Whether it’s a routine checkup or emergency care for a sudden injury or illness, you deserve high-quality treatment from every medical professional involved in your care. Any doctor who acts carelessly or recklessly and causes you harm may be civilly liable to pay for the consequences of their behavior. However, knowing a doctor is at-fault and holding them legally accountable are very different things.
Working with a winning Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer can be key to effectively demanding the money you need for your damages. Pennsylvania has strict laws for medical malpractice lawsuits that can be difficult to navigate. An experienced attorney from Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers will ensure your claim follows the legal requirements and demands payment for every cent of compensation you deserve.
Proving a Doctor Didn’t Meet a Standard of Care
Most of the time, holding someone else liable for injuring you through negligence means proving that they failed to live up to a “duty of care.” However, if the person you’re trying to sue is a medical professional, you’ll instead need to prove that they didn’t meet the “standard of care” for the circumstances under which they were treating you, which is slightly different.
The “standard of care” for healthcare professionals is essentially the level of care that another medical professional with the same skills, training, and experience would have provided in the same situation. This means that the exact level of care a doctor owes you depends on the circumstances. For example, the standard of care for doctors in emergency rooms working under highly stressful and hectic conditions would differ from that of a physical therapist.
Additionally, Pennsylvania law requires you to get a “certificate of merit” from another qualified medical expert. This confirms that, in their opinion, the doctor you’re suing violated the “standard of care” under the circumstances. Help from a skilled Philadelphia attorney can be vital to building a strong medical malpractice claim that meets these requirements.
Getting Paid for Medical Malpractice
A doctor or healthcare facility found liable for harming you through “malpractice” can be made to pay for all losses stemming directly from their misconduct, including:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional and mental anguish
- Loss of life’s pleasures
- Additional medical bills, including costs of long-term care like physical therapy and assistive equipment like wheelchairs
- Lost work wages or ability to work
Importantly, though, you typically have a limited amount of time after discovering you were hurt by your doctor to start filing a lawsuit against them. Your medical malpractice lawyer in Philadelphia can explain exactly what deadlines might apply to your case during a free, no-obligation consultation.
Talk to a Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Attorney About Legal Options
Negligence by a doctor, nurse, surgeon, or other medical care provider can have long-lasting and even life-threatening consequences. You have the right to hold that person accountable for their negligence through a comprehensive civil lawsuit.
Assistance from a Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer is essential to getting the best possible outcome from a claim like this. At Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers, we have a track record of success helping people in your situation recover the compensation they deserve. For instance, we recovered a $1,300,000 pre-trial settlement for a client injured when a doctor cut a nerve in her shoulder while performing a routine biopsy on her skin. Contact us to discuss your case and learn your legal options.
