QUESTION
Should I file a lawsuit on the hospital for medical malpractice?
Asked on Apr 05th, 2013 on Medical Malpractice - California
More details to this question:
My wife and I are on Camp Pendleton.She is pregnant. At 26 weeks she started having horible pain so on April 3 we went to the naval hospital on base to get her evaluated. After the OB\GYN took a look and did some checks, after the walk in check up he said that she had a infection that it was normal. So later that night she was in critical pain and crying, so at 0530 we went back. When we first got there they asked for a sample, and while that was happening she was in tremendous pain, the OB came in an my wife's water broke. She delivered the baby premature at 26 weeks and is currently in the hospital. Could I have a lawsuit on the hospital for medical malpractice, because if the OB would of caught it the day before we could have prevented the premature birth.
1 ANSWER
Catastrophic Injury Attorney serving Roseland, NJ
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John J. Ratkowitz
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It seems pretty clear that the first doctors that your wife saw failed to diagnose an infection and so it sounds like you have reason to suspect that she received negligent medical care. I think that the big question in any case will be whether or not you can prove that the negligence of the doctor proximately caused the premature birth. The defense will be that an earlier diagnosis would not have resulted in a materially different outcome because it would have still taken time for antibiotics to cure the infection.
If you do want to investigate pursuing the case, you should contact a local medical malpractice attorney (one in your state). They take these cases on a contingency basis which means you only have to pay if you succeed. Additionally, initial consultations are usually free. You can use the "Find a Lawyer" service through this website to research medical malpractice attorneys. Then, visit each attorney's website and look for a firm that has a record of successful verdicts. If you are unable to find a lawyer who meets these qualifications within your state, sometimes you may contact an out of state lawyer who can refer you to a qualified attorney in your state while providing support related to the issues of medicine.
Below are some articles you may find helpful. They are written for a New Jersey audience (where I practice) but the ideas discussed in these articles usually apply in most other jurisdictions as well.
Click here for an article that discusses the three main questions I ask when deciding whether to investigate a potential medical malpractice case. This discusses the issue of financial viability.
Click here for an article that explains what you can and should expect when pursuing a medical malpractice case.
Click here, here and here for more information about me. Click here for summaries of some of the cases that I have litigated.
Since I am a lawyer, I need to advise you of the following when I communicate with you: Please note that by attempting to answer your question, I am not acting as your attorney. I will do nothing further to protect or preserve your interests in the absence of any additional discussion with you about this matter. John Ratkowitz, Esq. Starr, Gern, Davison & Rubin, P.C. 105 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland, NJ 07068 Office: (973) 830-8441 Cell: (732) 616-6278 Fax: (973) 226-0031 Email: jratkowitz@starrgern.com Skype: john_ratkowitz Click here for my website.
Answered on Apr 07th, 2013 at 4:58 PM