Has a medical error in Lake Charles, Louisiana, turned your world upside down? If so, contact Hale Injury Lawyers today at (337) 426-1071. Our Lake Charles medical malpractice lawyers can help you pursue compensation from the doctor, hospital, or insurance company. Your first consultation is free.
When you choose Hale Injury Lawyers, you put a team of award-winning Louisiana trial attorneys with 68+ years of experience in your corner. Since our founding in 2008, we’ve won tens of millions of dollars in life-changing settlements and jury awards for clients like you.
We can help you fight to maximize your recovery. Contact our law office in Lake Charles, LA, today and take a stand and demand the maximum financial payout you deserve.
How Hale Injury Lawyers Can Help if You’ve Been the Victim of a Medical Error in Lake Charles, LA
While you may be entitled to compensation because your healthcare provider was negligent, the path to financial recovery can be more challenging than it should be.
Doctors won’t readily admit they made mistakes. Hospitals will work hard to protect profits. In many ways, laws are designed to protect healthcare providers and hospitals more than patients.
Force a fair fight and increase the odds of victory by calling our Lake Charles personal injury lawyers for help.
For more than two decades, our law firm has earned a reputation for being a tireless and unrelenting advocate for victims of medical negligence in Lake Charles and throughout the State of Louisiana. We have the experience and resources you’ll need to win and the passion you deserve from a legal advocate during this trying time.
Count on our team to:
- Request a review from an independent medical review panel, as required by Lousiana state law
- Carefully review internal provider communications, charts, medical records, hospital policies and procedures, provider records, and other evidence pertinent to your case
- Determine if the provider or hospital has a history of making similar medical errors
- Launch a full-scale investigation into your medical care to determine how and why you were injured
- Identify all potentially liable parties
- Represent you during all conversations with the negligent provider, their insurance company, and defense counsel
- Aggressively seek a maximum financial payout for you during settlement negotiations
- Reject lowball offers from the hospital and bring your medical malpractice lawsuit to trial, if necessary
Between the medical bills you have right now, the cost of future medical treatment, and the loss of income you’ve experienced because of your injury, the costs of a medical error can be extraordinary. At Hale Injury Lawyers, we don’t want you to forego legal assistance because you think you can’t afford it.
We work on contingency, so you pay nothing to hire our personal injury law firm in Lake Charles unless we secure compensation for your medical malpractice case.
We offer a free case evaluation, so contact us to get started today.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice refers to a healthcare provider’s failure to provide care that meets accepted standards.
More simply put, medical malpractice usually refers to a doctor’s negligence. Negligence refers to a breach of a standard of care owed to a patient, which, in turn, results in an injury or death.
In Lousiana, the standard of care expected of healthcare providers is to “exercise that degree of skill ordinarily employed, under similar circumstances, by the members of his profession in good standing in the same community or locality, and to use reasonable care and diligence, along with his best judgment, in the application of his skill.”
Did your doctor exercise the level of skill, degree, and care generally expected of them, given their experience and specialty? If not, then you may have the grounds to file a medical malpractice action against them to seek financial recovery for your damages.
How Often Are Medical Errors Made?
Hospitals have turned from care-based centers into profit-oriented corporations. As a result, doctors are often overworked, overtired, and forced to practice medicine in a way that’s often counterintuitive. So, it’s not surprising that medical errors have become one of the leading causes of avoidable injury and death in the United States.
According to Johns Hopkins, medical errors are the third leading cause of death nationwide. It’s widely believed that more than a quarter of a million people die because of medical errors annually. Many believe that the actual number of deaths caused by medical negligence is much greater.
Studies suggest that medical negligence is so problematic that one out of every three healthcare providers will be sued during their careers.
We Handle All Types of Medical Malpractice Cases in Lake Charles
At Hale Injury Lawyers, we have extensive experience representing clients in all types of medical malpractice cases, including:
- Failure to diagnose
- Surgical errors
- Wrong site surgery
- Adverse drug events
- Anesthesia errors
- Emergency room errors
- Lack of informed consent
- Improper monitoring
- Delayed diagnosis
- Misdiagnosis
- Birth injury
- Pharmacist error
Don’t underestimate the importance of your attorneys’ experience as you fight for compensation in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Medical negligence cases can be incredibly nuanced and complicated. They often require considerable resources and an in-depth understanding of Louisana medical malpractice law.
When you choose Hale Injury Lawyers, you put 61+ years of experience in your corner and benefit from our law firm’s considerable financial resources and tenacity.
What Do I Need To Prove To Win My Medical Malpractice Case?
Medical malpractice is, at its core, a matter of negligence in most cases.
So, to win your medical malpractice case, you’ll need to prove:
- A doctor-patient relationship existed, which triggered a duty of care
- The doctor’s care failed to satisfy accepted standards under Louisiana state law
- The doctor’s actions (or omission) were the direct and proximate cause of your injury, and
- You have suffered identifiable damages as a result.
Would you have suffered the same fate if you were under the care of a different doctor? Would a different doctor – of similar experience and training – have made the same decisions as your provider?
If your injuries would likely have been avoided, then you may have a strong legal claim and be entitled to an award of monetary damages.
What Damages Can I Get Through a Lake Charles Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
When you file a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit in Lake Charles, you can generally seek an award of compensatory damages.
Compensatory damages include:
- Economic damages to offset financial burdens related to your case, and
- Non-economic damages to compensate for the hard-to-value trauma you’ve endured.
Through a successful claim, you can potentially recover money for:
- Current medical bills
- Future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation
- Therapy
- Lost wages and income
- Disability
- Nursing care
- Funeral expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Disfigurement
Punitive damages can potentially be awarded if your medical malpractice lawsuit if it goes to trial. A jury must find that your doctor’s actions were intentionally harmful or that they displayed a conscious disregard for your safety.
In Louisiana, there are caps on damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. Compensatory damages, with the exception of costs related to medical treatment, are limited to $500,000. There is no cap on future medical expenses.
Our medical malpractice attorneys in Lake Charles won’t let the hospital lowball you. We won’t let them pray on you during this difficult time or force you to take a deal for less than your case is worth. We’ll bring in experts and work tirelessly to ensure that you’re awarded every cent you deserve up to the maximum allowable recovery under state law.
Who Could Be Liable for Medical Negligence?
Anyone who is involved in your treatment or assumes a responsibility to keep you safe can be liable for a medical error.
Potentially liable parties might include a:
- Primary care physician
- Emergency room physician
- Nurse
- Nurse Practitioner (NP)
- Physician Assistant
- Anesthesiologist
- Surgeon
- Pharmacist
- Hospital staff member
- Hospital administrator
- Hospital
Our medical malpractice attorneys in Lake Charles will carefully assess your treatment plan and identify anyone who may have played a role in your injury. We can aggressively pursue damages from anyone who shares fault.
What’s the Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice Lawsuits in Louisana?
Generally speaking, you’ll have one year from the date of a medical error to file a personal injury lawsuit for damages against a healthcare provider in Louisiana.
There is also a one-year time limit for wrongful death actions, but it begins to run on the date of a patient’s death.
The statute of limitations can be tolled if there’s a reasonable delay in the discovery of your injury. However, a three-year statute of repose puts a ceiling on claims. You must file your claim within three years of the date of the alleged negligence to secure compensation.
Since you’ll lose your right to pursue compensation if you submit your lawsuit too late, it’s best to contact our qualified Lake Charles medical malpractice lawyers as soon as possible to confirm how much time you have in your specific case. There are exceptions in some instances.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Trusted Lake Charles Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Don’t try to take on a powerful doctor or hospital in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on your own. Call Hale Injury Lawyers and enlist the help of our experienced Lake Charles medical malpractice lawyers.
Since 2008, we’ve been a fierce advocate for victims of medical negligence and families whose lives have been turned upside down by medical mistakes. We’ve won tens of millions for our clients. Now we’re here to fight for you.
Call our Lake Charles, LA, law office for help today. Your first consultation is free.
