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1. What is medical malpractice? 1. What is medical malpractice? Medical negligence (also known as medical
malpractice)
means that a doctor or another health care provider failed to act
within the applicable standard of care and this resulted in patient
injury. Generally speaking, when a doctor or another health care provider fails to act reasonably under the circumstances, and the unreasonable conduct causes medical injury, medical malpractice has occurred. 2. Is medical malpractice that common? Unfortunately, yes. A study by the Institute of Medicine (“IOM”), of the National Academies of Science, published a landmark study in 2000 entitled, “To Err is Human.” In that study, the IOM reported that as many as 98,000 people die in American hospitals each year due to medical mistakes. This means that medical mistakes/malpractice is the 8th leading cause of death in America. 3. How can I tell if my serious injury is the result of medical malpractice? Not all medical mistakes are malpractice. In order to determine whether a serious injury or death was the result of medical malpractice, you will need to consult lawyers who are experienced with investigating and evaluating similar claims. (Click here to read about some of the results our attorneys have obtained for clients.) Large amounts of money can be at stake. Take the case of a child born with Cerebral Palsy (CP). It can cost $ 5 Million, and more, to care for such a child over a lifetime. Likewise, the unexpected death of a mother, father or child can be emotionally and financially devastating to a family. You owe it to yourself and your family to consult experienced medical malpractice attorneys whenever an unexpected serious injury or death occurs. 4. Why should I contact your firm? The law firm of Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC, includes doctor/lawyers and a registered nurse/lawyer (Click here to read why you benefit when your lawyer is also a doctor or nurse) who are experienced, successful and dedicated to representing victims of malpractice. (Click here to read about some of the verdicts and settlements our attorneys have obtained for clients.) 5. How does Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC investigate a malpractice claim? It all begins with a toll free telephone call 1-866-4LAWDOC (1-866-452-9362) or an email to info@askthelawdoc.com. When you contact us, one of our experienced medical malpractice attorneys will interview you by telephone to find out from you about the nature of the injury, the place of the injury, the date the injury occurred, the names of the health care providers involved, and any other information you already know about situation prompting you to contact our firm. At this point our doctor/lawyers make an initial determination as to whether we can be of help to you. If we believe our services may be appropriate for you the next step is for the injured person (or his legal representative, such as the mother or father of a minor child) to retain our firm. Unless prohibited by law in a particular state, the firm of Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC works only on a contingency fee basis and covers all the costs of investigating and litigating the matter. In other words, if we do not win your case, you owe us no fees, and no expenses at all. Once you have hired our firm, we obtain the relevant medical records for our doctor/ lawyers and nurse/lawyer to evaluate for malpractice. If our health care provider/lawyers conclude that you have a valid malpractice claim, then we work to retain highly credentialed and experienced medical experts in the relevant fields of medicine to review the records, with the assistance of our doctor/lawyers and nurse/lawyer, and opine whether malpractice occurred and whether malpractice caused your injuries. When the outside experts complete their review, we contact our client to discuss the opinions of the experts and how to proceed. 6. What will it cost to hire a lawyer? If you hire Gershon, Willoughby, Getz &
Smith, LLC, the cost is NOTHING UNLESS WE WIN FOR YOU.
7. Is there a deadline for pursuing a malpractice claim? YES. Each state, and the United States, has its own deadline for bringing a legal claim. These deadlines are referred to as “statutes of limitations.” If the negligent health care provider is employed by the government, or is a government hospital, even shorter deadlines may apply. The applicable deadlines vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and can be affected by who is bringing the lawsuit. For example, in many states a minor child will have a longer period of time to bring a lawsuit than an adult. Nevertheless, some substantial rights may be lost if suit is not filed within the parent’s deadline. If you suspect medical malpractice, DO NOT WAIT! CONSULT AN EXPERIENCED MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ATTORNEY RIGHT AWAY!. Nothing is more discouraging than to hear these words from an attorney, “I think you had a valid claim but I can’t help you now because you waited too long to contact me.” In fact, most medical malpractice cases do settle out of court, but settlement must never be the attorney’s objective. Only when the defendants’ insurance company is convinced that your attorneys have put together a strong case, supported by well-credentials and credible medical experts, and that your attorneys have the skill, experience and nerve to put your case successfully before the jury, will your attorneys be in the position to negotiate the best possible settlement of your claim. Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC, have the experience and reputation necessary to maximize the settlement potential of your case. More importantly, should the matter not settle, our attorneys have the proven track record of obtaining record jury verdicts. (Click here to see some of our featured verdicts and settlements.)*
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