When you receive treatment from a doctor or hospital, you are trusting them to deliver a competent level of care that won’t lead to preventable harm. Unfortunately, even the best physicians can make serious, though unintended, mistakes.
Medical mistakes and medical treatment that doesn’t go as planned could leave you in significant distress and suffering both physically and mentally. This could lead to substantial financial losses and further medical expenses.
Medical documentation isn’t something that a patient normally needs to think about but when things haven’t gone as planned, they can be a crucial part of the case. If there is any kind of dispute or disagreement between the patient and the physician, the medical documentation provides the legal protection that both sides need. When the medical documentation is missing, insufficient or contains mistakes, it can help to demonstrate that the physician has not acted as competently as the law expects.
If you have suffered from harmful medical mistakes, sometimes generally referred to as medical malpractice, don’t suffer in silence. Contact William S. Wojcik Ltd., and receive advice and support from our expert team of professional medical malpractice lawyers in Chicago.
Medical Malpractice Cases
Medical malpractice is an extremely complex area of law, and requires expert knowledge and skill to be able to navigate the case successfully. Here at William S. Wojcik Ltd, we have a proven track record in medical malpractice and have lawyers with vast experience in the field.
It’s essential to understand how the law defines medical malpractice before proceeding with a case. For the law to accept that medical negligence/ malpractice has taken place, the following must be established:
There was a professional duty the physician owed to the patient. This is arguably the simplest to demonstrate as every physician owes their patients a duty of care. Nevertheless, it must be proven that the relationship existed.
There was a violation of the standard of care. This means that the physician was negligent in delivering a level of care that would have been deemed as acceptable by other medical professionals, given similar circumstances. The law allows that patients should be entitled to expect to receive a consistent level of care from health care professionals. If it’s accepted that the physician has deviated from the standard of care that any other prudent health care professional would have provided, it’s possible to establish negligence.
It is not sufficient for the negligence simply to have taken place - there must be some injury caused. For medical malpractice to be proven, it must be demonstrated that the injury arose as a result of the negligence. If there was an injury but it did not arise from the negligence, there will be no case to answer.
The injury caused by the negligence led to significant damage. It must be proven that the injury caused suffering and hardship, disability, loss of income, unusual pain or additional past/future medical bills.
In this context, it’s imperative to underline the fact that a physician failing to act when they should have done something is also considered to be negligence. The circumstances of the care will also determine what the outcome would have been, and the test will be against what other competent health care professionals would have done in similar circumstances. For example, the expectations for emergency care in a life-threatening situation may be different from routine minor surgery.
At William S. Wojcik Ltd. in Oak Lawn, IL we have proven experience in establishing medical malpractice and understanding the very complex criteria which applies.
Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Chicagoland
We understand that deciding to go ahead with a case for medical malpractice can be a difficult decision to make. Our professional team of medical malpractice lawyers in Chicagoland can guide you through the process, step by step. A study by the University of Chicago revealed that as many as 1 in 5 Americans believe they have suffered from an error in their medical care. Out of these people, three quarters said they were injured as a result of the error. If all of these people received proper help from a medical malpractice lawyer, there would be millions of claims every year. However, another study suggested that no more than 1% of all medical incidents lead to a claim.
Despite the popular misconception that there is too much litigation, the reverse is actually true. Only a tiny fraction of people receive the support they deserve from a medical malpractice lawyer after being injured due to medical malpractice.
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has said that medical malpractice is the third leading cause of USA deaths, with more than a quarter of a million people dying every year due to errors. Given the potential severity of errors, pursuing a claim for medical malpractice can help to prevent even worse mistakes from taking place.
If you think you may have been a victim of medical malpractice, come and talk to the lawyers who really understand. William S. Wojcik Ltd. will provide you with honest, independent and expert advice about what your options are.
What to do if there is a Medical Documentation error?
Medical documentation is a crucial part of the process and if it goes missing, the result can be catastrophic. A physician must keep complete records of your care including any agreements you reached regarding treatment, the medication prescribed, allergies, care given and any other pertinent information. These records could save your life in an emergency so it’s vital that they’re completely reliable.
The care and medication delivered to you will be based on other medical professionals reading your records so missing, incomplete or incorrect information is a huge issue. If you suffer an injury and the appropriate medical documentation is incomplete, incorrect or unclear, you could have a strong case for medical malpractice.
In addition, if missing records prevented you from receiving the proper care you would have been entitled to, and you suffered a substantive injury as a result, you may be eligible to claim.
Medical documentation is there to provide you with a competent level of care and to protect the physician in the event of litigation. For this reason, any errors with the medical documentation must be taken very seriously because in the worst case scenario, the consequences can even be fatal.
Medical Malpractice Settlement Case Studies
Here in Chicagoland, at William S. Wojcik Ltd. we have an outstanding track record in winning cases for medical malpractice. We believe it’s important for patients to have their voices heard in an area of litigation that can be difficult to navigate.
With more than 100 successful cases for medical malpractice and 40 years in practice, our team of lawyers at William S. Wojcik Ltd can provide the very best possible advice.
Some of the cases for medical malpractice we have won includes:
$1.495 million for an elderly patient who developed vascular injuries due to surgical errors, and subsequently received negligent wound care while in a nursing home;
$3.775 million for a group of female patients who endured unnecessary biopsies from their ob/gyn physician;
$1.2 million for a baby who was infected with Hepatitis B as the hospital and physician failed to administer the necessary Hepatitis B vaccine or Hepatitis B immune globulin at birth or during his stay.
We have also been at the forefront of groundbreaking cases for medical malpractice, including the use of novel theories to produce settlements.
The field of medical malpractice is exceedingly complex so it’s essential to have help from lawyers who are experts in this area. At William S. Wojcik Ltd., we can provide you with honest, reliable and informed advice about your case for medical malpractice and what to do next.
Get in touch with us today at our office in Oak Lawn, Illinois to find out more.