Norristown Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Medical professionals must dedicate time and care to each patient to provide proper treatment. If a doctor or another healthcare professional left you worse than before, you might have been a victim of malpractice.

The skilled attorneys at Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers understand the medical and legal systems involved in malpractice cases. Your Norristown medical malpractice lawyer can pursue the settlement or damages award you deserve while you focus on healing.

Our legal team has a track record of success in these cases. We recovered a $1,300,000 pre-trial settlement for a client injured by a doctor’s malpractice when he cut a nerve in her shoulder while performing a routine biopsy on her skin. No matter the circumstances of your injury, we are prepared to support you and represent your best interests.

Deciding Whether a Mistake is Medical Malpractice

Predicting how a patient will react to a particular disease, procedure, or treatment can be challenging. However, doctors undergo years of training to learn what to do if a patient doesn’t respond as expected. Medical malpractice often occurs when a doctor does not pay close enough attention until it is too late. A Norristown malpractice attorney could bring a claim if a doctor:

  • Misdiagnoses a disease
  • Fails to diagnose a serious condition
  • Makes a surgical error
  • Does not conduct appropriate follow-up
  • Prescribes a dangerous medication
  • Ignores or discounts your symptoms

Whatever circumstances led to your injury, your lawyer must prove that the doctor did not provide an acceptable standard of care. This means the doctor did not use the level of knowledge and skill that another doctor with similar credentials would have used in the same circumstances.

Timeframes for a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Norristown

Pennsylvania law gives a patient two years to file a medical malpractice claim. The law contains several exceptions, so it is a good idea to consult your lawyer about the time limitations in your specific medical malpractice case.

Sometimes, patients don’t realize they have been the victim of medical malpractice until long after they stop seeing a doctor. For example, suppose a high school student sees their pediatrician complaining of headaches. The doctor diagnoses migraines and writes a prescription that provides some temporary relief. Five years later, the student gets a brain tumor diagnosis. If the pediatrician had run more tests, they might have found the tumor years before, and the patient would have had a better prognosis.

In a case like this, the patient has two years after they learned of the correct diagnosis to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the pediatrician. Other exceptions might apply in other cases, as the medical negligence attorneys at Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers can explain.

Special Procedures for Medical Malpractice Cases

If a patient wants compensation for a doctor’s mistake, they must first convince another doctor to agree in writing that malpractice likely occurred. Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1042.3 requires your attorney in a medical malpractice action to file a certificate of merit with the court soon after filing the lawsuit. The lawyer must certify that a medical expert reviewed the patient’s records and found that the medical care might not have met an acceptable standard.

Although caps do not apply in other injury cases, Pennsylvania caps the punitive damages a patient could receive in a medical malpractice case. If the doctor’s behavior was grossly negligent and a jury awards punitive damages, the law limits how much you can collect.

Trust a Norristown Attorney to Pursue Your Medical Malpractice Case

Medical malpractice cases can be legally complex, making it essential to work with a seasoned attorney with a track record of success in these situations. A Norristown medical malpractice lawyer at Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers has the legal expertise and experience to secure fair payment from the doctor that injured you.

Do not delay getting legal advice if you are thinking about suing for medical malpractice. You will not pay a single cent until we win the compensation you deserve, so give us a call today.