Medical Malpractice Lawyers Serving Maryland, DC and Virginia
We Can Help You If You Have Suffered From Negligent Medical Care, Diagnosis or Wrongful Death
Greenberg & Bederman is a law firm with a reputation for excellence and the highest ethical standards in medical malpractice law. We believe in, and are committed to, protecting your legal rights in the area of medical care negligence.
If you would like a free medical malpractice legal consultation, please call us today at 301-589-2200 or toll-free at 800-800-1144. Or you may simply submit our free legal consultation online form.
The initial medical malpractice consultation is free of charge. If we agree to handle your medical malpractice case we would work on a contingency fee basis, which means we get paid for our legal services only if there is a monetary recovery of funds. A lawsuit must be filed before an applicable expiration date, known as a statute of limitations, so please call right away to ensure that you do not waive your right to possible compensation.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is an act or omission by a medical health care provider which deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community, and which causes injury to the patient. Simply put, medical malpractice is professional negligence (by a healthcare provider) that causes an injury. Although a medical health care provider usually refers to a physician, the term includes any medical care provider, including dentists, nurses, and therapists.
Medical malpractice claims may also be brought against hospitals, clinics, managed care organizations or medical corporations for the mistakes of its employees.
Medical malpractice does not occur every time there is a bad outcome from medical treatment. It is simply a duty to provide good care according to the accepted standards of the medical community.
If you are unsure if you have a medical malpractice claim, you may view our answer to the question "Do I have a medical malpractice case?".
Recent Medical Malpractice Successful Case Outcomes
$5+ Million Medical Malpractice Settlement
Robert B came to the Emergency Room with severe back pain and a history of an infection. He was admitted to the hospital and the medical diagnosis of a probable spinal epidural abscess was made. This is an infection that can seed in the spinal column adjacent to the spinal cord and requires emergency surgery.
Mr. B needed an immediate MRI to confirm the diagnosis, but the hospital’s MRI could not accommodate him. The hospital had no arrangements in place to obtain an ‘open’ MRI and surgery to repair the abscess was delayed for five days. Robert B became a paraplegic as a result.
We were able to obtain a significant settlement in excess of $5 Million for Robert B.
Recent $2,933,500 Verdict
Congratulations to our medical malpractice attorneys on their $2,933,500.00 verdict in a medical malpractice/wrongful death case tried in Fairfax, Virginia.
A jury in Fairfax County Virginia returned a verdict of $2,933,500, in a medical malpractice wrongful death case against a radiologist for failure to identify a perforated esophagus on a Chest CT scan.
The patient had presented to the Emergency Department with complaints of severe chest pain after eating a piece of meat which had become stuck in his throat. A chest CT was ordered by the emergency room physician and was read as essentially normal by the radiologist. Evidence of the perforation was not identified on the scan.
Because the Chest CT was misread, the perforation of the esophagus went undiagnosed and the patient received essentially no treatment of the condition for nearly 24 hours. As a result, he became extremely ill and dehydrated.
After the perforation was discovered, as the patient was being prepped for surgery, he suffered an arrest which resulted in fatal anoxic brain injury. His survivors were his wife and two adult children. Deborah Alvarez vs. Association of Alexandria Radiologists, P.C., in the Circuit Court for Fairfax County, Virginia.
Medical Malpractice Information
- Do you have a medical malpractice case?
- Medical Malpractice Frequently Asked Questions
- How much is your medical malpractice case worth?
- Types of Medical Malpractice
- Medical Malpractice Damages
- Breast Cancer Malpractice Information
- Prescription Drug Errors Malpractice
- How Does a Medical Malpractice Lawyer file a claim?
- Medical Error Awareness – PDF 1 – PDF2 – PDF3
Medical Malpractice Types
- Wrongful Death Malpractice
- Birth Injury Malpractice
- Brain Injury Medical Malpractice
- Surgical Errors Medical Malpractice
- Medical Malpractice Misdiagnosis
- Failure to Diagnose Cancer Medical Malpractice
- Failure To Diagnose Breast Cancer Malpractice
- Cataract Surgery Blindness and Other Cataract Surgery Complications
- Needle Stick Medical Malpractice
- Nursing Home Elder Abuse/Nursing Home Neglect
- Orthopedic Medical Malpractice Injuries
- Anesthesia Medical Malpractice Mistakes
- Pain Pumps & Arthoscopic Shoulder Surgery Malpractice
- Fraudulent Dr. Charles Akoda OB/GYN
Frequently Asked Medical Malpractice Questions
- How is medical malpractice defined?
- Does someone who is not satisfied with the results of their surgery have a medical malpractice case?
- What should I do if I think I have a medical malpractice case?
- What is the first step of starting a medical malpractice case?
- Will my Medical Malpractice Claim be Tried before a Jury?
- How Long do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Claim?
- What is informed consent?
- What is the process for deciding doctor negligence?
How is medical malpractice defined?
Medical malpractice is professional negligence or the failure of a healthcare provider where care is not provided according to accepted standards of practice in the community of medicine. This can be very dangerous for a patient and can result in injury or in worst cases lead to death.
There are many types and examples of medical malpractice, some include, medication errors, birth injuries, surgical error, misdiagnosis and neglect in nursing homes. In many cases, it is not obvious for someone not in the profession to see the negligence and needs the help of experts. A claim can be pursued against physicians, nurses, dentists, nursing homes, hospitals and pharmacists.
For action to be taken against negligence there must be an obligation owed to someone, a violation of that duty and a result of damage or harm caused by that violation. When determining if the conduct of a professional is negligent, it must be judged against the standards of how a reasonable professional may act and perform under the same circumstances. The regulations and standards that govern medical malpractice differ in each state.
There are many types of medical malpractice and most will fall into one of these categories:
- Misdiagnosis. This happens when a doctor either misses a patient’s illness or makes the improper diagnosis, which could have led to different outcomes, maybe even a better one, for the patient.
- Failure to warn a patient of known risks involved. It is the doctor’s duty to warn patients of any known risks from treatment or procedures.
- Improper treatment. If a doctor takes care of a patient in a certain way that no other doctor would or if the doctor administers a treatment incompetently.
When determining the negligence of a medical professional, his or her practice and conduct is examined at a level of competency and consistency with training, care and experience. When deciding if there is possible medical malpractice in a case, it takes a lot of thought and good counsel from both medical and legal advisors.
A medical malpractice suit can be very difficult and time-consuming. If you believe that you or someone you love is suffering from medical malpractice, please contact our law firm for any further questions that you may have and ask for our free medical malpractice case evaluation.
Does someone who is not satisfied with the results of their surgery have a medical malpractice case?
Despite the tremendous advances in surgical procedures and techniques, there is no Guarantee of Satisfaction which your doctor, hospital or medical practitioner can offer. Sometimes, the surgery was successful, all procedures were followed, all potential outcomes were discussed with the patient, no deviations from generally accepted standards occurred, the healing process went well, but the patient is simply not satisfied.
Can that result in a malpractice case?
If you are not satisfied with the results of your surgery, take advantage of our free medical malpractice evaluation of your case. Our experienced medical malpractice attorney will review your medical procedures, from the time of diagnosis until the completion of your medical treatment.
Your dissatisfaction can be the result of a complication, or a pre-existing condition, or a risk factor you had that your doctors’ knew or should have known about. It is also possible your dissatisfaction stems from something you should have been told of, but were not.
Let our attorney review your file and discuss your options with you. Completely unforeseen complications, although rare, do happen and when they do, they are not actionable. But in the vast majority of cases, a patient’s dissatisfaction comes about because he or she was not informed about that potential outcome from the surgery.
Our attorneys and our medical experts can determine whether the potential outcome was likely enough to have occurred and therefore whether it should have been discussed with you prior to your giving your consent to the procedure. Our many years of experience have shown us what to look for and how to evaluate your situation and we do it at not cost or obligation to you.
If we believe it would be in your best interest to pursue a claim, we can begin the process immediately. If our evaluation finds that a malpractice action is not appropriate, we will let you know.
One thing you should not do, however, is let time pass. Your time to bring a claim against a doctor or hospital is limited and in some cases may be as short as several months. If you are dissatisfied with the results of your surgery and are not sure whether you have a case, call our firm today for your free evaluation, before your time to act runs out. You’ll be glad you did.
What should I do if I think I have a medical malpractice case?
Medical mistakes can forever alter your life or that of a loved one. While your focus may be on getting well or helping a loved one recover, protecting your legal rights and those of the ones you love should be in the forefront of your mind.
If you think you have a medical malpractice case, an experienced malpractice attorney who concentrates in medical malpractice should be consulted as soon as possible so that proper measures can be taken to protect your claim or potential malpractice claim. Time is of the essence with regard to consulting with a malpractice attorney, for the reasons outlined below.
A medical malpractice attorney with experience in handling medical malpractice cases will be able to review your medical records, interview potential witnesses and, if necessary, obtain expert witnesses to support a claim of medical negligence and to determine if you suffered an injury that resulted in damages.
Though the idea of looking into the possibility that you or your loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice may seem too daunting or something that cannot be done once the crisis has passed, seeking an experienced attorney the moment medical malpractice is suspected will ensure that the victims rights are protected and evidence can be gathered quickly in support of any potential malpractice claim.
With time, memories fade. Delaying too long to consult an attorney may adversely affect a potential medical malpractice case because evidence crucial to a claim may be lost. A statute of limitations to file a claim does apply, so time is of the essence. A malpractice attorney knows exactly what steps must be taken to secure evidence and investigate a claim to determine whether or not a case has merit.
Think of yourself and your family. A potential victim of medical malpractice may not know the full extent of the true costs of future medical care or assume that their malpractice claim is not worth pursuing. But the truth is that medical malpractice or negligence can add up to significant future medical and other costs for the injured party. An insurance company may attempt to contact you to offer a settlement, but would it be a fair amount?
An experienced malpractice attorney can determine the potential value of your claim and fight to get you, the injured party, fair compensation. Contact our law firm today to speak with an experienced medical malpractice attorney who will provide you with a free malpractice case evaluation and answer any questions you may have regarding your circumstances.
What is the first step of starting a medical malpractice case?
Medical malpractice is the failure or neglect of a professional healthcare provider where care is not given to a patient according to the standards of the practice. This can cause injury or even death to the patient.
There are many examples of medical malpractice; birth injuries, misdiagnosis and nursing home neglect are just a few. To someone who is not in the medical profession or familiar with the medical standard of care, the negligence may not be seen and need further evaluation from a medical expert in the field where the medical malpractice occurred.
To begin a case for negligence, there must be an obligation that was owed, a violation of the obligation, and a result that caused harm or damage from the violation. To decide if the conduct of the professional was a result of negligence, the medical professional’s actions will need to be compared to the standards of care as determined by the medical community,and your doctor will be compared to these standards to determine if, or how he performed your medical procedure to these standards, in the same situation. It must be remembered that regulations and standards that govern medical malpractice do vary from state to state.
The first step in determining whether or not to pursue a medical malpractice case is to decide if you have been a victim of negligence from a medical professional. If you have the feeling that something is just not right, you need not over look it, react to those feelings and consult a knowledgeable expert to evaluate your potential case.
Before you can take a case before a jury, you will need written documentation as evidence. This will involve attaining and evaluating all medical records and relevant other information. Your medical malpractice lawyer will help you obtain these records, and evaluate your complex civil claim to determine if medical malpractice occurred.
When determining if a medical professional has performed negligence, his or her current practice and entire conduct will be reviewed for a deviation of the standard of care. Remember, just a medical mistake does not mean medical malpractice or medical negligence has occurred. If you believe that you or someone you know has suffered from medical negligence, please contact our law firm for any further questions that you may have and ask for our free medical malpractice case evaluation.
Will My Medical Malpractice Claim Be Tried Before a Jury?
If you were injured through someone else’s carelessness or recklessness, your life has changed. You worry about medical bills, missing work, being disabled, dealing with the pain and inconvenience, and perhaps are haunted by troubling images that pass through your mind of what happened. You may even suffer post traumatic stress disorder. You ask yourself if you have a right to sue someone; if so, who, what, when, where and how? Will your case settle? Will it be tried before a jury or a judge? What should you do to find out?
Victims of medical negligence need legal help to find their way through these questions. If you were an innocent victim of someone else’s accidental or intentional misconduct and you have been injured, you may have a right to sue. Our law firm will help you understand your rights in your own unique circumstances. We will ask the right questions.
We will conduct an expert investigation of what happened. We will not only look at the facts surrounding your medical problem, we will research and thoroughly understand the law that will apply. We will help you gauge the likelihood of success if you do litigate. We will explain your medical malpractice case every step of the way. We will counsel you about what damages you might be entitled to claim and how to increase your likelihood of getting all of the damages and other relief to which you are entitled.
Our law firm represents innocent injury victims, people like you, every day. We have a long history of ethical and highly rated experienced medical malpractice attorney who reviews cases like yours to determine your rights. We will provide you with a free evaluation of your potential medical malpractice claim and let you know whether our malpractice lawyer can represent you. To find your best course of action, contact our medical malpractice law firm today.
How Long do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Claim?
If you have been the victim of medical negligence and have been injured, you may have a right to litigate and seek damages. Filing a claim right away may not be your top priority – maybe you want to focus for awhile on recovering and putting your life back together. That is understandable and, of course, you need to be able to concentrate on that. BUT BE CAREFUL.
In every state and in every circumstance, the law cuts off your right to file a claim if you miss a certain deadline. These laws are called “statutes of limitations” and they set a relatively inflexible time frame in which you have to file your particular type of case. Designed to prevent stale claims from being brought too long after the fact, statutes of limitations can be a hindrance for unwary victims who do not understand the limits and lose forever the right to sue.
How much time do you have? In Maryland you have three years from the discovery of the injury. However, there are exceptions regarding when you discovered the medical injury. Some injuries develop silently over time and you may not even know you are a victim until a symptom occurs. It may depend upon your age – minors are often excused from bringing suit while they are still minors, but they have a set time period after the age of majority to go ahead with their claims. In some circumstances, even if the filing deadline has passed, there may ways to reinstate your rights.
How will these critical questions be answered? You need to act promptly to get expert legal help. Our law firm represents victims of medical negligence. We will evaluate your medical malpractice case for free and take a look at what deadlines apply. If you have been injured as a result of medical malpractice, contact our medical malpractice attorney for a free malpractice claim review.
What is Informed Consent in a Medical Malpractice Case?
By definition, informed consent is a legal term for the process by which an individual agrees to undergo a medical procedure or treatment or participate in a medical study after understanding the risks involved in participation. During this process, the physician performing the procedure or treatment should be present during the discussion and should disclose several things to individual before the procedure or treatment takes place. These include:
- The diagnosis
- The steps involved in the treatment or procedure and the purpose for the proposed treatment or procedure
- The risks (side effects, complications) and benefits of the treatment or procedure
- Potential alternatives to the recommended treatment or procedure
- The risks and benefits of the potential alternative treatment or procedure
- The risks and benefits of not participating in any treatment or procedure
Once the physician has completed his or her discussion, the individual should be given an opportunity to ask questions to better understand the treatment or procedure, so that an informed decision can be made to proceed with or refuse the proposed medical intervention. Often, if the individual’s first language is not English, a translator will be provided to make communication easier.
After questions are answered, the physician should ask the individual if he or she understands all of the information related to the procedure or treatment. In addition, the physician should ask the individual to repeat his/her understanding of the decision in his/her own words.
The goal of the informed consent process is to reinforce that the individual patient has control over health care decisions. The decision to undergo a medical procedure or have treatment should be voluntary and not coerced by the physician.
After informed consent discussions, individuals will be asked to sign an informed consent form as proof of authorization of the medical treatment or procedure. It is important to note that the signature itself does not imply informed consent but rather the individual’s fully informed participation in the decision-making process.
The informed consent process is an ethical and legal requirement for physicians. All 50 states have statutes and laws surrounding this process. If you have any questions about informed consent in Maryland (MD) Washington, DC, or Virginia (VA) or would like more information, please feel free to contact our law firm for a free case evaluation.
The Process for Determining Doctor Negligence in a Medical Malpractice Case
Just because a medical provider made a mistake, that doesn’t necessarily mean that a malpractice has occurred. The medical provider, including a doctor, nurse, technician, dentist, even the hospital or practice can be held liable for the negligence of its employees must deviate from the standard of care in order to have committed professional negligence. Not only was that standard of care breached, but an injury with damages must be shown.
Once it is shown that an injury with damages has resulted, an expert medical witness within the same medical field must testify to the negligence. This testimony will show that the expert and the medical provider practice the same type of medicine, and that the standard of care for that type of medicine was deviated from, causing an injury to the patient.
If you believe you have a medical malpractice claim, then contact our law firm for questions and free evaluation as soon as possible. Tell the attorney what happened, from the first visit to the health care provider to the last visit. Bring medical records to the initial visit with the attorney. There is a time limit for how long one can wait to file medical malpractice.
How will the jury decide if my doctor is negligent? First, the jury will hear the testimony of any qualified expert medical witness who can add opinion and insight to the situation. Several specific questions will be asked to each expert witness: why the issue occurred? Were the standards of the specific physician in line with his/her actions?
Aside from the witnesses, the jury will have to hear professional witness testimony. A professional witness in the case of doctor negligence is another doctor. The professional witness will testify what injuries were caused by the doctor, and what problems (injury, illness, etc.) brought you to the health care provider in the first place (post negligence injury versus pre negligence problem).
After all the testimony evidence is weighed in from both sides, the jury will decide if the plaintiff has demonstrated through a preponderance of evidence a plausible case. If the state you live still practices the law of contributory negligence the case will not be in your favor. Contributory negligence is a defense where the patient of the “negligent” doctor was in anyway careless and if the carelessness in anyway contributed or caused the claimed injuries. If the judge determines contributory negligence then the patient is completely barred from winning any compensation from the physician.
As a law firm we represent victims that are wrongfully injured through no fault of their own. If you are suffering from injury and believe your doctor was negligent, or if there are any further questions or you in need of a free medical malpractice evaluation, then contact our law firm.