Medical Malpractice Information - Lawyers in San Diego
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Doctors, dentists and other medical specialists, including hospitals and surgical physicians have an obligation to conduct themselves professionally. When they do not, patients in their care can be seriously injured. Physicians, hospitals and nurses make mistakes. If the mistakes hurt innocent people, they should be held responsible for their mistakes. However, a bad or undesired result does not automatically mean there was a medical malpractice. Our attorneys in San Diego can help you determine if you have a valid case. Common instances of medical malpractice include wrong-site surgery, objects left inside patients, medication errors, birth injury, and failure to diagnose a time sensitive illness before it is too late.
Unfortunately, such errors are often avoidable and result from medical professionals who are inadequately trained or who are just too busy to be thorough. In a medical malpractice case we must prove that the medical provider did not meet the applicable standard of care in you or your loved one's particular case in order to recover monetary damages.
California law requires us to produce an expert who will confirm under oath that your medical provider did not meet the applicable standard of care required under the specific circumstances. At Kerry Steigerwalt's Pacific Law Center, we can help find the appropriate medical experts that have the expertise to make such a determination. While clients remain liable for costs under California law, we can front these costs to obtain qualified expert witnesses. Please do not take a chance with your serious medical malpractice case, contact our lawyers in San Diego - Call Kerry Steigerwalt's Pacific Law Center.
Hospital Malpractice
Hospital malpractice is the medical negligence of a doctor, nurse, or another member of the hospital staff when caring for a patient. Our firm’s medical malpractice attorneys have represented hundreds of hospital patients who did not receive proper and timely medical care during their hospitalization and were hurt by nursing or medical malpractice.
Perhaps our lawyers in San Diego can be of some help to you by answering questions concerning what constitutes a medical malpractice claim by providing you with some information.
A hospital has a duty to use reasonable care in hiring and supervising its employees, including doctors, interns, residents, and such non-physician personnel as nurses, technicians, and aides. A doctor, nurse or other healthcare provider at a hospital commits medical malpractice or negligence by failing to adhere to the standards of care set by the industry. Just as in other walks of life, physicians, nurses, and healthcare providers have a responsibility to conduct their practice of medicine in conformity with hospital protocol and state regulations.
When a patient acquires an unrelated injury or is left with a greater disability than before medical treatment, there is a possibility that medical malpractice was a cause of the undesired results. There are no guarantees that a physician can make a person's medical condition better or cure it. However, to determine whether or not you have a medical malpractice case, consult with our lawyers at Kerry Steigerwalt's Pacific Law Center.
An experienced attorney will supervise a focused interview of you and other witnesses to your medical care and treatment, answer questions you may have concerning general matters, and then decide whether investigation is warranted, resulting in obtaining the patient's medical/hospital records.
Upon receiving the records, the prosecution will index, read, and analyze the information recorded. Although medical malpractice and the events related to it are not often recorded in the records, the review of the records is mandatory. In California, it is also mandatory that the attorneys consult with a licensed physician to discuss whether or not there is a basis or merit to a medical malpractice case. Based on those discussions, a lawsuit can then be started. To get started with your claim, contact our medical malpractice attorneys in San Diego today.
Delay in Cancer Diagnosis
Facts:
- Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in the United States
- One out of nine women in the United States will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.
- Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death for all women and the leading cause of death in women ages 40-55.
- About 85 percent of women whose breast cancer is detected before it has spread to the axillary nodes will survive at least five years.
- Delay in diagnosis of breast cancer is one of the most common grounds for medical malpractice lawsuits in the United States.
- Once the diagnosis of cancer is made, the physician identifies the type of cancer by microscopic appearance of the cells and classifies the cancer according to how advanced it is. This is called staging. Cancer treatments vary widely depending upon the type of cancer and its stage.
The incidence of medical malpractice related to the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer is alarming. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in the United States and the second leading cause of death for all women. Nonetheless, too many women "fall through the cracks" when physicians negligently fail to diagnose their condition early on. The unacceptable result of this medical malpractice is often the loss of treatment options and/or the loss of chance of survival. Our medical malpractice lawyers in San Diego may be able to help you hold the responsible party liable for their mistake.
The probability that breast cancer will recur in a patient is directly related to the stage of the malignancy. If breast cancer is detected and addressed before the cancer has spread to any lymph nodes, the chances of survival are significantly better than otherwise. Any undue delay in diagnosing or treating breast cancer can have devastating consequences. Unfortunately, too often obvious warning signs are ignored and/or precautionary measures are not taken. The following are among the more common forms of medical malpractice by physicians in diagnosing and/or treating breast cancer:
Failing to perform a breast examination (during a physical or while treating a patient for certain other reasons), which would have identified a clinically obvious tumor:
- Failing to identify a palpable lump during a breast examination
- Mistaking a tumor for a breast infection
- Mistaking a tumor as benign and failing to recommend biopsy or removal
- Disregarding history of sharp pain in breast
- Disregarding signs of retraction
- Failing to determine the cause of nipple discharge
- Relying upon negative aspiration biopsy
- Relying upon mammography in lieu of physical breast examination
- Failing to order a mammogram
- Misinterpreting a mammogram
- Failing to react to mammogram findings
- Failing to order additional radiological tests
- Failing to order a biopsy
- Failing to order ultrasound when indicated
- Failing to follow-up with the patient
Please keep in mind that the foregoing are merely examples, and are by no means intended as an exhaustive list of failures that may result in delayed diagnosis of breast cancer.
Anyone who believes that a physician's failure to timely diagnose breast cancer may have resulted in loss of treatment options and/or loss of chance of survival should be encouraged to consult with a medical malpractice attorney at our San Diego firm as soon as possible in order to preserve and protect their legal rights.
If the diagnosis and treatment of cancer is delayed by the medical malpractice of a health care provider, you may be entitled to compensation for the harm caused by that delay.
If a doctor misinterprets a test result or x-ray and fails to make an appropriate diagnosis, the proper treatment may never be prescribed, resulting in further injury or even death. Our attorneys are available to consult in these matters.
Delay in cancer diagnosis is a form of medical malpractice. As a result, it is necessary to obtain experienced expert witnesses to proceed with your case. At Kerry Steigerwalt's Pacific Law Center, our medical malpractice lawyers have the experience and the resources to pursue these types of cases and we are available to help you.
Dental Malpractice
Dentists, like other medical specialists, have an obligation to conduct themselves professionally. If they make a mistake as a result of carelessness, they should be held accountable. Our medical malpractice lawyers in San Diego are experienced in this area of litigation and may be able to help you seek damages.
Dental malpractice occurs when the treatment provided falls below the standard of care generally accepted by the dental community. In order to show that the dentist is liable for a negligent act, we must show that the services performed fell below the standard of care. For example, a dentist did something that should not have been done, performed a procedure improperly, or failed to do something that was necessary.
Dental malpractice can lead to serious painful injuries. However, a bad or painful result does not automatically mean it was medical malpractice. If you suspect possible dental malpractice occurred, it is best to seek the advice of an experienced attorney.
Statutes of limitations do apply in medical malpractice lawsuits. If you or a loved one is a victim of medical malpractice, contact our attorneys in San Diego as soon as possible.
