Detroit Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Healthcare professionals have an ethical and legal responsibility to provide their patients with a high standard of care. If that care falls below the standard due to negligence, the healthcare facility or provider can be held liable.

In Michigan, patients are protected by legislation known as the patient’s bill of rights. These safety rules mean healthcare facilities and professionals must treat all patients with an appropriate level of care and may not discriminate, harass, or retaliate against the patient. The bill also states that patients must have access to all policies and medical records upon request.

Michigan legislation also has specific laws governing what must happen if a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed. This includes what must take place before the lawsuit, such as notifying the facility or provider of the action being taken against them. There are also rules about what must happen when the lawsuit is officially filed, such as providing an affidavit of merit.

There are many steps a person considering a medical malpractice case must take before even filing a lawsuit. That it is why it is critical to call a Detroit medical malpractice lawyer as quickly as possible. 

According to a study by Johns Hopkins Medicine, medical errors are the third-leading cause of death in the United States. Experts have estimated that over 250,000 deaths occur each year as a result of medical malpractice.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also states that adverse events due to unsafe patient care are one of the 10 leading causes of death and disability in the world.

Furthermore, in high-income countries, 1 in every 10 patients is harmed while receiving care at a hospital, with around 50% of cases being preventable. In low-income countries, 134 million medical errors occur due to unsafe care, resulting in 2.6 million deaths.

The WHO also states that 4 in 10 patients globally are harmed during outpatient care, with 80% of cases being preventable.

Unfortunately, medical malpractice also occurs in Detroit. Many of the largest medical systems, such as Henry Ford Medical Center, Corewell or Beaumont, Ascension and the University of Michigan have outstanding doctors. But mistakes do happen that can be life-altering and permanent. If this happens, find out your rights and contact a Detroit medical malpractice lawyer to find out your rights.  

Very rarely will doctors or medical facilities willingly admit they are guilty of an error. As a result, it is typically up to the patient or their family to file a lawsuit.

So, what constitutes a medical malpractice lawsuit? In other words, how do you know if you have a valid medical malpractice case?

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this question. You may have grounds to file a medical malpractice lawsuit if a healthcare professional or facility failed to provide reasonable care and a very bad injury resulted. Medical records from the patient’s hospital must thoroughly be evaluated to determine if negligence was the a cause of your injuries. In addition, medical experts must be retained to explain what the medical error was and why it caused such a horrible outcome. 

This means if you believe you were injured by a doctor or hospital, you will need to hire a Detroit medical malpractice lawyer to help you. Hospitals, doctors and their insurance companies 

Medical standard of care refers to the level or type of care provided by a professional medical provider or facility in a given geographical location. Doctors and nurses are expected to have a certain level of skill and competency that enables them to provide the highest level of care possible.

When discussing medical malpractice, the standard of care is used to determine if a provider or facility acted negligently.

Essentially, the burden of proof is whether the medical professional or facility failed to provide the acceptable standard of care in the community, and that as a proximate result of the defendant failing to provide that standard, the plaintiff suffered injury.

First, your attorney must determine the correct defendants. Many doctors work for various companies and it is important to include those companies in the lawsuit. Filing a medical malpractice claim can be challenging. You will need to provide sufficient evidence that proves that a medical professional or facility did act negligently and that their negligence was the direct cause of the harm done to you.

Before starting your lawsuit, however, Michigan law requires the patient or their family to provide two important things to get the process started:

1. Notice of Intent (NOI): This is a written notice of your intent to file a medical malpractice claim that must be provided to the healthcare professional or facility not less than  182 days before legal action is taken. See MCL 600.2912b.
2. Affidavit of Merit: This is a certificate of merit that must be submitted to prove that there are solid grounds for a medical malpractice case. The affidavit must be signed by another medical professional, and it must outline what medical records were reviewed by the medical expert. It is essentially a sworn statement by the medical expert that, in their professional opinion, a medical error or negligence did occur. See MCL 600.2912d.

The affidavit of merit is filed with the Complaint, or lawsuit. The affidavit is required and explain why the applicable standard of practice or care was breached. It must also explain the actions that should have been taken or omitted by the health professional and the manner in which the breach of the standard of practice or care was the proximate cause of the injury.

When filing a medical malpractice claim in Detroit, victims are eligible for two different types of damages:

1. Economic damages: These are the types of damages victims can recover for their losses that have a defined financial value. This includes past medical expenses, future medical costs, past lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, caregiving expenses, therapy expenses, and other out-of-pocket expenses. 
2. Non-economic damages: These types of damages are those that are difficult to assign a set value but that victims still deserve to be compensated for. They include things like physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, inconvenience, mental trauma, scarring and disfigurement, loss of quality of life, and loss of consortium.

Under the law, “noneconomic loss” means damages or loss due to pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, or physical disfigurement, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, or other noneconomic loss.

However, Michigan does have a cap on non-economic damages. Under MCL 600.1483, there are two different caps depending on the severity of the injury. The cap was originally set at $250,000 but adjusts upward each year for inflation and cost of living adjustments.

Your Detroit medical malpractice attorney must build a compelling case. In general, medical malpractice cases must prove a few things to result in an award of compensation:

• There was a doctor-patient relationship
• There was a deviation from the acceptable standard of medical care
• The mistake led to serious injury or death
• There is sufficient evidence proving the medical professional caused the damage

Medical malpractice occurs when a patient sustains an injury due to an improper action or failure to act by a member of the medical profession. When a doctor fails to meet the standard of care for the profession or the level of professional medicine that is relevant to a specific medication situation, then that doctor can be held civilly responsible for the injuries caused.

There are multiple examples of medical malpractice. Some of the most common examples include:

• Missed diagnosis or delayed diagnosis
• Surgical errors
• Childbirth injuries – oxygen deprivation, shoulder dystocia, brachial plexus injuries
• Anesthesia errors
• Medication mistakes

Although there are exceptions, in general, the statute of limitations for a Detroit medical malpractice case is two years. This means the malpractice victim has two years from the date of the malpractice to file a lawsuit against the correct defendants or the victim forever loses his or her right to recover compensation for their injuries.