If you believe your healthcare provider’s medical mistake may have contributed to the injuries you suffered, working with a reputable Summerlin medical malpractice lawyer may be in your best interests.
When you choose a compassionate Summerlin personal injury lawyer with H&P Law to take on your case, you are getting 60+ years of combined experience working for you. Contact our office to request a 100% free consultation today and discuss your opportunities for legal recourse further.
Medical Malpractice Liability
Establishing liability in medical malpractice cases requires demonstrating that a healthcare provider or entity failed to meet the accepted standard of care, resulting in harm to the patient.
Your Summerlin catastrophic injury lawyer can help identify the responsible parties and gather evidence to support your claim. Different parties who could be held liable for medical malpractice include:
- Doctors may be held liable if they fail to diagnose a condition, perform a procedure improperly, or make harmful treatment decisions that deviate from the standard of care.
- Nurses could face liability if they administer incorrect medication, fail to monitor a patient properly, or neglect their responsibilities during treatment.
- Surgeons may be responsible for errors such as operating on the wrong site, leaving instruments inside the body, or causing unintended injuries during surgery.
- Hospitals can be held accountable for systemic issues like understaffing, unsanitary conditions, or hiring unqualified medical staff.
- Pharmacists may face liability if they dispense the wrong medication or provide incorrect dosage instructions to patients.
- Radiologists can be liable for misreading diagnostic images, leading to delayed or incorrect diagnoses.
Proving medical malpractice often involves using evidence such as medical records, expert testimony, and diagnostic reports to establish negligence and causation. Our Summerlin medical malpractice lawyers will carefully analyze these pieces of evidence. This way, we can show how the healthcare provider’s actions failed to meet the standard of care.
Medical Mistakes Come in Many Forms
Medical negligence occurs when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care, causing harm to the patient. The medical standard of care refers to the level of care and skill that a competent healthcare provider in the same specialty would provide under similar circumstances, as described by Donna Vanderpool, Director of Risk Management at Professional Risk Management Services (PRMS).
If you suspect your injuries may have been caused by your healthcare provider’s negligence, your Summerlin medical malpractice attorney from H&P Law can help you determine what your next steps should be.
Surgical Errors
Surgical errors are one of the most well-known forms of medical malpractice, occurring when mistakes are made during a procedure that causes harm to the patient. In fact, according to the National Practitioner Data Bank, Nevada reported 771 adverse action reports over the last two years, several of which involved surgical errors. These errors can include wrong-site surgery, performing the wrong procedure, or leaving surgical instruments inside the patient’s body.
Birth Injuries
Birth injuries caused by medical malpractice can lead to lifelong complications for both the baby and the mother. These injuries often occur due to negligence during prenatal care, labor, or delivery, such as failing to respond to fetal distress or improper use of delivery tools. Common birth injuries in medical malpractice cases include:
- Brachial plexus injuries – Damage to the network of nerves controlling the arm and hand.
- Cerebral palsy – A neurological disorder caused by oxygen deprivation during delivery.
- Shoulder dystocia – A condition where the baby’s shoulder becomes stuck during delivery.
- Skull fractures – Caused by excessive force during delivery.
- Facial nerve damage – Injury from improper use of forceps.
- Hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy – Brain damage due to lack of oxygen.
- Spinal cord injuries – Harm caused by mishandling during delivery.
- Broken bones – Fractures resulting from difficult or mismanaged deliveries.
- Uterine rupture – A severe complication affecting the mother.
- Stillbirth – Loss of the baby due to preventable errors.
Diagnostic Errors
Diagnostic errors occur when a healthcare provider misdiagnoses, delays a diagnosis, or fails to diagnose a condition entirely. In 2023, diagnostic errors were responsible for approximately 28% of all medical malpractice claims nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.
These errors can result in delayed treatment, progression of the disease, or unnecessary medical procedures that harm the patient.
Patients harmed by diagnostic errors often face severe consequences, including worsened conditions and reduced chances of recovery. Common causes of diagnostic errors include inadequate patient evaluations, misinterpretation of test results, or failure to order appropriate diagnostic tests.
Our firm will work tirelessly to investigate your claim and uncover how these errors occurred so we can bring the liable party to justice.
Nevada Medical Malpractice Laws You Need to Know
The Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations is a critical factor in medical malpractice lawsuits, as it dictates how long you have to file a claim. In Nevada, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases is outlined in NRS § 41A.097, which states that you must file your lawsuit within four years of the date of the alleged malpractice or within two years of discovering the injury, whichever comes first.
Failing to file within this timeframe can result in your case being dismissed, regardless of the strength of your evidence.
Fatal Medical Mistakes
If your loved one lost their life due to medical negligence, Nevada’s wrongful death laws may allow you to pursue compensation on their behalf. Wrongful death claims related to medical malpractice are outlined by NRS § 41.085, which allows certain family members or designated personal representatives to seek damages for medical expenses, funeral costs, and loss of companionship, among other damages.
Your Summerlin wrongful death lawyer will carefully evaluate your case to determine if the healthcare provider’s negligence directly caused your loved one’s death.
Get Help from a Leading Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Summerlin Today
Learning that your healthcare provider’s negligent actions may have contributed to your worsening condition can be devastating. However, with the right legal representation, you can hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
Reach out to a highly skilled medical malpractice attorney in Summerlin from H&P Law to request a free, no-obligation consultation and find out more about how much compensation you could be awarded and what to expect as your case progresses.
