Bethesda, MD Medical Malpractice Attorney
Every day, people in Bethesda and surrounding communities in Maryland go to the hospital, expecting to receive quality medical care that will allow them to heal from their illness or injury. Sadly, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals frequently fail to provide treatment that meets a recognized standard of care. Patients can suffer devastating harm as a result. Instead of their condition getting better, it often becomes much worse.
If this recently occurred to you or a loved one in Bethesda, Maryland, you should know about your right to take legal action and pursue all compensation that you are due. You should seek help without delay from an experienced medical malpractice attorney.
At The Law Offices of Dr. Michael M. Wilson MD, JD & Associates, our medical malpractice lawyers in Bethesda, Maryland bring a deep background in both medicine and the law to the clients we serve in Bethesda. Our record includes more than $100 million recovered on behalf of our clients. We can provide a comprehensive review of your case in a free and confidential consultation. We can also take immediate steps to protect your rights and explore all legal options available to you. To learn more, contact us today.
Contents
- Hospital Negligence Lawyers in Bethesda, Maryland
- Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys in Bethesda, MD
- Surgical Error Lawyers in Bethesda, MD
- Birth Injury Lawyers in Bethesda, MD
- Diagnostic Errors Attorneys in Bethesda, MD
- Medication Error Attorneys in Bethesda, MD
- Bethesda, MD Medical Malpractice Legal Information
- Contact a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Bethesda, MD Today
Hospital Negligence Lawyers in Bethesda, Maryland
If a doctor or other medical professional in a hospital commits medical malpractice, the hospital could potentially be liable under a legal doctrine known as “vicarious liability.” It would depend on whether the doctor or staff member was an employee of the hospital. For instance, not all doctors are hospital employees. Many merely have hospital admitting privileges. So, they are independent contractors. A claim would also need to establish that the negligent act or omission occurred while the doctor or staff member was acting within the course and scope of his or her employment.
Many medical errors in Bethesda occur due to system-wide problems in a hospital. In those situations, the hospital could be held liable for its own negligence. For example, a hospital may have failed to:
- Conduct a proper background check before it hired a doctor or nurse
- Maintain proper staffing levels (leading to medical errors caused by fatigue)
- Adequately train and supervise the performance of its medical team
- Provide adequate, well-maintained medical equipment
- Put patient safety protocols in place or require compliance with existing policies.
For example, if a patient suffers an infection due to being exposed to unsterilized equipment, the hospital could be held liable because it lacked a system for ensuring that its staff members use only properly sterilized equipment or because it failed to monitor employees’ adherence to the hospital’s policy.
Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys in Bethesda, MD
Our legal team at The Law Offices of Dr. Michael M. Wilson MD, JD & Associates works with patients who have suffered spinal cord injuries due to medical malpractice. In many cases, patients suffer spinal cord injury because of errors which occur during neck or lumbar spine surgery. These injuries may also happen due to the failure to timely diagnose and treat a condition.
The spinal cord serves as a “nerve highway.” It carries nerve signals that travel throughout the body. So, any damage to the spinal cord can result in the permanent loss of feeling and function in different parts of one’s body, including paraplegia or tetraplegia. It may also lead to complications such as respiratory problems or loss of bowel and bladder control. A victim may require extensive medical treatment and be unable to return to work.
Dr. Wilson and our legal team will work tirelessly to determine the underlying cause of the spinal cord injury in your case and to hold the appropriate health care provider or providers accountable for their negligence.
Surgical Error Lawyers in Bethesda, MD
Surgical errors can occur for many different reasons in Bethesda hospitals. We will thoroughly review all of your medical records, interview witnesses, and consult with highly knowledgeable medical professionals to determine why your surgical error occurred. For instance, the surgical error which harmed you or a loved one may have happened due to:
- Miscommunication before, during, or after the operation
- Lack of proper training and supervision
- Failure to follow proper protocol
- Doctor fatigue or impairment from drugs or alcohol
- Improper equipment.
Some of the most common types of surgical error cases which we encounter in our practice include:
- Foreign objects left in the patient (such as surgical sponges or other instruments)
- Performance of the wrong surgical procedure
- Surgery on the wrong body part
- Anesthesia errors (such as administering too much or too little anesthesia)
- Infections
- Accidental cuts or punctures during the course of the surgery
- Failure to monitor the patient’s condition after the surgery is performed.
Dr. Wilson and our legal team at The Law Offices of Dr. Michael M. Wilson MD, JD & Associates realize how surgical errors can have life-changing consequences. Our Washington D.C. surgical error lawyer will aggressively pursue the answers and the compensation that you and your family deserve if a surgical error has caused you to suffer harm.
Birth Injury Lawyers in Bethesda, MD
Birth injuries are different from birth defects, or congenital disabilities. A birth defect is an inherited medical condition. A birth injury, on the other hand, typically results from some form of trauma that the child suffers during the mother’s pregnancy, during labor and delivery, or during the immediate aftermath of the birth.
Frequently, trauma occurs due to the negligence of medical professionals. Common examples are:
- Failure to identify issues during pregnancy and prepare for a high-risk delivery
- Failure to monitor and respond to fetal distress
- Administering incorrect types or dosages of anesthesia
- Unreasonable delays in addressing complications during labor and delivery such as shoulder dystocia
- Failure to order a timely C-section
- Failure to properly treat excessive bilirubin
- Incorrect use of delivery instruments (such as forceps or vacuum extractors).
Obstetricians, nurses, and hospital staff are all required to meet a standard of care when they provide medical care to patients. When they fail to meet this standard, they can be held liable in a medical malpractice claim in Maryland. With his medical and legal experience, Dr. Wilson will know how to determine what went wrong to cause your child’s birth injury, and we will pursue compensation that can help your child and your family to move forward in life.
Diagnostic Errors Attorneys in Bethesda, MD
Despite advances in medical technology, diagnostic techniques, and patient monitoring, diagnostic errors continue to happen at hospitals in Bethesda and throughout Maryland. These errors can prevent patients from getting timely treatment for a serious issue such as cancer or cardiovascular disease. Diagnostic errors can also lead to a patient receiving unnecessary tests and treatment. In the worst cases, a missed, delayed, or a wrong diagnosis can cause death.
As we have seen at The Law Offices of Dr. Michael M. Wilson MD, JD & Associates, diagnostic errors often occur due to the failure of medical professionals to:
- Conduct a thorough examination and review of a patient’s medical history
- Order crucial diagnostic tests such as X-rays, CT scans, MRIs or blood tests
- Correctly interpret test results
- Communicate effectively with patients and/or other medical professionals
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of a disease due to a lack of training and experience
- Refer a patient to a specialist.
Cases involving diagnostic errors require an in-depth knowledge of not only the law but of medicine as well. This is why you should consult with The Law Offices of Dr. Michael M. Wilson MD, JD & Associates if you believe that you or a loved one has suffered harm due to a diagnostic error in Bethesda.
Medication Error Attorneys in Bethesda, MD
Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other medical professionals can cause devastating harm to patients when they fail to use proper care when prescribing, administering, monitoring, or changing a patient’s type or dosage of medication. Some of the most common types of medication errors that occur in Bethesda include:
- Failing to review a patient’s history before prescribing medication
- Failing to disclose all risks of a medication to a patient (dangerous drugs)
- Neglecting to check on what other medications the patient is taking
- Prescribing the wrong type of medication
- Failing to effectively communicate a patient’s prescription, orally or in writing
- Administering the wrong type or dosage of medication
- Failing to administer medication according to a schedule.
Our medical malpractice attorneys are also doctors. We know how the medication process should work. We also know how to identify where breakdowns can occur in that process and which can lead to patients’ harm. Our medication error attorneys will apply our combined medical and legal knowledge and experience to guide our investigation and assessment of your medication error case.
Bethesda, MD Medical Malpractice Legal Information
When you file a medical malpractice lawsuit in a state court in Maryland, it typically will go through the Circuit Court. As an unincorporated community in southern Montgomery County, Bethesda lies within the jurisdiction of the Montgomery County Circuit Court, which is located at 50 Maryland Avenue in Rockville.
Sometimes, a person may need to file a medical malpractice claim in federal court instead of state court. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland serves our state. Most of the civil cases which arise in Bethesda, MD are filed in the court’s Southern Division, which is located on Cherrywood Lane in Greenbelt.
You have only a limited period of time in which you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Maryland. This is called the Statute of Limitations. If you fail to file the lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires, then you could lose your right to obtain compensation for the harm that you have suffered, regardless of the merits of your claim.
In Maryland, the statute of limitations for most medical malpractice claims is five years from the date of the negligent act or omission or three years from the date of discovery of the injury. However, exceptions can apply that either lengthen or shorten the amount of time that you have to take legal action.
Contact a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Bethesda, MD Today
