Cleveland Medical Malpractice Lawyer
We fight for you in medical malpractice cases
Good health care can allow you to reach the highest quality of life possible. Bad health care, on the other hand, can make health problems much worse. It could even cause irreversible damage. Patients should be able to trust their doctors will provide good care, but that is not always the case.
If your doctor, surgeon, nurse or other provider made a critical mistake, you deserve to understand your legal rights. No one should be forced to suffer the consequences of medical malpractice, but if you are, you certainly should not go without fair financial compensation.
With multiple offices throughout Ohio, including Cleveland and Mayfield Heights, Elk & Elk represents people who are going through some of the most difficult times in their lives. We approach medical malpractice cases with the utmost care and respect.
Our Cleveland medical malpractice lawyers are compassionate, yet we work aggressively to get justice for our clients. Contact our firm for personal attention and thorough counsel for your case.
What is medical malpractice?
A simple definition of medical malpractice is the failure of a medical professional to do something he or she should have done. For example, he or she may have failed to monitor your condition during an operation. It can also be an action that the medical professional should not have taken, such as administering the wrong type of medication.
However, actions that medical providers should or should not take can be unclear depending on the situation. Health care is complex; we cannot expect treatment to be flawless and providers to be all-knowing.
For this reason, the law requires doctors, nurses, surgeons, and other providers to perform up to a “standard of care.” This term generally means what most medical professionals would or would not do in a given situation. The exact definition changes according to each individual situation. In court, a judge or jury decides what the standard of care is depending on the case.
For instance, monitoring a patient’s condition during surgery is an essential duty. Therefore, failure to monitor a patient’s condition could be a breach of the standard of care. Patients should be able to depend on their providers to meet specific expectations.
When your doctor makes an obvious or shocking mistake that any other doctor would likely not have made, he or she has breached the standard of care. This is one of the main elements in a medical malpractice case, and it shows that the doctor was negligent.
If your doctor breached the standard of care, the consequences can be devastating. You may face intense pain, loss of physical functions or another serious condition that you likely wouldn’t have experienced if your doctor made better decisions. If you’ve suffered from medical malpractice, you have a right to demand justice.
What are common medical malpractice errors?
Common medical malpractice incidents involve:
- Anesthesia errors
- Wrong-site surgery and other surgical mistakes
- Dosage and medication errors
- Birth-related injuries and infant fatalities
- Failure to diagnose, delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis
- Abuse and neglect in nursing homes, hospitals, and other long-term care facilities
- Improper follow-up, including premature release
It is not always clear why a provider makes these mistakes, but they often occur due to inattentiveness, sloppiness or lack of knowledge. In some cases, severe injuries may happen if a nurse simply chooses not to double-check a patient’s record or a doctor dismisses severe symptoms as normal.
Every case of medical malpractice is unique. Our Cleveland medical malpractice attorneys investigate the individual factors of each case. We can research the science behind what you are suffering and examine evidence that points toward malpractice.
To learn whether you may have a strong medical malpractice claim, call our Cleveland medical malpractice team at 1-800-ELK-OHIO for a free consultation.
How could a medical malpractice lawsuit or settlement help?
Often after the damage is done, nothing can reverse the mistake. Some medical malpractice injuries are temporary and eventually heal, while many errors cause permanent injuries or death. Regardless of the nature of your injuries, taking legal action could benefit you.
If you receive a settlement or trial award, you can use the compensation to cover expenses and losses.
- Reconstructive surgery or a repeat operation
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- At-home adaptive equipment
- Short-term income loss or the long-term loss of career opportunities
- Funeral expenses and other damages in fatal medical malpractice cases
- Noneconomic losses, including disfigurement and loss of consortium
Suing a negligent doctor or other medical provider is a matter of fighting injustice. It is also a matter of finding the financial relief that can help you and your family move forward. Our experienced Ohio personal injury attorneys can work closely with you to hold your provider accountable for your injuries in court.
How common is medical malpractice?
Cleveland is home to some of the top-rated hospitals in the country. U.S. News & World Report rated the Cleveland Clinic #1 for urology and cardiology/heart surgery, #2 for rheumatology, gastroenterology and nephrology, and #3 for orthopedics and pulmonology for 2018. They also named University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Ohio State University, and Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital among the top 5 rated hospitals in the state.
However, it is important to remember that a medical mistake can happen in any hospital or clinic – even highly rated ones. When a patient suspects medical malpractice, it is all the more important to seek help from a highly experienced law firm focusing on medical malpractice cases.
Suffering an injury due to a medical mistake can be isolating. People might suggest that your symptoms are “all in your head” or insist that doctors always know best. However, you are not the only one who has experienced this confusing, painful problem – and you do not have to face it alone.
Many people across Ohio suffer the same hardship. Thousands of Americans file medical malpractice lawsuits and obtain significant results each year. Recent studies estimate that medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in the country. Errors are too common, and they gravely hurt good people.
At Elk & Elk, our Cleveland medical malpractice lawyers take your concerns seriously. We can help you seek evidence to prove that a Cleveland health care provider caused your injuries. Get to the bottom of your case with a skilled attorney from our law firm.
Contact a Cleveland Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today
You may be suffering from medical debt, difficulty earning income and other costs because of your injuries. We are aware that every dollar counts for victims of malpractice, which is why we offer free consultations. You will not have to pay attorney fees unless we win your case or secure a just settlement.
We will help you identify possible legal solutions. Contact us at (216) 313-9774 to speak to a lawyer confidentially about your injuries. Our Cleveland team is passionate about helping patients and families recover from this traumatic experience as fully as possible.