Founded in 1988, Chesterfield, Missouri is a relatively new city that was formed with the neighbor’s values and lifestyle in mind. Just outside of St. Louis, the city of Chesterfield presents a quiet suburb for family and friends to enjoy. The community cares deeply about their city and has provided a foundation for the city to grow and prosper on.
When medical malpractice disrupts the peace of a family, the high quality of life that Chesterfield encompasses vanishes. Chesterfield holds two school districts, well-used parks and recreation, and a busy hospital. Yet what good are these amenities if you or a loved one cannot utilize them because of a serious injury?
St. Luke’s Hospital is one of the top employers of Chesterfield and has experienced administrators, nurses, doctors, and other medical professions. Still, medical malpractice cases occur and change people’s lives for the worst.
Within the last ten years there have been over 14,000 medical malpractice cases in Missouri, according to the National Practitioner Data Bank. That means almost 14,000 Missouri residents are facing the results of medical malpractice every year, trying to heal infections, deadly side effects, paralysis, prolonged pain, and more.
The medical malpractice lawyers at Finney Law Office, LLC have been working with medical malpractice cases for years and have learned to see the signs of traumatic medical malpractice implications. Family members are upset, do not trust professionals, and face sleepless nights worrying about their sick loved one and how to pay the medical bills.
With the affected families by in mind, our medical malpractice attorneys take their jobs seriously. If you or a loved one has been injured by a medical malpractice case in Chesterfield, call us today to learn more information about the guidelines for these types of cases, and how we can help.
Guidelines for Medical Malpractice
There are four main requirements in a medical malpractice case: (1) there must have been a professional relationship with the patient; (2) the professional must have been negligent; (3) the negligence must have caused injury; and (4) the injury must have led to other specific injuries and damages.
Before you can file a medical malpractice claim there has to be proof of a doctor-patient relationship. This is typically evident in cases—Chesterfield residents typically hire a specific doctor and work with them continuously. However, there are times when you must consider the consulting doctor, a doctor that is only involved periodically. If a consulting doctor provided you with an improper dosage, wrongful diagnosis, or more, then medical malpractice lawyers will have to determine who was at fault, and who the official doctor was on your health case.
Second, the professional must have been negligent. Sometimes this is hard to understand because accidents truly do happen. In order to prove negligence though, you must prove that another doctor would have followed a different protocol in that scenario and that the course of action they took was incorrect. If another medical expert had decided to do it a different way, the option your doctor chose would have to be reasonable and skillful.
Take this scenario into consideration. Your daughter has been having trouble with her gallbladder for years. After working with a specific gastroentologist throughout her entire childhood, at age 21, she is now ready for surgery. Your doctor decides to use open precision instead of working laparoscopically (through small incisions using a lighted tube). The different techniques exist because of increasing technology, but both do the job.
If a younger profession had looked at the case, he may have used newer technology. Yet the way your older doctor worked was reasonable, too. If one technique was not as appropriate or as successful as another technique, the doctor could then be liable for negligence.
If the doctor was negligent, then the third requirement is that it caused injury. There has to be proof that the injury did not occur due to the patient’s already known illness—it had to have transformed because of something the doctor had done.
If the doctor was negligent during your daughter’s gallbladder surgery and later she had a terrible infection directly caused by the surgery, then it may be a case. A medical expert will have to testify whether or not the infection was the doctor’s fault.
Lastly, the injury from the negligence must have caused other specific injuries or damages. This means that because of the additional injury from the negligent doctor, more damage came into effect.
Think of it as a domino effect. If your daughter got an infection from her incision marks that spread to her liver, where other serious medical problems arose, then the doctor would be at fault.
Claim Your Benefits
After a medical malpractice case is determined, there are different types of harm that patients and their family can sue for. The main defenses for a medical malpractice claim are physical pain (and life-long injury), mental and emotional trauma, the cost of medical bills, and lost wages.
When a medical malpractice injury occurs, it can take weeks, months, and even years to truly recover. Being sick is already rough, but when you add on time away from work, lost salary, and the compilation of medical bills, it can take a toll on your life in Chesterfield.
A medical malpractice attorney at Finney Law Office, LLC will be able to evaluate your case and provide the defendant with the compensation that you truly deserve. Even though you cannot stamp a price tag on you or your loved one’s life, you can help alleviate stress and other problems by being able to pay for your every day expenses, in addition to covering your medical bills.
How We Work
Finney Law Office, LLC is a personal injury law firm that helps represent St. Louis neighborhoods during their troubled times. As a family law firm practice, we understand the importance of staying connected and having support during your medical malpractice case.
Not only will our medical malpractice attorneys help you during your case, they will defend your rights and pursuit of happiness in Chesterfield, Missouri. Finney Law Office, LLC is compassionate when working with our clients. We will answer any of your questions and help you understand the complex, legal process that comes along with a medical malpractice case.
If you or a loved one has been injured from a medical malpractice case in Chesterfield, contact one of our experienced attorneys today. Our medical malpractice attorneys will work with you throughout the entire process and work to secure you with your best possible outcomes.
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