Have you been harmed because a doctor or healthcare provider made a mistake in Carbondale, PA? Medical negligence can cause serious damage. If you or a loved one were a victim, an experienced Carbondale medical malpractice lawyer at Marzzacco Niven & Associates can help you seek compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and more.
Our lawyers have the experience and resources you need in your corner. In fact, we have over 120 years of experience between us–and we’ve recovered tens of millions of dollars for our clients over the years.
Contact or call (717) 995-8810 our law offices in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, to schedule a free consultation today.
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How Marzzacco Niven & Associates Can Help With a Medical Malpractice Claim in Carbondale
When patients are harmed by medical mistakes, the law doesn’t make it easy to get justice. Pennsylvania medical malpractice laws are detailed and complex. Make one mistake, and you could lose your right to compensation entirely.
Further, insurance companies and courts tend to favor doctors and healthcare professionals. You deserve an experienced Carbondale personal injury lawyer who understands the law and knows how to protect you.
You don’t have to rely on a lawyer directory to find one. At Marzzacco Niven & Associates, our lawyers have been recognized for our exceptional legal services time and time again. Members of our team have been recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers of America, and Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars.”
When you hire our legal team, we will:
- Make sure you satisfy all procedural requirements for filing a case
- Investigate and locate evidence to prove your case
- Calculate the fair value of your case
- Hire reputable medical experts to support your claim
- Handle all communications and negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf
Our skilled trial lawyers aren’t afraid to fight for you in court if the insurance company is giving you the runaround. To learn more about how a Carbondale medical malpractice attorney can increase your chances of successfully recovering compensation, call us today.
How Common Is Medical Malpractice in Carbondale?
Medical malpractice is much more common than you might think. In fact, a study by the prestigious Johns Hopkins medical center identified medical negligence as the third leading cause of death in the United States. About 440,000 patients lose their lives because of medical errors each year.
Unfortunately, Pennsylvania has been ranked as one of the top five states for medical malpractice payouts in the U.S.
Our Carbondale medical malpractice attorneys at Marzzacco Niven & Associates handle all types of medical malpractice claims, including those involving:
- Emergency room errors
- Medication errors
- Hospital negligence
- Surgical errors
- Anesthesia errors
- Birth injuries
- Obstetrics errors
- Defective medical devices
- Failure to obtain informed consent
- Nursing negligence
- Hospital-acquired infections
- Pharmacy errors
- Radiology errors and lab errors
Do you suspect you were a victim of medical negligence? Our attorneys in Carbondale will evaluate your injury case for free. To learn more about your legal options, call our law firm to schedule a free case review today.
What Is My Carbondale Medical Malpractice Case Worth?
The value of any personal injury claim depends on multiple factors.
Some of the factors that our medical malpractice lawyers in Carbondale will evaluate when calculating the value of your medical malpractice claim include:
- The nature of the medical malpractice injury you’ve suffered
- Whether you’ll suffer a permanent disability or impairment
- The cost of your past and anticipated future medical treatment
- Whether the medical error impacts your ability to work
- The damage to your emotional health and wellbeing
- The nature of the doctor’s mistake
Hospitals and health care professionals hire teams of defense attorneys to protect them. These lawyers are experienced in defending negligent doctors and medical providers. They’ll often go to great lengths to downplay your injuries and damages.
You deserve an experienced legal team to protect you. Our Carbondale medical malpractice attorneys at Marzzacco Niven & Associates can help you understand the value of your case. That way, you can rest assured that you aren’t accepting a lowball settlement.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Victims of Medical Malpractice?
Victims of medical negligence are entitled to seek a few different types of damages, including:
- Economic damages
- Non-economic damages
- Punitive damages
Your financial costs are your economic damages. Common examples include:
- Past medical expenses
- Future medical care
- Lost wages
- Lost earning potential
- Rehabilitation
- Specialized care and therapies
- Long-term care
- In-home assistance or nursing care
- Medications and medical devices
Your non-economic damages are your personal losses. Many victims of medical malpractice seek compensation for:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Diminished quality of life
- Reduced life expectancy
- Permanent disfigurement or scarring
- Anxiety, depression, or PTSD
- Loss of consortium
While rare, punitive damages may be awarded in especially shocking cases. Punitive damages don’t represent a specific loss. Instead, they punish the responsible person for intentional wrongdoing or gross negligence.
Victims of medical malpractice can recover the full amount of their economic and non-economic damages. However, if punitive damages are awarded, they will be limited to 200% of the amount of compensatory damages.
Our Carbondale Medical Malpractice Attorneys Will Fight To Recover Compensation for All of Your Injuries
Negligent doctors can seriously harm patients when they need quality care the most.
Some of the most common long-term consequences of medical negligence include:
- A worsened injury or medical condition condition
- The need for ongoing medical care, including more painful and invasive surgeries and treatments
- Reduced life expectancy
- Bed sores
- Infections
- Corrective surgeries
- Internal organ damage
- Heart failure and heart attacks
- Development of ancillary medical complications or conditions
- Brain damage
- Paralysis and loss of mobility
- Blood clots
- Stroke
- Sepsis
Some medical mistakes are so serious that they’re fatal. If you lost a loved one because of a doctor’s negligence, our wrongful death lawyers can help you fight for fair compensation.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Medical Malpractice in Carbondale, Pennsylvania?
Doctors and nurses make mistakes for many different reasons. Not every mistake is malpractice. Medical malpractice happens when the level of care provided is below the medical standard of care.
Medical malpractice claims are often based on:
- Misdiagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failure to diagnose cancer and other diseases
- Adverse drug interactions
- Outdated practices or technology
- Overtreatment or undertreatment
- Wrong-site surgeries and mistaken patient identity
- Charting errors
- Failure to communicate
- Inexperienced health care professionals
- Understaffing
- Fatigued medical professionals and physician burnout
- Improper drug transfusions
- Failure to take a full patient medical history
- Failure to order the proper diagnostic tests
- Misinterpreting lab results
- Physician bias
- Failure to recognize a patient’s symptoms
- Failure to refer the patient to a specialist when appropriate
Of course, it can be tough to know exactly what caused the harm you’ve suffered. That’s why it’s always important to speak with an experienced attorney if you suspect you have been a victim of malpractice.
Our lawyers serving Carbondale are here to investigate and help you determine whether you have a valid claim. To learn more about how we can help, call our law firm to schedule a free case evaluation today.
How Do I Prove Medical Malpractice in Pennsylvania?
In a typical car accident case, the victim must establish the following elements to prove negligence:
- The at-fault party’s legal duty of care (such as a doctor-patient relationship)
- A breach of duty
- Causation
- Damages
Medical malpractice cases are similar. However, in medical malpractice cases, the victim must also establish the medical standard of care that applies to their case. The medical standard of care is a standard established by the medical community itself.
The standard is based on:
- The patient’s age and life expectancy
- The type of medical condition involved
- Geographic location
Once you establish the relevant standard of care, you must prove that the care you received deviated from that standard. Then, you must prove that you were harmed because of inadequate care.
Additionally, under Pennsylvania medical malpractice laws, your lawyer must first file a certificate of merit before you can take legal action. That certificate must state that a licensed professional has examined your case and believes there is a reasonable chance that your doctor or hospital’s mistake caused harm.
How Long Do I Have To File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Pennsylvania?
The statute of limitations in medical malpractice cases is two years. The two-year statute of limitations period starts to run on the date that you discovered your injury or on the date you reasonably should have discovered the injury.
In the past, plaintiffs had only seven years to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit regardless of when they discovered the injury. However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that this “statute of repose” was unconstitutional. Now, you may be entitled to file a lawsuit even if you did not discover the malpractice for many years.
Contact a Carbondale Medical Malpractice Lawyer for a Free Consultation
If a medical provider has caused you more harm than good, you may be entitled to compensation. An experienced Carbondale medical malpractice lawyer can help you navigate the complex medical malpractice laws in Pennsylvania. Call Marzzacco Niven & Associates today to learn more about your legal right to seek compensation for your injuries.