Hastings Law Firm Medical Malpractice Lawyers

That's definitely a question for your accountant, but we can offer some basic understanding. There are certain circumstances that must be considered and they determine whether or not you have to pay taxes on your award. Here are the things you should know about which damages may be considered taxable and which ones are tax-free. Economic damages: These are the damages with direct monetary value that compensate you for the medical expenses associated with the injury sustained. These damages are not taxable income. Non-economic damages: For emotional damages, the award is taxable unless it is directly connected to the physical injury or illness. Punitive damages: These are considered additional awards that punish the defendant and because it’s on top of any compensation, it is considered taxable income. If economic damages include replacement income, that must be included in the taxable income, as well as interest awarded as part of the lawsuit.

Generally speaking, even with strong evidence of medical negligence, medmal cases are more difficult than most personal injury claims. Winning a medical malpractice trial as a plaintiff requires convincing a jury that a physician breached a duty of care in a way that a reasonable and prudent doctor would not have in the same situation. This is the main element of proof necessary to bring a medical malpractice claim. Proving negligence may take hiring experts, providing evidence, and – most important – working with an experienced attorney. It is critical to protect yourself with a lawyer of your own when pursuing compensation for alleged medical malpractice. Since the odds are against you during a jury trial, it is important to aim for a settlement before the case gets to this stage. A medical malpractice lawyer well-versed in these cases can maximize the odds of obtaining a payment without the need for a trial.

If you think you have a viable case, it's important to discuss your situation with an experienced attorney as soon as possible, to preserve your right to a legal remedy. One of the first things to know is that every state has enacted a law that limits the amount of time you can wait before you get your lawsuit started in civil court. Every state’s deadline is different, but most range from two to four years, with outliers at either end. In a state that sets a two-year statute of limitations on medical malpractice cases (such as Georgia or Texas), you must file any medical malpractice lawsuit within two years of the health care provider's medical negligence.

You may or may not need to testify, and if you don’t, you will not be required to attend the trial as long as you send your lawyer to represent you.

The first step in filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, other than retaining a skilled medical malpractice attorney, is to identify the appropriate defendant. Any healthcare provider, whether an individual or an organization, can be conceivably sued for medical malpractice, including a doctor, a nurse, a dentist, a hospital, a medical group, or a hospice. Then, you are going to need to file a formal complaint. Complaints need to be drafted according to certain formal requirements, and every single sentence in the Complaint has consequences for your claim. Then, the discovery phase will occur which consists of each party gathering evidence from the other side or third parties. At this point, the court will almost certainly pressure the parties to negotiate an out-of-court settlement of your claim since this would reduce the court’s workload. If a settlement cannot be made, then the complaint will be sent to trial.

No. It is critical to understand that filing a report does not automatically help to establish medical negligence in any case you do eventually file. A report filed with the state board can only affect the ability of the doctor or hospital to continue practicing medicine. The purpose of the report is not to compensate the patient for harm caused as a result of the mistake. On the other hand, the purpose of a lawsuit for medical malpractice is to get compensation for harm caused by a mistake by a doctor or hospital. Such a lawsuit must be filed in court, and patients should usually consult an attorney before initiating the process.

All medical errors should be reported to a state’s medical complaint board. The process of filing a report and the subsequent proceedings vary significantly by state. In general, the patient will fill out a form identifying all of the relevant parties and describing the mistake that occurred, as well as any harm that resulted from it.. It is important to understand that in some states, after a patient submits a report, the board may never contact the patient or sanction the doctor. This does not mean that the board ignored the report. It probably means that the doctor has a relatively strong professional record and that the board viewed the mistake as an isolated incident. However, the report is still important because if the board receives a similar complaint about the same doctor in the near future, the board might be much more likely to sanction the doctor.

Not necessarily. Medical results cannot be guaranteed, and unexpected or unsuccessful results do not necessarily mean your medical provider was negligent. For a successful medical malpractice case, injury or damages had to result from the doctor’s deviation from the standard of care applicable to the procedure.

No. A medical malpractice case is considered a civil suit. With all civil cases, the plaintiff is required to sign a release in which they agree to forgo any future legal action whatsoever once the case has been closed. This is the case for medical malpractice lawsuits. For this reason, victims of medical negligence are urged to fully understand the extent of their losses prior to agreeing to a malpractice settlement. Once a release has been signed, there’s no going back and asking for more compensation.

Yes, it is still possible to recover damages even if you signed a consent form. A consent form does not allow a medical practitioner to act negligently. If you can establish that your doctor deviated from the applicable standard of care and that you were injured as a result, you may still receive compensation for your damages.

No. Medical malpractice solely constitutes damages, such as injury, pain and suffering, or the need for further treatment. While it’s not comforting to learn that something could have gone wrong during a medical procedure, if the mistake was caught and corrected right away without harm, you do not have a valid medical malpractice case.

It is possible. Many medical malpractice cases settle at some time before trial; however, they generally will take some time to settle and are more likely to be tried than other cases. This is because doctors usually win and frequently refuse to consent to a settlement even if their insurance company wants them to.

No. A medical malpractice suit can be brought against most licensed health care professionals. This includes physicians, dentists, specialists, emergency room doctors, anesthesiologists, registered nurses, pharmacists, optometrists, physical therapists, etc.

In short, no. While medical professionals are required to act quickly and competently without doing unnecessary harm to a patient, they are not required to be perfect. Unsuccessful results from a treatment or surgery alone are not grounds for a medical malpractice case; however, if poor results were due to negligence, then malpractice may have occurred.

There is no way to know this without evaluation by an expert medical malpractice attorney. Even then, attorneys can give general ranges of typical jury verdicts, but ultimately the value of any particular case must be determined either by agreement through settlement or through the verdict of a jury.

Upon initial contact we can usually provide an opinion on whether or not we believe you have a likely claim just by reviewing your records and patient history. We cannot provide a definitive answer until one of our medical experts has reviewed all of your records. The time required depends on the complexity of the situation and the type of medical procedures involved. The process can take from a few days to several weeks.

Medical malpractice is considered a “personal injury” and is subject to a statute of limitations. Under Texas law a patient for medical malpractice must file their lawsuit within two years from the date the malpractice occurred. If an exact data cannot be determined, the limit will be two years from the end of treatment or hospitalization.

Future medical costs will be considered in the damages awarded or in a settlement if it is determined that you will need additional treatment because of the injuries sustained in your case.

There are two main types of damages victims of medical malpractice may be entitled to: compensatory and punitive. Compensatory damages, also known as monetary damages, are the most common form of damages in a personal injury claim. Compensatory damages can include: Past, current, and future medical bills Costs of medical equipment Home healthcare expenses Lost wages Emotional duress Loss of future earnings potential Loss of enjoyment of life (Loss of Consortium) Punitive damages are rare in medical malpractice cases but may be available if the medical professional in question acted intentionally or with particularly reckless behavior. These types of damages are awarded to punish the professional for gross negligence, or when the court feels as though they would be getting off lightly by only having to compensate the patient for the resulting injuries.

We handle all medical malpractice cases on a contingency basis meaning you pay nothing upfront but agree to pay a percentage when your case is won or a settlement is reached.

Generally, the only way to make such a determination is for review by an experienced medical malpractice lawyer who in turn will consult with medical experts in the field.

Not on its own. It depends on the information available to your doctor at the time your diagnosis was made, and the steps he or she took (or didn't take) in reaching a conclusion as to your condition. All of this must be weighed against the applicable medical standard of care, meaning the level of care that a similarly-trained health care professional would have provided. And if there was a misdiagnosis that fell below the applicable standard of care, you need to show that you ended up suffering some kind of harm as a result.

Medical mistakes do happen and not all such accidents are considered malpractice. Despite an adverse outcome or even death, Texas law requires that anyone injured in a medical setting must be able to prove the following: That a doctor-patient relationship existed That a medical professional or hospital was “negligent” in the care they provided or that a sub-standard level of care was evident That the patient suffered damages, also called “quantifiable harm”, as a result of negligent medical care

Although the specific definition of informed consent may vary from state to state, it means essentially that a physician (or other medical provider) must tell a patient of all the potential benefits, risks, and alternatives involved in any surgical procedure, medical procedure, or other course of treatment, and must obtain the patient's written consent to proceed.

Medical malpractice is a general term used to describe any type of medical negligence that causes injury. Some of the most common types of medical malpractice are: Misdiagnosis Surgical Errors Prescription Errors Failure to diagnose Birth Injuries (Such as Cerebral Palsy) Nursing Home Abuse

Medical malpractice is when a hospital, doctor or other health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, causes an injury to a patient. A negligent act can be due to a treatment, error in diagnosis, health management or aftercare.

Hi Kimberly. Depending on how busy the attorney's are when you call, you may speak with an intake specialist who's job is to gather the basic information about your case. This is then reviewed by one of our attorneys to determine if the case will meet the criteria for litigation.

We represent plaintiffs in medical malpractice and negligence cases.