Were you injured while getting treatment from a medical professional? If so, you may qualify for compensation under Maryland’s medical malpractice laws. These cases can be complex, so you must choose the right medical malpractice lawyer.
Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico is a leading medical malpractice law firm in Maryland. Our attorneys have decades of experience litigating these cases and can maximize the value of your claim.
If you believe you have a medical malpractice claim, please contact us right away.
Overview of Medical Malpractice
Some healthcare professionals deviate from the accepted standards of care and harm patients in the course of providing medical care. These patients can file a medical malpractice claim to recover compensation for these injuries.
A medical malpractice attorney must demonstrate these elements when filing a claim:
- Duty of care. Healthcare providers owe patients a duty of care. They are expected to provide treatment that aligns with the recognized standards of the medical community.
- Breach of duty. A breach occurs when a healthcare professional fails to meet the standard of care expected in their field. This can involve errors in diagnosis, treatment, surgery, or communication.
- Causation. There must be a direct link between the healthcare provider’s breach of duty and the patient’s harm. Establishing causation is crucial to proving that negligence caused the adverse outcome.
- Damages. Patients must have suffered measurable harm or damages due to the healthcare provider’s negligence. Damages can include physical injuries, emotional distress, medical expenses, and more.
The attorneys at Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico will assist you in proving each of these elements.
Types of Cases We Handle
Our firm can help with a wide range of medical malpractice claims. Here are some of the common types of incidents our attorneys see.
Surgical Errors
Surgery comes with inherent risks, but a negligent doctor can add to these risks. Surgical errors are preventable mistakes made during medical procedures.
Examples include operating on the wrong body part, performing unnecessary surgeries, or leaving surgical instruments inside patients.
Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis
People trust doctors to help them when they need it most. They expect doctors to identify and treat their illnesses or injuries so they can feel better. However, some healthcare providers make mistakes when diagnosing patients.
In some cases, a doctor might incorrectly tell a patient they have a life-threatening condition, leading to severe emotional trauma. In others, they might fail to diagnose a condition, allowing it to cause more harm to the patient.
Medication Errors
Medication errors can cause long-term, unseen harm. These can involve prescribing the wrong medication or an incorrect dosage.
Similarly, a nurse might administer a drug incorrectly, causing the patient severe pain. These errors pose serious health risks, ranging from ineffective treatment to life-threatening complications.
Birth Injuries
Birth injuries encompass a range of complications that may occur during childbirth, potentially harming the newborn or mother.
These injuries can result from factors such as medical negligence, inadequate prenatal care, or mistakes during delivery.
Common birth injuries include trauma, oxygen deprivation, and neurological issues. Since these injuries happen so early in a child’s life, they can cause dramatic harm and incalculable damage.
Anesthesia Errors
Medical staff sometimes make mistakes when administering anesthesia. These errors can include dosage miscalculations and allergic reactions.
In some of the worst cases, a patient may be awake and aware during surgery. Victims in these cases may need lengthy medical treatment and counseling to recover.
Hospital Infections
Patients often spend weeks and months in the hospital while recovering. Staying in a hospital bed for this long can lead to various infections.
These can include surgical site infections, urinary tract infections, or respiratory infections. Hospital infections often happen due to failure to follow procedures, poor sanitation, or the improper use of medical devices.
Informed Consent Violations
Healthcare providers must inform patients about a medical procedure or treatment’s risks, benefits, and alternatives.
They must get the patient’s consent before beginning treatment. In some cases, doctors breach this standard and violate their patient’s rights.
These violations can take various forms, such as withholding essential information, providing misleading details, or beginning without explicit consent.
Emergency Room Negligence
Emergency rooms deliver life-saving care when patients need it most. Negligence in this setting can have life-threatening consequences.
Some doctors and nurses fail to provide adequate care due to the stress, exhaustion, and distractions of these busy environments. As a result, patients might suffer from issues like delayed treatment and misdiagnosis.
How We Can Help You
Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico knows how to hold doctors and hospitals liable for their negligence. A medical malpractice lawyer from our firm can help you file a lawsuit and get you compensation for your damages.
Case Evaluation
At this meeting, a medical lawyer will examine the details of your case and identify potential areas of negligence.
If you have a valid claim, we’ll explain your legal options and suggest ways to pursue compensation. From here, our firm will handle the legal process so you can focus on recovering.
Evidence Collection
Our legal team excels in gathering and analyzing critical evidence to build a strong case. We will review medical records, speak with witnesses, and consult with experts. After this, we’ll piece the evidence together to link your injuries with the provider’s malpractice.
Submit a Formal Dispute
Maryland law requires you to submit your claim to the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office. Our firm will ensure your claim meets all requirements for this process.
We’ll also do our best to move your case out of arbitration and into court so you can seek the maximum compensation allowed under the law.
Negotiation and Settlement
We will do our best to get a fair resolution as soon as possible. Insurance companies often settle malpractice claims because they don’t want to go to trial.
Your medical attorney will send a legal demand to the hospital or doctor responsible for your injuries. They’ll explain why the evidence and law support your need for compensation.
Trial Representation
Not all cases go to trial, but we never hesitate to take a claim to court when necessary. We are fierce, seasoned trial attorneys.
We know how to present medical and legal issues to the judge and jury in simple terms. Our attorneys will demonstrate through evidence and witnesses why the other side owes you compensation.
Types of Compensation You Can Recover
Maryland medical malpractice laws allow you to recover economic and noneconomic damages for your injuries. These can include:
- Medical expenses,
- Lost wages,
- Future income,
- Pain and suffering, and
- Emotional distress.
There’s no limit on the amount of economic damages you can recover, but there is a cap on noneconomic damages. For injuries occurring in 2023, this cap is $875,000 and increases $15,000 annually.
Maryland’s Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations
Under Maryland law, you have five years to file a medical malpractice claim. This statute of limitations begins on the date of your injury. A court will likely dismiss your claim if you file it after this deadline.
Some medical malpractice incidents aren’t apparent until months or years later. In these cases, you have three years to file a lawsuit after discovering the injury.
Some exceptions to these deadlines exist. Be sure to speak with an experienced medical malpractice attorney to find out if any apply to your circumstances.
Schedule a Consultation
Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico offers reliable, caring representation. Our lawyers in Pikesville, Maryland, can help you through every step of your medical malpractice claim. We have recovered millions for our clients and are ready to assist you.
Contact us today to schedule a case evaluation.