Holding Health Care Professionals Accountable For Medical Malpractice

Health care providers are only human; they make mistakes just like anyone else. However, there is a difference between a simple mistake and negligence; an adverse result that is a common risk of the procedure is not malpractice, however, often the failure to discovery and take action to correct the adverse outcome may be malpractice.

Doctors and other medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care, meaning that they must use a reasonable level of care in treating patients in like or similar circumstances. When healthcare professionals fail to use a reasonable level of care that directly results in an injury, they must be held accountable.

Misdiagnosis, Failure To Diagnose And Other Forms Of Medical Errors

Doctors often fail to recognize obvious signals when making diagnoses. Any delay can result in life-changing, catastrophic injuries such as brain injury, paralysis or disfigurement. Errors in diagnosis can aggravate preexisting conditions, lead to more severe symptoms, create a disability or cause death. Our experience covers a wide range of medical errors, including:

• Surgical errors
• Medication errors
• Misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis
• Emergency room malpractice
• Nursing errors
• Anesthesia errors

These errors can occur in any kind of health care setting, including doctor offices, hospitals, clinics and nursing homes.

Take Action To Preserve Your Rights If You Suspect Malpractice

The Statute of Limitations controls the time periods of when you may persue a claim of malpractice. While normal negligence cases allow three years to file a claim against an at-fault party, a medical malpractice claim must be brought within two years of the date of the act or within six months of when you knew or should have known that malpractice had been committed, not to exceed six years. In a wrongful death case, action must be taken within two years of the date a personal representative is appointed in the probate court, not to exceed six years from the date of loss.

We must obtain the medical records and retain a physician or specialist to help define the standard of care and whether it has been breached and also whether the breach directly caused the injury here.  In a wrongful death case, we must have Letters of Authority issued by the probate court during the appointment of a Personal Representative before we can obtain those records.

After our review, the law requires us to serve a Notice of Intent on all possible parties involved and we cannot file suit until 182 days have elapsed, unless other circumstances exist. During that period, the statute of limitations is tolled and we will continue to investigate the case and determine the experts that are need to win.

At the conclusion of the 182-day period, and before we can file suit, we must obtain an Affidavit of Meritorious Claim signed by a physician in the same area of medical care and at the same level of specialty training as the target defendant. This Affidavit is then filed with the Court along with the Complaint.

At Schefman & Associates, PC, we  apply decades of experience representing victims of medical malpractice and doctors to guide you through the complex medical malpractice claims process.

Contact Us

If you believe you have a medical malpractice claim, call our Bloomfield Hills office at 248-800-1665 to set up a free initial consultation. You can also reach us using our online contact form.