Medical Malpractice, Hospital Negligence, Medication Errors & Surgical Mistakes

Medical Mistakes

Chris Davis, founder of the Davis Law Group, is a top-rated, award-winning attorney practicing law in Seattle.

A doctor, nurse, or other medical professional should never be allowed to needlessly endanger the life or well being of a patient in their care.

Each year, Seattle-area patients suffer from medical mistakes which result in serious injuries or death. Nationally there are more than 1.3 million injuries caused by medical negligence and more than 180,000 deaths because of medical mistakes each year. If you or a loved one has been injured by a doctor's mistake in Washington state you may need the help of a Seattle medical malpractice attorney.

ATTENTION:

The medical malpractice cases that Davis Law Group accepts are very specific to certain types of medical errors. We are currently accepting ONLY medical malpractice cases that involve:

Wrong site surgery - operating on the wrong body part.
Retained surgical instruments - items left inside the patient causing long-term / permanent problems or death.
Medication errors - Wrong drug or wrong drug dose given to patient causing long-term / permanent damage or death.

We are sorry that we cannot provide assistance on other types of cases at this time.

Possible Causes of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider (doctor, nurse, anesthesiologist, plastic surgeon, pharmacist, medical technician, etc.) in which care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient. It is the failure of a medical professional or a medical facility to provide a minimum standard of care in the areas in which the medical professional or medical facility specializes.

A medical facility may be a hospital (such as Swedish Medical Center, Virginia Mason Hospital, Harbor View Medical Center, UW Medical Center, Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center), or a birthing center, nursing home, or clinic. If the medical attention fails to meet the standard of good medical practice and harm results to a patient, the medical professional or medical facility may be liable for any resulting damages.

Chris Davis is interviewed by
Ken Schram on KOMO Radio
on October 1, 2010.

Medical Malpractice Cases Can Be Difficult to Prove

As you know by watching crime and legal dramas on television, all legal cases need evidence. With a medical malpractice claim, the evidence is your medical history and the documentation from medical professionals that an error or misdiagnosis occurred. The stronger the evidence, the more likely it is that our office will be able to help you recover significant compensation for your injuries and lost wages. Multi-million dollar settlements can potentially be at stake in these cases, which makes it even more important that victims have strong evidence of wrongdoing before pursuing a claim.

Lawyers are NOT Doctors

While the Seattle medical malpractice attorneys at the Davis Law Group have years of experience in representing accident and injury victims, attorneys are not considered experts in the medical field.

In order to determine whether a person has a legitimate medical malpractice claim, our attorneys will need to review medical records and other useful evidence that can be used to prove that a healthcare professional was negligent in providing care to a patient. If you are interested in pursuing a medical malpractice claim and have not yet obtained medical records regarding the incident, it is in your best interest to do so before contacting a medical malpractice attorney.

Types of Medical Malpractice

As with all types of personal injury claims, it can be easier to prove negligence with certain types of medical malpractice cases than with other types.

Clear-Cut Case Types:

“Surgical Souvenirs” (i.e. sponges, clamps or other equipment that is left behind)
Operating on the wrong body part or wrong side of the body
Medication errors
Failure to diagnose or properly treat a medical condition
Birth injuries
Plastic surgery errors
Unnecessary surgical procedures

Complex Case Types:

Post-operation infections
Dental mistakes
Falls in hospitals or nursing homes
Failure to monitor a patient
Long-term treatment disputes
Nursing home and elderly care incidents

IMPORTANT: Proving a medical malpractice case is much different and more complex than with other personal injury claims. The facts surrounding your claim are based on past medical records and testimony from medical experts who are familiar with your type of case.

A “complex” case type simply means that expert testimony and medical records are a vital component to proving that the healthcare professional responsible for treating you did act negligently. The combination of strong medical evidence and qualified expert testimony gives victims the best possible chance of financial recovery.

Plastic Surgery Mistakes: Permanent Cosmetic Disfigurement

Many cases of permanent cosmetic disfigurement are the result of a plastic surgery mistake and ultimately require extensive reconstructive surgery. Such cases include: poorly-placed breast implants, improper rhinoplasty (nose job) or cheek/chin implants, etc. These plastic surgery malpractice injuries have a profound emotional and social impact on the unfortunate victims.

Medical Mistakes at Seattle-Area Hospitals

Tacoma General Hospital, Northwest Hospital, UW Medical Center, Overlake Hosptial, Seattle Children's Hospital, Auburn Regional Medical Center, Evergreen Hospital, Highline Medical Center, Swedish Hospital, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center.

Medical Malpractice Statistics

A study released in October 2005 by Aon and American Society of Healthcare Risk Management reported on the frequency and severity of medical malpractice claims. Key findings of the study included:

Overall the frequency of claims against healthcare facilities is decreasing. In 2004, there were 3 claims for each 100 acute care bed equivalents, down from 3.3 percent in 1999. The analysts hypothesize that self-insured healthcare systems have a greater financial incentive to reduce the cost of risk, make investments to improve the quality of care, and reduce medical errors. Consumer attitudes may also be changing as result of the enormous media attention given to the physician insurance crisis and how it relates to availability of healthcare at the local level.
The frequency of claims against physicians was also declining, based on data from the National Practitioner Data Bank. The frequency of claims against physicians had dropped from 9.3 percent in 1999 to 8.1 percent in 2004.
The severity of institutional claims continues to grow from a low of 102,000 to $172,000 in 2004. (This data excludes settlements or awards yielding more than $2 million.
Using ten years of data, public hospitals were found to have the highest percentage of claims of more than $1 million, with 39 percent of the exposure and 43.4 percent of the total number of large loss counts. Specialty hospitals had the least number of large loss claims.

Hiring an Attorney for Your Medical Malpractice Claim - Free Consultations

Seriously injured in a medical mistake in Washington state? Want to know if you have a legal case? Want to know what your medical malpractice is worth? Want compensation for your injuries? Want justice for your loved ones? Want to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to someone else?

Call 206-727-4000 for a free, no-obligation legal consultation concerning your medical malpractice claim. There is no obligation to hire a lawyer after meeting with our team. We are usually retained on a contingency-fee basis, meaning there is no fee until our Seattle Medical Malpractice Lawyer successfully recover fair compensation for you. The call is free. The advice may be priceless.