Medical malpractice occurs when doctors, medical staff, or hospitals and other medical facilities engage in negligent conduct and injure a patient. There are many rules, regulations, and time limitations on these lawsuits, so it is important to seek a Cherry Hill medical malpractice lawyer to see if you are eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Requirements for a Medical Malpractice Claim
The medical staff must owe you a duty of care to file a claim. Duty of care means that there was an obligation to you. If you go to a doctor, hospital, or medical facility, you are owed a duty of care. This is often a very straight forward requirement for a medical malpractice claim, but not always.
The standard of care must have been violated. The standard of care is the level of care which patients are expected to receive from medical staff and facilities. Your lawyer must be able to prove that when your doctor made a mistake the Standard of Care was violated. As part of your case a medical expert is necessary to prove that the Standard of Care was violated. Even if we are able to prove the Standard of Care was violated, if you were not injured, you do not have a medical malpractice claim. In addition, the injuries must be serious in nature. Medical malpractice cases are expensive to bring due to the substantial expenses involved in proving the case. As a result, if you or your loved one didn’t suffer a serious injury, it may be too expensive to bring your case. An ethical lawyer does not want to bring a lawsuit when it will not provide you with compensation due to all of the expenses involved. Additionally, the doctor’s mistake must be directly related to the damage you experienced. If the damage is unrelated to the mistake, you cannot have a successful claim.
Lowenthal & Abrams, Injury Attorneys legal staff includes a doctor and nurse. These lawyers have the medical backgrounds necessary to quickly review your records so we can determine if you have a case that should be investigated further. After our internal staff reviews your records, if we think it is appropriate, we send your documents to a doctor who practices in the same areas as the doctor who injured you. This allows us to obtain the required affidavit of merit. Our attorneys in Cherry Hill could review your case to determine if you are eligible to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Statute of Limitations for Medical Negligence Claims
New Jersey has a two year statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims. The statute begins from the date you were injured or should have known that you were injured. There is an exception for claims involving children. Children have two years from the date they turn 18 to file a suit. There is another exception for birth-related lawsuits. If a baby is injured during birth, a birth injury case must be filed prior to the child’s 13th birthday. If you fail to bring your case within the proper time period, you lose the right to sue. This is why it is important to contact one of our Cherry Hill lawyers as soon as possible, so we can take the steps to protect your rights in a medical malpractice case.
Types of Medical Malpractice Cases
- Anesthesia Mistakes
- Birth Injury
- Brain Injury
- Cancer Misdiagnosis
- Delayed Diagnosis
- Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer
- Never Events
- Surgical Errors
- Wrongful Death
Speak with a Cherry Hill Medical Malpractice Attorney
At Lowenthal & Abrams, Injury Attorneys, our experienced Cherry Hill medical malpractice lawyers are here to help. Contact us today so we can help you determine if might have a suit.