Texas Medical Malpractice Legal Questions

You may have a medical malpractice case, but assuming the failures in the first surgery were corrected in the second, the big question will be whether the case is financially viable. Click here for an article that discusses the three main questions I ask when deciding whether to investigate a potential medical malpractice case, which touches on this problem. 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 Web: www.starrgern.com... Read More

You should begin by gathering the complete chart from the emergency room visit.  If the family member had visits with other doctors for the same condition (if, for example, he or she had seen his/her primary care doc recently for the same condition) you'll need to gather those records too.  If there were imaging studies done, you'll need copies of the imaging studies themselves, not just the radiology reports.  It is usually helpful if a family member with the best memory writes a timeline setting out what happened and why the family thinks there is a case.  Then, you'll have to find a med mal lawyer in your area.  You can look on the website of the American College of Trial Lawyers (you're looking for a plaintiff's med mal lawyer), the SuperLawyer website, or the Leading Lawyers website--any of these are a decent place to start.  Make sure you pick someone that you like and trust-- if you have a case it will be a long haul and you'll need to be able to work with and trust whomever you choose. I'm sorry for your loss and I wish you the best of luck.... Read More

Dental malpractice cases are notoriously difficult because they are almost always subject to the defense that your preexisting conditions contributed to the outcome.You should contact a local PI attorney, but if your condition was repaired by the second dentist you probably do not have a financially viable case. ... Read More

I am sorry to hear about your friend and the problems she has experienced.  It is difficult to determine if there is a medical malpractice case against a hospital or doctor(s) without reviewing the medical records relating to her treatment.  Thus, I suggest that your friend (or her power of attorney, if she has one) start requesting medical records from the hospital and any other health care providers who have treated her relating to this.  She should be able to fill out a form from the hospital requesting all records from the first ER visit to present.  I understand that she is still receiving care in the hospital and those records can always be collected at another time. An attorney is going to want to review the records.  This is because a breach in the standard of care must be present in order to pursue a medical malpractice case.  Most state laws make it very difficult to sue a doctor, hospital or other health care provider.  Thus, I recommend she start seeking review of the medical records by local attorneys in her area.  I understand that your friend is still sick and in the CCU, however, there are time limitations on these types of actions and it is possible that your friend only has 2 years from the first ER visit in order to bring a lawsuit.  However, she may have longer.  A local attorney can help determine this more accurately.  Based on all of this, I would recommend she start of the process of gathering medical records and calling attorneys for consultations.  Some attorneys will probably allow for the records to be dropped off at their office and review them without requiring your friend to come in for a face-to-face meeting at first.  I hope this information helps.  Best of luck! NOTE: This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information.  ... Read More

In general, it appears that Arizona has a three-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims.  However, that may change if, for instance, you did not discover the injury until some time after the initial surgery for the kidney stone removal.  Based on what you have written here, it seems like you may have known of the injury and thus, it is likely that the limitation period has expired.  However, to be sure, you may want to call some Arizona attorneys who focus on medical malpractice or negligence claims.  They can better assist  you as they will be more familiar with Arizona's specific laws regarding this area of law.  These claims are very difficult, time-consuming and expensive.  They require an expert witness.  Thus, you have have some difficulty finding an attorney to represent you regarding these injuries due to your potential expiration of limitation period.  However,  you should be able to find an attorney to give you the specific answer on the statute of limitations for this claim in Arizona.   I hope this helps.  Good luck. NOTE:  This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. ... Read More