Las lesiones causadas por negligencia médica suelen ser inesperadas, devastadoras y costosas. Además, las cuestiones relacionadas con la negligencia médica son complejas.

Para llevar adecuadamente un caso de negligencia médica, es importante comprender tanto los aspectos jurídicos como los médicos.

Por eso necesita un abogado especializado en negligencias médicas de Baltimore con amplia experiencia en negligencias médicas que pueda prestar a su caso la atención que necesita.

¿Tengo un caso de negligencia médica?

Las demandas por negligencia médica son complejas, pero conseguir una indemnización por sus lesiones no es imposible.

A seasoned Baltimore medical malpractice lawyer can help determine whether you have a valid medical malpractice claim.  

To prove medical malpractice, you must show that a medical professional’s negligence made you suffer additional or worsened injuries. To prove their negligence, you must show:

  • You had a doctor-patient relationship with the defendant;
  • The doctor-patient relationship imposed a duty of care on the defendant to comply with the generally accepted standard of care for professionals with similar training and experience;
  • The medical provider breached the duty of care by deviating from the generally accepted standard of care for similarly trained professionals;
  • The deviation made you suffer additional or worsened injuries; and
  • Ha sufrido pérdidas a causa de sus lesiones.

 Before you proceed with a medical malpractice lawsuit in Maryland, you must submit a certificate from a qualified medical expert verifying that they reviewed your claim and believe that the defendant deviated from the standard of care, resulting in your injuries.

Our medical malpractice lawyers in Baltimore will hire a medical expert to testify about the applicable standard of care and how the defendant breached it.

Áreas de práctica

The different forms of medical malpractice cases we handle are described in more detail below. Reach out to one of our medical malpractice lawyers in Baltimore to review your claim and determine whether you have a case. 

Cuestiones de anestesia

Patients undergo general anesthesia during surgical operations to put them to sleep and prevent them from moving around during the surgery.

Anesthesia is typically inhaled through a mask or injected through an IV. Before your operation, an anesthesiologist should advise you of the risks associated with general anesthesia and answer any of your questions.

In some cases, the anesthesiologist may give you the incorrect dose of anesthesia, or your body may react to the anesthesia unexpectedly.

Research indicates that medication errors occur during general anesthesia up to 1.12% of the time. The most common anesthesia errors involve administering the incorrect dose or substituting the incorrect medication. Factors that contribute to anesthesia errors include:

  • Inexperience,
  • Time pressure to proceed with an operation, and
  • Communication problems.

Anesthesiologists are trained to administer the correct dosage of medication, monitor patients during surgery, and oversee their recovery from anesthesia. If the anesthesiologist fails to provide reasonable care, they may be liable for any resulting losses.

Errores quirúrgicos

Avoidable mistakes during surgery by medical personnel can give rise to a medical malpractice claim.

In the U.S., the most common surgical mistakes involve operating on the wrong body part, performing the incorrect procedure, using improper surgical methods, failure to maintain adequate awareness of the surgical field or performing the procedure on the wrong patient.

For example, a surgeon may incorrectly operate on a patient’s left arm instead of their right arm that needed the operation. These surgical errors are referred to as  “wrong-site, wrong-procedure, wrong-patient errors” (WSPEs).

They are also called “never events” because they should never happen in an operating room and signify underlying safety issues. Research indicates that WSPEs happen in less than 1% of surgical procedures that occur inside operating rooms. 

If a surgical error causes additional medical expenses, you can file a medical malpractice claim against the surgeon responsible. 

Diagnóstico erróneo

An individual usually visits a doctor to get their expert opinion on a medical condition and how to remedy it. Unfortunately, a doctor can misdiagnose a medical condition instead, complicating your treatment options and extending your recovery time.

If the misdiagnosis worsens your condition, you can file a medical malpractice claim to recover the costs of any additional care arising after the misdiagnosis.

To pursue a medical malpractice case alleging a misdiagnosis, it is insufficient to show that a doctor simply misdiagnosed your condition. You must show that the misdiagnosis was the result of negligence.

That means proving that a similarly trained medical professional under the same or similar circumstances would have properly diagnosed your condition. Actions that can demonstrate a doctor made a negligent misdiagnosis include:

  • Malinterpretar los resultados del laboratorio,
  • Failing to review a patient’s medical history,
  • No solicitar las pruebas adecuadas,
  • Missing easily recognizable signs or symptoms of a condition, and
  • No diagnosticar una enfermedad a tiempo. 

Misdiagnosing an illness or injury can result in a longer recovery time and additional medical expenses associated with that recovery. 

Lesiones al nacer 

A birth injury is a physical injury that happens to either the mother or the baby during childbirth.

There are multiple potential causes of a birth injury, including mistakes during delivery, poor pregnancy care, and medication errors. Some common birth injuries to infants include:

  • Asfixia del parto y otras formas de privación de oxígeno;
  • Lesiones del plexo braquial, que suelen afectar a los hombros, las manos y los brazos;
  • Vacuum extraction and forceps injuries, including bruises and broken bones; and
  • Parálisis cerebral por falta de oxígeno durante el parto.

Common birth injuries to the mother include:

  • Errores de cesárea,
  • Hemorragia uterina anormal,
  • Rotura uterina,
  • Infección,
  • Útero prolapsado,
  • Hemorrhaging, and
  • Embolia pulmonar.

If a doctor’s malpractice causes a birth injury or defect, reach out to a Baltimore medical malpractice lawyer to talk about your case.

Negligencia en urgencias

A study found that approximately 5.7% of patients receive an incorrect diagnosis in the emergency room, and approximately 2% suffer an adverse event as a result.

This amounts to approximately 2.6 million adverse events from an emergency room misdiagnosis annually. The primary causes of diagnostic issues were linked to failures in clinical assessment and poor reasoning or decision-making.

The top five misdiagnosed conditions include:

  • Stroke,
  • Myocardial infarction,
  • Aortic aneurysm/dissection,
  • Spinal cord injuries, and
  • Venous thromboembolism.

These top five conditions account for 39% of serious misdiagnosis-related harms. The population most often associated with ER misdiagnosis is women of color. 

¿Qué puedo reclamar por mis lesiones?

Los daños monetarios pueden incluir tanto pérdidas económicas como no económicas. Ejemplos de pérdidas económicas son los gastos médicos pasados y futuros y los cuidados relacionados, así como los salarios perdidos.

Los daños no económicos incluyen el dolor y el sufrimiento, la angustia mental y la pena.

En cuanto a los daños no económicos, la Legislatura de Maryland ha limitado la cantidad que los demandantes pueden recibir en casos de negligencia médica.

La cuantía del "tope" de los daños no económicos depende de cuándo se produjo la negligencia médica. 

¿De cuánto tiempo dispongo para presentar una demanda por negligencia médica?

Los plazos de prescripción son fechas límite para presentar demandas. La no presentación de una demanda dentro del plazo de prescripción aplicable puede constituir un impedimento total para la recuperación. 

Con el fin de evitar que su reclamo sea rechazado, póngase en contacto con un abogado con experiencia en negligencia médica en Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico en Baltimore, Maryland, tan pronto como sea posible. 

Acuda a un abogado especializado en negligencias médicas en Baltimore

Póngase en contacto con los abogados de negligencia médica de Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico para una consulta gratuita.

Somos abogados de Baltimore especializados en negligencias médicas con experiencia en asuntos que requieren considerable experiencia y sofisticación. Póngase en contacto con nosotros en línea o por teléfono al 410-421-7777.