How Arizona Medical Malpractice Lawyers Help Maximize Patient Recoveries, or Protect Professional Reputations of Medical Personnel and Physicians In Defending Against Malpractice Allegations
What Constitutes Medical Malpractice under Arizona Law?
It is a brutal fact that life entails risk. Such risks typically involve injury following a car accident in downtown Phoenix in a mid-day rush to work, or injury caused from handling a defective product the product of a product liability claim.
Yet, the fact of the matter is that emergency room visits can expose a patient to unforeseeable risks of errors in the diagnosis and treatment of a patient when he or she is most vulnerable.
Arizona’s medical malpractice system has checks-and-balances on medical providers and other health care professionals to prevent negligent practices that cause the patient to bear the burden of injury and added expense.
Experienced Arizona medical malpractice lawyers, well-versed in the beginning and end stages of malpractice litigation can provide badly needed advice to the victim and loved ones after malpractice has occurred.
Understanding the many forms of malpractice in Arizona, and the various ways doctors and other medical professionals can defend against such allegations is useful for determining your best offensive or defensive strategy.
It is worth it to continue reading further to learn about the elements in the State of Arizona to make out a medical malpractice injury claim and be aware of the most common ways such alleged injuries are as disproven and ultimately dismissed.
What are the Elements of Successful Phoenix or Tucson Medical Malpractice Lawsuits under Arizona Law?
According to the helpful resource found on the blog of Mushkatel, Robbins & Becker, PLLC, Arizona malpractice suits can be brought against not only Phoenix and Tuscon medical doctors and surgeons by elderly and minor patients alike, but also to these health care providers:
- Nurses
- Medical technicians
- Pharmacists
- Chiropractors
- Physical therapists
- Obstetricians/gynecologists
According to “loss of chance” theory, a medical malpractice claim exists when a medical procedure causes a patient to suffer a “loss of chance” of avoiding wrongful death, personal injury including a birth injury as a result of surgery or a missed diagnosis.
As a matter of principle, as reported in Medical Economics, if the likelihood of dying from the failure to properly diagnose a patient is 50% or greater, then there is a traditional theory that supports recovery against the doctor or hospital. An easier burden of proving a lesser amount than 50% unfortunately does not govern the standard of proof for a victim of medical malpractice.
According to GoodRxHealth.com, “medical negligence” refers to a doctor’s “accidentally” rendering services that lead to an injury and/or death of the patient. Whereas the “professional negligence” refers to a doctor knowing of the danger of a particular surgery and deliberately or recklessly advising a patient, or misdiagnosing a patient, or some other medical error, leading to a serious injury or catastrophic injury, complication or death.
A claimant must meet the elements for medical negligence under Arizona law involving these four elements:
- Duty
- Breach of the Duty of Care
- Causation
- Damages (economic or non-economic, punitive or compensatory)
Skilled Phoenix-headquartered medical-malpractice lawyers advocating for a claimant of medical negligence could persuade the court that a doctor’s actions fell below the standard of care, which directly caused the injured patient complications or even death.
In contrast, the National Library of Medicine defines malpractice claims allow a jury to judge the doctor’s work by an medical expert witness, usually another caregiver or similarly skilled doctor, and determine whether the medical expert or medical provider “deviated from accepted norms of practice in the medical community” and resulting an injured patient by the doctor’s act or omission.
Another issue can be when a doctor’s surgical procedure amounts to an independent cause of action for battery, as mentioned on the Phoenix-based Gage Mathers’s blog.
According to the National Library of Medicine, the elements include:
- Disregarding the patient’s wishes.
- Performing one surgery substantially different from the expected surgery.
- Not providing informed consent to perform a certain surgery.
Last, according to the Arizona Physician, patient abandonment can serve as an independent basis for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Patient abandonment, according to Perlmutter Medical Law, in Arizona can be understood according to the following definition:
- “When the physician’s acts cause “[a]bandoning or neglecting a patient under and in need of immediate professional care,
- without making reasonable arrangements for the continuation of such care.”
What are the Time Limits and Procedure for Filing Phoenix, Tucson Medical Malpractice Claims?
Often the greatest challenge to successfully bringing a medical malpractice personal injury case is timely bringing suit on the matter, or before the statute of limitations is said to “run.”
Once the statute of limitations has run in Arizona, it is too late to bring a case and there is no alternative way of a loved one to pursue justice for their injuries.
According the Arizona Legislature’s published statutes, victims of medical malpractice must file suit on the matter within two years of their injury. A.R.S Section 12-542(I)
Although that is a rule of thumb, there are of course exceptions that a skilled and seasoned medical malpractice lawyer would be able to detect and apply in your case.
Statutes of limitations exist promote helpful evidence demonstrating proof of injury. This is to prevent claims of aggravation of an injury caused by a surgical complication or grave illness as a result of a misdiagnosis that has improved or non-existent by the time of trial.
Common Defenses in Phoenix and Scottsdale for Medical Personnel and Doctors Relating to the Standard of Care
According Oberheiden, P.C.’s blog, medical malpractice claims can be defended with three main defenses:
- Good Samaritan Defense: Because there is no legal duty to render aid to help another, a doctor is only liable if his or her aid is grossly negligent or amounts to willful misconduct.
- Comparative Negligence: The victim of medical malpractice was partially, whether in part or in full, to blame for the incident.
- Statute of Limitations: The claim was pursued too late after the two-year period ended, except if the plaintiff injured is a minor.
Legal Options: How Much Can an Injured Victim Expect to Recover for a Phoenix and Scottsdale Medical Malpractice Claim?
Based on the skill and years of experience of the medical malpractice lawyer handling a victim’s case, a client stands in the best position of recovery or not being found liable for alleged malpractice. Some noteworthy distinctions in Arizona medical malpractice law include two laws of procedure:
- Arizona does not impose any cap on non-economic damages, or general suffering as opposed to medical bills incurred. Article 2, § 31 of the Arizona Constitution
- Arizona may have procedural hurdles limiting a loved one or victim’s access to having their case heard by a jury of the client’s peers. Often, jury trials guarantee multi-million dollar verdicts when catastrophic injury results in wrongful deaths of patients or catastrophic injury the product of the doctor’s gross negligence or malicious acts by staff.
A Free Consultation: What is the Importance of Hiring a Phoenix Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorney?
Commonly malpractice injuries take place in many contexts: from everyday health care encounters and follow-up appointments with primary physicians who may fail to conform to the proper standard of care, to equally serious yet uncommon problems nursing staff abuse and inadequate supervision, especially with the elderly.
Many top-rated law firms specialize in these cases, including the national personal injury medical malpractice-focused law firm McDonald Worley, P.C., Harris, Powers & Cunningham, PLLC, among others in Phoenix, Mesa surrounding areas, many offering a free consultation.
For an Arizona law office to maximize recovery or minimize liability based on treatment that fell below par following an automobile accident, be prepared to create a narrative of facts detailing everything that you remembered before, during and after the accident.
As a healthcare professional facing a lawsuit, where one’s professional reputation is often at stake, it is also imperative to share any insurance company policy maintained and provide all known information that could be helpful for the lawyer to assess and test the strength and validity of the victim’s claim.
Forming an Attorney-Client Relationship: Call a Medical Malpractice Personal Injury Law Firm Today to Discuss Your Case and Odds of a Obtaining a Favorable Settlement From The Insurance Company!
Whether you are a victim, medical personnel or a physician, legal services and legal advice from an experienced malpractice attorney on your side can navigate the complex practice area of medical malpractice topics of statutory damage caps on non-economic damages, often leading to the greatest recoveries.
The attorney-client relationship forms upon consultation when you consider hiring the attorney unless there is a disclaimer against such formation. Failing to be adequately prepared can result in not being compensated for a serious injury with clear liability, such as if the personal injury attorney is not particularly qualified in the particular case brought.
In any case, Lawsuit.org will help you pinpoint the right medical malpractice personal injury attorney offering a free consultation and case evaluation to obtain the just result you deserve.