Durham Medical Malpractice Lawyers: What to Know if You Were Harmed

A doctor prescribes a medication or device without properly informing the patient of potential risks. A nurse accidentally administers the wrong medication, or the wrong dosage of the correct medication. Cosmetic surgery turns to disfigurement – or worse. Medical instruments were left in the body of a patient after a surgery. A surgeon operated on the wrong body part or the wrong patient.

If you’ve suffered from medical malpractice, how you can recover needed compensation for the medical professional’s mistake?

If your doctor, nurse, or hospital mistreated or misdiagnosed you, call us at 1-866-900-7078 or contact us online today for a free case evaluation. We can give you answers and guidance to help you decide how you want to proceed.

Do I Have a Durham Medical Malpractice Case?

Every case is unique, so get a free case evaluation from an experienced attorney before making your next move.

Under North Carolina law, your healthcare professional must meet the following three-part standard of care:

1. Must possess the degree of professional learning, skill, and ability which others similarly situated ordinarily possess
2. Must exercise reasonable care and diligence in the application of knowledge and skill to the patient’s case
3. Must use best judgment in the treatment and care of the patient

In short, medical professionals must be qualified for the position and responsibilities they’re assuming. That means the degrees and certifications that are commonly expected for the care they are providing. For example. an anesthetist is not going to be qualified to perform surgery.

The “reasonable care and diligence” requirement applies to standard practices. If the standard or normal way to diagnose an illness calls for a standardized response, such as the prescription of a certain medication or a diagnostic scan of some sort, these standards can reasonably be expected by a patient.

“Best judgment” generally means that the treating medical professional is expected to make treatment and care decisions in the patient’s best interests. An example of not using best judgment could be making a decision about a treatment method or medication for a patient based on the interests of the doctor and not that of the patient.

If any of these standards were violated in your treatment, please call our medical malpractice team right away at 1-866-900-7078.

Common Areas of Medical Mistakes and Potential Malpractice Liability

We often hear from patients who suffered from medical malpractice in one of these areas:

Anesthesia

• Choosing the incorrect drug
• Administering drugs that interact negatively with one another
• Administering the wrong dosage of the drug
• Giving a drug to an allergic patient
• Failing to monitor vital signs
• Failing to act upon changes in vital signs
• Administering anesthesia too late
• Failing to intubate
• Failing to use machines correctly
• Using faulty equipment
• Shutting off the alarm on the pulse oximeter
• Failing to inform the patient of instructions regarding the procedure

Birth Injury

Birth injuries refer to trauma sustained by a mother, or by an infant in the womb or during the birth process. Mishandling and miscommunication among the birthing team can potentially result in dozens of types of temporary or permanent injuries to both the mother and the child.

Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis

• Choosing the incorrect drug
• Failing to thoroughly examine medical history
• Failing to interpret tests correctly
• Failing to listen to the patient
• Failing to recognize symptoms
• Ordering an improper test

Postoperative Negligence

After a surgery, medical professionals are responsible for monitoring patients for potential complications. This includes, but is not limited to, giving medications and treatment to prevent and treat infections, monitoring vital signs, and explaining post-operative care instructions.

A wide range of complications can occur after surgery if your surgical team did not fulfill its duty of care, including:

• Blood clots or pulmonary embolism
• Bacterial infections of the bloodstream or surgical site, including MRSA and Staph
• Internal bleeding
• Necrotizing fasciitis
• Organ perforation that went unnoticed
• Peritonitis
• Pneumonia or other respiratory infections
• Sepsis
• Tissue necrosis or death
• Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Viral infections

Hospital and Emergency Room Errors

Any Durham medical facility can be liable for injuries caused by negligent employees and other systemic problems within the facility. Some of these might include:

• Unreasonably long ER wait times
• Infections acquired from unsanitary instruments
• Conditions or injuries resulting from improper protocol

Common areas of possible liability include:

• Administering drugs that interact negatively with one another
• Failing to consult a specialist when appropriate
• Failing to identify allergies to medications
• Failing to inform patient of procedural instructions
• Failing to intubate
• Failing to monitor vital signs
• Failing to order required tests
• Failing to react to changes in vital signs
• Failing to use machines correctly or using faulty machines
• Ignoring a patient’s condition
• Inaccurate diagnosis or misdiagnosis
• Overdosing or under-dosing a medication
• Patient neglect
• Performing unnecessary surgeries
• Unsanitary medical equipment

Pharmacy Errors

Durham pharmacies have the responsibility to dispense prescribed medications and correct dosages. Many drugs have similar names, and when a busy pharmacist or technician is scrolling down the list of drugs to administer, it can be easy to accidentally check the wrong box. Mistakes can and often do happen in this manner.

You may also be owed compensation for a pharmacy’s negligence if you’re not asked about allergies or whether you are taking other medications that could react with the one prescribed. If you are not given correct information on how and when to take a medication, severe health consequences can result, and the pharmacy or pharmacist could potentially be held liable for damages.

Other Possible Sources of Durham Medical Malpractice Claims

• Chiropractic
• Cosmetic surgery
• Dentistry
• Failure to follow advance medical directives and living wills
• Failure to properly read X-rays and other diagnostic tests
• Obstetrics/Gynecology (OBGYN)
• Orthopedics
• Podiatry
• Psychiatry

How Much Am I Owed for My Medical Malpractice Case?

The compensation you can receive if your case is successful depends on the details of your particular case. Here are the things for which you might receive compensation:

• Lost income – An inability to work due to your injury means you’re losing income you need to pay your bills.
• Medical costs – Medical costs may include additional procedures to undo or repair the harm done to you.
• Disfigurement – In some cases, the injury may permanently disfigure or disable you, and you may be entitled to significant compensation.
• Pain & suffering – You may be owed for “non-economic” damages, such as mental anguish.
• Loss of consortium – Loss of family relationships including affection, sexual relations, and ability to share in household activities due to injuries you suffered.
• Punitive damages – In some cases, a jury may award a significant amount to a plaintiff to punish a defendant for wrongdoing.

Skilled Durham Medical Malpractice Attorneys – Free Case Evaluation

Medical malpractice can result in significant pain, disability, and even death. The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin has been helping people in Durham seek compensation for injuries they have suffered due to the negligence of medical professionals since 1997.

Our You-First Policy lays out how we put your needs and concerns first. Always.

You do not have to worry about the cost of hiring a quality Durham medical malpractice attorney because we work on a contingency fee basis. That means no upfront costs and no hourly attorney fees to worry about. Simply put, if we do not recover compensation from your medical malpractice claim, you owe us no attorney’s fee. Guaranteed.²

If you’ve been hurt by the negligence of a medical professional or facility, contact our Durham personal injury lawyers as soon as you can after your injury. Even a small delay may harm your case – but an experienced attorney can significantly increase your odds of success.

For a free case evaluation – no obligation – call a member of our team now at 1-866-900-7078 or contact our Durham office.