Even before reading this article, you probably already know that it’s hard to put a definitive number on the worth of the average medical malpractice claim. Medical malpractice cases, like all types of personal injury cases, vary widely in nature, scope, severity, and value.

From the most basic standpoint, the more you lost due to another party’s negligence, the more your personal injury claim should be worth. Many factors ultimately determine the value of your medical malpractice claim, including the lawyer you choose to represent you.

When you’re prescribed or administered medication, you expect it to be the correct dosage or administered the proper way. If a medication mistake occurs, the side effects could be minimal or could be more severe. On one end, you could have prolonged treatment because you didn’t receive enough medication. On the other end, you could overdose or have an allergic reaction and die from the medication.

When you go to a hospital for surgery, you are surrounded by medical professionals who know what they’re doing. Not only do they have complete knowledge of the surgery they’re completing and how your medical history factors in, but they also know what to do in an emergency situation. At a surgery center, that may not always be the case. While most surgical procedures at outpatient centers proceed without error, recent information has uncovered that some do not go as planned. A simple surgery at an outpatient center has the potential to turn deadly from a surgical error when something goes wrong.

When you call for emergency services, you’re primarily concerned with the problem at hand. You’re worrying about how soon it will take for emergency medical services to get there and then if they’ll be able to treat you or the person who’s injured. What you don’t necessarily plan for is negligence. When a medical professional is negligent, the results can be devastating. You or a loved one could sustain terrible injuries, and sometimes negligence results in death. In some cases, gross negligence may have occurred. These are the situations where filing a medical malpractice claim may be in your best interest.

We understand how terrifying a situation regarding medical negligence can be. It has the potential to turn your life upside down. But we will fight for your rights and do everything to get you the compensation you deserve.

It’s important that you know how complex a medical negligence case can be, which is even more complex when you’re trying to prove gross negligence. Let’s take a look at gross negligence and what it entails.

Medical malpractice cases are often complex because they involve an injured person who is seeking financial compensation from a health care provider who allegedly acted negligently and caused the person’s injuries or harm. Investigating what happened, how, and why can take a great deal of time and state and federal laws may affect the case. The institution or hospital’s insurance legal department will also become involved in the lawsuit.

What Necessitates Medical Malpractice in Maryland?

There may have been times when you have had a negative experience with a medical professional. It could be from a standard checkup or with the administration of a hospital. But just because you had a bad experience doesn’t mean that you have a valid medical malpractice case.

Medical negligence can happen in a number of ways. Valid cases usually involve a trusted medical professional acting in a way that causes harm to their patient. Negligence can lead to situations like surgical errors, for instance, which is when a surgeon performs an operation on the wrong area, on the wrong patient, or leaves medical tools and sponges inside the surgical site.

Two years ago, the National Academy of Medicine published a groundbreaking report indicating that not only will the majority of people receive an incorrect or delayed diagnosis at least once during their lifetime, but that roughly 12 million people — or close to 5 percent of adults seeking outpatient care — are misdiagnosed every year.

Furthermore, previous research has found that diagnostic errors are behind 6-17 percent of adverse hospital events, 10 percent of hospital deaths, and present in 10-20 percent of all cases.

As enlightening — and frightening — as these numbers are, the study authors cautioned that additional study was needed to identify the scope of the problem.

Even though hospitals have signs in strategic locations warning about the possibility of a patient taking a fall, this kind of accident happens on a daily basis. Patients may fall because they felt woozy getting out of bed or because the freshly mopped floor was slippery.

Some patiens survive such falls without harm. But if they suffered a lasting injury it may be classed as a medical error, and they may be entitled to compensation from the medical facility.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as one out of every 25 patients are affected by a hospital-acquired infection — or HAI — on any given day here in the U.S. with nearly half of these infection cases originating in the intensive care unit.

In light of these unnerving numbers and the annual toll taken by HAIs like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the CDC funded a study designed to uncover more about the so-called “triangle of transmission” in hospital settings, meaning how HAIs are spread among patients, nurses and the environment. The results of this study, which were equal parts illuminating and disturbing, were presented at a national conference held just last week. 

For many, vaccinations are a rite of autumn that can help prevent serious illness or lost days of work all through the winter. Getting a yearly flu shot is particularly important for the elderly or for people with compromised immune systems, as those groups are more susceptible to infectious diseases than others. While these routine vaccinations are important, negligence on the part of those administering the vaccine can cause larger problems than the flu. Here are three ways that vaccines can trigger a malpractice lawsuit: 

A Montgomery County jury Thursday afternoon reached a $5.6 million verdict after a nine day medical malpractice case against an osteopath for causing nerve and spinal injuries during a high velocity cervical manipulation performed upon his patient. The claims were brought by Nancy and James Marquez against Hadi M. Rassael, D.O. and Advanced Medical and Cosmetic Group, Inc. The jury deliberated 7 hours before reaching its verdict. Approximately $2.7 million of the award was for past and future lost earnings of Ms. Marquez who was a physical therapist at the time of the improper manipulation, and who was never able to return to her profession due to her nerve and back injuries. Ms. Marquez continues to suffer intractable pain and has undergone two surgeries to repair her damaged brachial plexus and to replace a disrupted disc at level C5-6 in her neck. Approximately $276,000 of the award was for past medical expenses. The remaining $2.5 million was awarded for noneconomic loss to Ms. Marquez and her husband. That award is subject to Maryland’s cap on noneconomic loss. Marquez, et ux, v. Rassael, et al, Case No. 298673-V (Circuit Court for Montgomery Co.).

In February 2005, Ms. Marquez presented to Dr. Rassael’s office for purposes of receiving a very light, non-twisting osteopathic manipulation to her hip joint know as “muscle energy technique.” Since her days as a Division One swimmer on the Michigan State swim team, and her participation in numerous triathalons, many of which she had won, she suffered from periodic hip pain which was resolved through use of the muscle energy technique. She presented to Defendant Rassael’s office after specifically asking whether he was familiar with that technique and was told he was. After arriving at the office, however, the doctor laid Ms. Marquez on an exam table and proceeded to examine her back. When his hands got to the back of her head, he suddenly and without warning twisted her neck in both directions in a forceful manner, causing injury to the nerves in her neck and a rupture of one of her vertebral disks at C5-6. Ms. Marquez, now age 33, has never recovered from her injuries which plague her with pain and muscle atrophy that prevents her from participating in competitive sports of any type. She underwent a brachial plexus decompression surgery and a disk replacement surgery in Germany.