Most people never think about medical malpractice law until they are injured or harmed by a doctor or other healthcare provider. Fortunately, victims of medical negligence can sue the medical professionals who caused them harm. They can recover compensation for pain, suffering, and other damages.
The Wyomissing medical malpractice lawyers at Marzzacco Niven & Associates can help you with a legal claim. Our law firm has recovered millions of dollars in damages for our clients since opening over 25 years ago. We focus on helping injured parties and their families with personal injury matters.
Contact our Wyomissing, PA law firm at (717) 388-2325 to schedule a free consultation with one of our Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers.
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How Our Wyomissing Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help If You’ve Been Injured Because of Medical Malpractice
Patients should not fear that their doctors and medical professionals will cause them more harm than good. They should be able to trust hospitals, nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals to provide quality service. Unfortunately, medical errors and mistakes can cause life-threatening and catastrophic injuries.
Recovering compensation in a medical malpractice case can be challenging. Insurance companies are not interested in paying fair compensation. Furthermore, Pennsylvania’s medical malpractice laws tend to favor the medical providers.
Therefore, you need experienced Wyomissing medical malpractice attorneys to fight for your right to fair compensation for damages. Pennsylvania’s top-rated injury lawyers at Marzzacco Niven & Associates have over 120 years of collective legal experience handling personal injury cases.
With hundreds of trials and thousands of personal injury settlements, we have the skills to handle the most complex medical malpractice claim. Our attorneys have been recognized by Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40.
When you hire our award-winning legal team, you can trust that we will:
- Complete a thorough investigation to determine how you were injured
- Work with leading medical specialists and other expert witnesses to gather evidence proving malpractice
- Document your damages to determine how much your medical malpractice case is worth
- File insurance claims and deal with the insurance company for you
- Negotiate a settlement that compensates you for your damages
- File a medical malpractice lawsuit and argue your case in court, if necessary
We accept medical malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis. A contingent fee allows you to hire our law firm without paying money upfront for attorneys’ fees. Instead, we are paid from the compensation we recover in your case.
Medical providers do not want to admit they were negligent or made medical errors that caused a patient harm. At Marzzacco Niven & Associates, our Pennsylvania attorneys will fight to hold them accountable when they harm their patients.
Call now for a free case evaluation with an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.
Marzzacco Niven & Associates Handles All Types of Medical Malpractice Claims
Medical errors are a leading cause of death in the United States. The reasons for medical malpractice vary, but often can be traced to negligence or carelessness.
Common causes of medical malpractice in Wyomissing include:
- Failing to obtain and review a patient’s medical history before providing treatment
- Medication errors, including giving a patient the wrong medication or the incorrect dose
- Failing to recognize a patient’s symptoms
- Misinterpreting the results of diagnostic tests
- Birth injuries caused by labor and delivery malpractice
- Failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis, and delayed diagnosis
- Pharmacy errors and mistakes
- Failing to sanitize and sterilize equipment and patient rooms
- Surgical errors and mistakes
- Anesthesia errors
- Failing to order diagnostic tests and/or refer a patient to a specialist in a timely manner
- Miscommunication between medical providers and staff members
- Failing to obtain informed consent from the patient
- Not monitoring a patient for signs of complications after surgery or other medical procedures
- Using defective medical equipment or failing to maintain medical equipment
- Treating a patient while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs
This list is not exhaustive. There are many other ways a doctor can commit medical malpractice. If you suspect you are the victim of medical malpractice, call Marzzacco Niven & Associates to discuss your case with an attorney.
Common Injuries and Harm Caused by Medical Malpractice
Patients can suffer extreme harm because of medical errors and medical negligence.
Examples of injuries and harm in medical malpractice cases include:
- The need for additional medical treatment and procedures
- Complications and infections
- Traumatic brain injury
- Chronic pain
- The need for long-term personal and/or nursing care
- Nerve damage and paralysis
- Internal organ damage
- Surgical amputation
- Loss of bodily functions
- Stroke and heart attack
- Seizures
The type of harm and injury a patient sustains depends on the type and extent of the malpractice. Sadly, some patients die because of medical malpractice. If your family member died because of a medical provider’s negligence, you might be entitled to damages under a wrongful death claim.
What Is My Wyomissing Medical Malpractice Case Worth?
The amount you receive for a medical malpractice claim depends on the facts and circumstances of your case. There is no set formula for determining what a case is worth. Instead, we’ll analyze the factors in the case to calculate the value of your damages.
Factors that impact how much your Wyomissing medical malpractice case is worth include, but are not limited to:
- The nature of the injury or harm you sustained
- Whether the malpractice caused permanent impairments or disabilities
- The strength of the evidence establishing liability
- The extent to which the injuries impact your daily activities and life
- Whether you can return to work or perform any gainful activity to earn income
- The cost and duration of your recovery
- The type of mistake that caused your injury
Other factors could impact how much money you receive for a medical malpractice claim in Wyomissing, PA. Our lawyers will carefully and thoroughly analyze each aspect of your case to maximize your recovery amount.
What Damages Are Paid in a Wyomissing Medical Malpractice Claim?
The types of damages you can receive for medical malpractice include economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages reimburse you for monetary losses, including:
- Past and future medical bills
- Personal care and long-term nursing care
- Occupational, physical, and rehabilitative therapies
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Past and future lost wages, benefits, and earning capacity
Non-economic damages compensate you for the pain and suffering you experience because of a medical provider’s negligence or intentional acts.
Examples of non-economic damages include:
- Physical discomfort and agony
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Depression, anxiety, and emotional distress
- Impairments and disabilities
- A decrease in quality of life
- Mental anguish and trauma
- Reduced life expectancy
You can recover up to the full amount of your compensatory damages for financial losses, pain, and suffering. However, Pennsylvania places caps on punitive damages in medical malpractice cases. Punitive damages are only awarded if you can prove gross negligence.
Proving Your Right To Compensation in a Medical Malpractice Claim
Establishing liability in a medical malpractice case requires you to have sufficient evidence to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that:
- The doctor owed you a legal duty of care, such as the duty of care created by a doctor-patient relationship
- The doctor breached the duty of care because of their negligence or an error
- The doctor’s breach of duty fell short of the medical standard of care for the situation
- The breach of duty is the direct and proximate cause of your injury
- You suffered harm and sustained damages because of the doctor’s conduct
You must have medical experts to testify on your behalf in a medical malpractice case. The medical expert must establish the standard of care that should have been used in the situation. Then, the expert should testify about how your doctor failed to meet that standard of care.
Our Wyomissing medical malpractice attorneys have worked with many medical experts. We’ll handle all matters related to hiring a medical expert for your case.
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice Cases in Pennsylvania?
Most medical malpractice claims must be filed within two years from the date of injury. However, exceptions to the statute of limitations could lengthen the time to file a claim.
Situations that could extend the statute of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits include:
- The victim was under 18 years old when the malpractice occurred
- The medical provider fraudulently concealed facts about the case to hide the malpractice
- A foreign object was left inside your body by a medical provider
- There was a reasonable delay in discovering the malpractice
You should never assume you have more time to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. It is best to talk to one of our Wyomissing medical malpractice attorneys when you first suspect a medical provider was negligent or made an error. Waiting too long to pursue a claim could result in losing the right to file a lawsuit.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Wyomissing Medical Malpractice Lawyers
You have the right to expect a certain standard of care when you go to the doctor. If a medical provider fails to meet that standard of care, you could suffer harm. If that happened to you, our legal team at Marzzacco Niven & Associates wants to help you hold the negligent party liable for their wrongdoing.
Call now for a free case review with an experienced Wyomissing personal injury attorney.