provider, or professional’s performance departs from a standard of practice of those with similar training and experience and harms a patient or patients, there is likely a valid claim for medical malpractice.

To constitute medical malpractice, the claim must include:

  • A breach of the standard of care: Patients expect their healthcare professionals to provide care consistent with specific standards. If the professional failed to meet the standard of care, your attorney can establish negligence.
  • The negligence resulted in injury: The injured patient must also show they suffered an injury that would not have occurred without their provider’s negligence. An undesirable outcome by itself isn’t medical malpractice. Therefore, the patient must establish that the healthcare provider’s negligence caused the injury.
  • The injury resulted in substantial damages: Expensive medical malpractice litigation frequently requires the testimony of multiple medical experts and innumerable hours of deposition testimony. The patient must show that significant damages resulted from their injury caused by medical negligence. Otherwise, the cost of pursuing the case might exceed the recovery. In a valid medical malpractice claim, the injured patient must show that the injury caused a disability, unusual pain, suffering and hardship, loss of income, or significant past and future medical bills.

Patients who believe their injuries result from medical malpractice should discuss their case with an experienced Hammond medical malpractice attorney.

Medical Malpractice

Common Medical Malpractice Injuries

Injuries resulting from acts of medical malpractice can take on many shapes and forms. A Hammond medical malpractice lawyer can review your injuries and their circumstances to determine if you have a valid legal claim.

However, the most common medical malpractice injuries include:

  • Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, such as failing to refer to a specialist
  • Failure to treat, for example, failing to order appropriate medical tests
  • Prescription drug errors, for instance, prescribing the wrong medicine for a diagnosed condition
  • Surgical or procedural errors, such as surgery on the wrong limb
  • Childbirth injuries, for example, failure to recognize fetal distress

Medical malpractice can take on many forms and impact all areas of medicine. For example, a diabetic patient must have their right leg amputated below the knee. The current standard of care is that immediately before surgery, the patient (or someone on their behalf if they physically or mentally can’t) must place an X on the surgical site with a marker. The medical/surgical team must also take a brief time out before beginning the surgery to review the type of surgery, the patient’s health history, allergies, and other pertinent information.

Suppose the pre-op nurse forgets to have the patient place an X on their right lower leg before surgery, and the team gets busy and skips their time out. The surgeon amputates the lower left leg instead of the correct right leg.

In this case, medical malpractice has occurred. The patient can bring a lawsuit against the surgeon, the pre-op nurse, and potentially other members of the team or hospital. While this might sound like an extreme example, surgery on the wrong body part or side of the body does happen and can have disastrous results.

​Hammond Medical Malpractice Attorney

What Is Hospital Malpractice?

Hospital malpractice is medical malpractice that occurs within a hospital setting. In general, hospitals are liable for the actions of their employees. For example, if one of their employees breaches the standard of care, leading to a patient injury, both the employee and the hospital can be named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by the patient’s hospital malpractice attorney.

Liability for Hospital Malpractice

Under the legal premise of respondeat superior, a hospital can be responsible when one of its employees faces a lawsuit for medical malpractice while acting within the scope of their job description. Usually, staff such as nurses, nurses assistants, hospital technicians, and support staff are hospital employees. However, not all doctors are hospital employees but rather contracted with the hospital to provide care.

Hospitals are not usually liable for the actions of contracted staff. In fact, depending on the circumstances, if an employee acted under the supervision of a contracted physician who controlled the patient’s care, the hospital might not be liable for the malpractice.

The hospital might employee the doctor if:

  • The hospital dictates the doctor’s working hours and vacation time
  • The hospital determines the fees the doctor can charge

When you hire a Hammond medical malpractice attorney from our firm to represent your case, we will determine who can be held liable for the damages you suffer due to hospital negligence.

​Hammond Medical Malpractice Attorney

Hammond Medical Malpractice FAQs

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What are Common Causes of Medical Errors?
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Medical errors can happen because of:

  • Staff burnout
  • Short staffing
  • Staff fatigue
  • High-stress, fast-paced environments
  • High patient load
  • Defective equipment
  • Alcohol or drug use

These issues can cause errors:

  • Problems with information processing
  • Problems with verifying collected information
  • Inadequate knowledge
  • Inadequate information gathering
  • Misjudging how significant a finding is
  • Prematurely deciding on an incorrect diagnosis
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Does Indiana Cap Medical Malpractice Damages?
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You may discuss how much compensation your case might recover when you meet with our knowledgeable Hammond medical malpractice attorneys. The answer will depend on your damages, the extent and expected duration of your injuries, and other factors.

Indiana limits the compensation that medical malpractice victims can receive for their claims at $1.8 million for harm that happened after July 1, 2019. Indiana previously capped damages at $1.65 million.

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What Makes Medical Malpractice Claims Challenging to Prove?
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Medical malpractice claims depend on proving causation or that a physician made a mistake or a wrong decision and that was the cause of the claimant’s injuries and damages. Unfortunately, in many cases, the only evidence for a medical provider’s actions are vague or incompetent records and notes.

The legal team must be willing to complete much detail-oriented investigative work to prove a doctor was negligent. Medical malpractice lawyers also need to work with independent medical experts in the same field of medicine to show that the medical provider’s choices were unreasonable.

Another reason why these cases are difficult is that juries tend to side with medical providers. Perhaps the recent lobbying and news of frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits or their own affinities for their medical providers put jurors on the healthcare provider’s side. Either way, it often ends in poor and unfair outcomes for the injured party. Even if a case doesn’t go to trial, knowing that the jury often sides with the medical provider can result in lower settlement offers for the injured party.

However, know that you can overcome these challenges with the help of a competent Hammond medical malpractice attorney. The sooner you contact one, the sooner they can begin building a strong case on your behalf.

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What Damages Can I Recover in My Hammond Medical Malpractice Case?
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If your doctor or another healthcare provider made a mistake but did not cause you harm or injury, you won’t have a case.

Your lawyer must establish that you suffered damages from this injury, such as:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Scarring
  • Mental anguish
  • Disfigurement
  • Medical expenses
  • Lost income
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Loss of consortium

If the injured party or their attorney cannot prove any of these points, they will likely lose the case. When you schedule your legal consultation with us, one of our seasoned Hammond medical malpractice attorneys will carefully review the details of your circumstances to determine if these elements exist and let you know whether you have a viable legal claim or not.

When Should You Contact Our Hammond Medical Malpractice Attorney?

Anytime you suspect that you or a family member experienced an injury related to the medical care you received from a care provider, you should get a case evaluation with an experienced Hammond personal injury attorney to determine if you have a legal claim.

The sooner you do this, you make your lawsuit more effective for two reasons:

  • Evidence is best collected immediately after the malpractice occurs so nobody hides, steals, or compromise is it.
  • Indiana law sets a two-year statute of limitations. This gives medical malpractice victims two years from their injury, the date they learned of their injury, or when they should have learned of their injury, to file a lawsuit.

If you miss your deadline, you no longer have legal standing to pursue compensation for your injuries. Waiting to contact an attorney can cause you to lose your right to file a lawsuit or the evidence you need to substantiate your lawsuit.

Midwest Injury Lawyers is committed to helping those who have suffered severe injuries or worsening conditions due to the mistakes or deliberate malpractice of physicians and medical specialists. If you suspect a doctor or other medical provider didn’t provide you or someone you love with competent care that meets the industry standard, we want to help.

You deserve compensation for your injuries and damages. Our legal team will investigate the cause of your injuries and work with medical experts to determine who is to blame for your injuries. We will help you evaluate your damages and provide evidence for them within your claim.We offer no-obligation medical malpractice case reviews. Contact us by phone at (219) 200-0151 or online for yours today.

Midwest Injury Lawyers – Hammond Office

2901 Carlson Drive  Suite 364,
Hammond, IN 46323

Phone: <(219) 200-0151

What Past Clients Say

Learn how our team has assisted other victims of medical malpractice. Our attorneys are experienced in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana laws, and we ensure that all of our cases are treated with the utmost care and dedication. For more information, please contact us.

Getting in touch with Samuel R. Carl completely turned my situation around. I went from a mountain of medical bills, and my credit on the line, to everything getting resolved with money I deserved back in my pocket. Sam was extremely patient, professional, and more than willing to work with me.

Harley M.

Sam Carl is a fantastic attorney. I was injured in an accident with a faulty product earlier this year and was referred to Sam by a business associate. He was able to resolve the matter much quicker than I anticipated and to my complete satisfaction. Sam is everything you want in a lawyer- He is […]

John P.

Mr.Cameron proves to be professional, hardworking, compassionate all while yielding results. After consultation with a couple of other firms, we decided to go with Chet. Upon our initial meeting, he assured us that he would do his best, and I believe he gave us that and more.

Curtis

Request a Free Consultation

Tell our experienced team about your accident and/or injuries. One of our personal injury attorneys will contact you to schedule a free case evaluation. Remember: you won’t pay for anything unless we secure a compensation on your behalf.

Call (312) 786-5881 or send us a message online to get started.