Richmond Medical Malpractice Attorney
Richmond is home to many professional doctors and healthcare workers that provide the highest quality care at all times. Unfortunately, healthcare professionals sometimes make mistakes and when they do, patients suffer immense harm. If you have been injured due to medical malpractice, you can file a claim for compensation. Medical malpractice claims in Virginia, however, are extremely complex. It is important to speak to a Richmond medical malpractice attorney that can advise you of the laws and how they apply to your case.
What Constitutes Medical Malpractice?
Medical treatments do not always work, and patients are not always happy with the results of surgery or other treatments. These situations alone do not necessarily constitute medical malpractice. Doctors sometimes have to use a trial and error approach when recommending treatments, and not every remedy will work the same way for every patient. To determine if you have a medical malpractice claim, you must establish:
- A healthcare professional owed you a standard of care
- The healthcare professional breached the standard of care
- The negligence of the healthcare professional resulted in an accident
- You suffered injuries and other damages as a result
All healthcare professionals owe their patients the highest standard of care. A doctor or other healthcare worker breaches that duty of care when they do not act in the same reasonable manner another healthcare professional would have in the same situation.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice can occur any time a healthcare professional makes a careless mistake. However, the following types of medical malpractice are more common than others:
- Amputations
- Anesthesia Errors
- Birth Injuries
- Cerebral Palsy
- Delayed Diagnosis
- Delayed Surgery
- Erb’s Palsy
- Failure to Diagnose
- Forceps & Vacuum Extraction Injuries
- Medication Errors
- Misdiagnosis
- Organ Perforation or Puncture
- Post-Operative Infections
- Pulmonary Embolism
- Surgical Errors
- Unnecessary Invasive Tests
- Unnecessary Surgery
- Wrongful Death
- Wrong-Site Surgery
If you or a loved one has been injured due to any type of medical malpractice, it is important to speak to a Richmond medical malpractice lawyer that can advise on your claim.
Damages Available in Medical Malpractice Claims
When you file a medical malpractice claim, you can seek compensation for any injury or loss you have sustained. The damages available in medical malpractice claims are as follows:
- Economic damages: Medical bills, lost income, and even transportation costs to and from doctor’s appointments are common types of economic damages.
- Non-economic damages: These damages do not have a dollar amount and may include pain and suffering and emotional distress.
- Punitive damages: Not available in every case, these damages are intended to punish healthcare professionals for gross negligence or carelessness. Virginia caps these damages at $350,000.
In addition to the caps on punitive damages, Virginia also places caps on all damages in medical malpractice claims. The limit of damages available will depend on the year the accident occurred, as the caps increase each year.
Our Virginia Medical Malpractice Lawyers are Ready to Help
If you or a loved one has been harmed by medical malpractice, it is essential that you call our Richmond medical malpractice lawyers as soon as possible. At MichieHamlett, we are passionate about helping injured patients and we want to help you, too. Call us today at (434) 951-7200 to schedule a consultation with one of our skilled attorneys.
