Kettering Medical Malpractice Attorney

You may never expect to be injured by a careless physician – the very professional hired to protect your health. Doctors and other medical practitioners can make mistakes, however, that cause serious patient injuries and even deaths.

If you believe you are a victim of medical malpractice, contact the Kettering medical malpractice lawyers at Elk & Elk. Our Ohio personal injury lawyers can review your legal rights during a free consultation.

The Importance of Hiring an Attorney

It is difficult to handle a medical malpractice lawsuit in Ohio on your own. This is one of the most complicated types of injury claims, with many unique laws you must navigate. Hiring a lawyer is the only way to ensure the proper protection of your rights.

Your lawyer will know exactly how to handle the defendant and his or her insurance company, even if you need to go up against a major hospital in Kettering. With a medical malpractice lawyer by your side, you can focus on your recovery.

What Is Medical Malpractice? What Are Examples?

Medical malpractice describes an error committed by someone in the medical field – either knowingly or unknowingly – that injures a patient. Professionals in the medical field must obey high standards of patient care. Any breach of these standards, intentional or unintentional, could give the patient the right to file a medical malpractice claim if the breach causes an injury or illness.

Common examples of medical malpractice include:

  • Misreading test results
  • Failing to check a patient’s medical or family history
  • Ignoring a patient’s complaints or prematurely discharging a patient
  • Failing to properly diagnose a condition
  • Prescribing the wrong dosage or type of medication to a patient
  • Making a preventable surgical error
  • Failing to administer the correct amount or mixture of anesthesia
  • Making errors during pregnancy, labor or delivery

If you believe a health care practitioner made a mistake that a reasonable and prudent physician would not have in the same circumstances, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit in Ohio.

How Do You Prove Medical Malpractice?

As the plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit, it is your responsibility to prove your case against the defendant. The burden of proof always rests with the injured party in civil law. Typically, proving medical malpractice as more likely to be true than not true (the required evidentiary standard) takes clear and convincing evidence of three elements:

  1. The defendant owed you a duty of care. You must have been a patient of the defendant’s at the time of the alleged malpractice to be able to hold that party responsible.
  2. The defendant violated the medical industry’s standards of care. The defendant must have done something a reasonable doctor would not have in the same circumstances.
  3. The defendant’s mistake caused your injury. Your injury or illness would not have happened but for the defendant’s action or omission.

A medical malpractice lawyer can help you gather evidence to prove these three elements. Your lawyer can also help you with the task of proving your compensable losses, such as physical injuries, emotional distress or medical expenses.

What Is the Deadline for Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim in Ohio?

Every state has a different statute of limitations, or deadline on filing medical malpractice lawsuits. In Ohio, the statute of limitations is one year from the date of the act of malpractice.

If you are not diagnosed with an injury or illness until later, you will have one year from the date you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury to file. Regardless of when you discover your injury, you must file within four years of the accrual of the cause of action.

Speak to an Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Kettering, OH Today

Medical malpractice is extremely frightening to experience firsthand. As an injured victim, this type of lawsuit is difficult to handle on your own. Trust an attorney from Elk & Elk to help you with a claim. Our Kettering, Ohio medical malpractice lawyers have more than 50 years of experience. We will do everything it takes to help you and your family.

Ask how we can assist you today. Request a free consultation online or by calling 1-800-ELK-OHIO 24/7.