Medical Malpractice
How Human Errors Can Have a Deadly Effect
Same Doctors Committing Malpractice Over and Over Again
What Can Be Done About Medical Malpractice
Winning Medical Malpractice Cases
The medical malpractice team at Cantor Stoneburner Ford Grana & Buckner provides its clients with the resources of one of the largest, most knowledgeable and most widely known medical malpractice firms in Virginia.
Our attorneys have tried and settled dozens of cases across a wide range of medical malpractice areas, including anesthesiology, colon & rectal surgery, dermatology, emergency medicine, family practice, ENT, neurology, ophthalmology, pathology, pediatrics, plastic surgery, radiology, surgery, urology, orthopedics, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, nursing, podiatry, pharmacy and hospital liability.
Medical Malpractice: Human Errors Can Have Deadly Consequences
According to the Institute of Medicine’s 1999 report, "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health Care System," as many as 98,000 hospital patients die from preventable causes each year. That figure does not include patients who die in other medical facilities, like nursing homes, or patients who die because of negligence committed in the doctor’s office. It also does not begin to calculate the number of people who have their lives changed forever by a permanent injury, such as paralysis, blindness, or brain injury.
Medical professionals, including the surgeon, doctor, nurse, pharmacist and other hospital staff, have a great deal of responsibility. When they meet or exceed the standards of their profession, they can save lives and cure disabling diseases and painful conditions. On the other hand when a surgeon, doctor, nurse, pharmacist and other hospital staff commits medical malpractice, it can cause disability or death to a patient.
Too Often, It’s The Same Doctors Committing Malpractice Over And Over Again
It is unfortunate, but true, that a significant percentage of malpractice is committed by a small percent of the health care providers. Doctors may have two, three or even more cases that their malpractice insurance companies pay to settle. Because the insurance companies and doctors insist on confidential settlements, the public may never learn about any of them.
What Can Be Done About Malpractice?
First, it is always a good idea to investigate a doctor’s background. In Virginia, the Board of Medicine has a website to obtain information on physicians, including their paid malpractice claims. Other states’ Boards of Medicine have similar sites that can be found online. You can also check with the ABMS to see if a doctor is board-certified or with a site like Questionable Doctors to see if a doctor has a disciplinary record.
Second, the rights of the victims must be protected. The medical malpractice insurance industry and healthcare providers are continually urging the United States Congress in Washington D.C. and the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond to pass “tort reform” laws restricting the amounts that a patient may recover if he is injured by a negligent doctor, nurse or hospital. Our attorneys work with the VTLA, ATLA and other organizations dedicated to protecting the rights of consumers to fight any efforts to pass these special protections. There is plenty of research on the facts about medical malpractice. Citizens must contact their individual legislators and tell them to oppose any efforts to restrict the rights of injured victims of medical malpractice.
Medical Malpractice Law Is Highly Specialized
Because the doctors, hospitals and insurance companies have powerful lobbyists, the Virginia laws that apply to medical malpractice cases are different than other cases. In Virginia, there are special procedures to consider in dealing with Medical Malpractice Review Panels, the Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Program, and the qualification of doctors as expert witnesses.
Within the area of medical malpractice law, some cases occur more often than others. For example, cases involving birth injuries to the brain or nerves of a baby, failure to diagnose cancer, certain types of surgery are often tried or settled.
Our Firm and Medical Malpractice: Experienced Legal Representation for our Clients
By selecting Cantor Stoneburner Ford Grana & Buckner to represent you in your medical malpractice claim, you are enlisting a firm with a reputation and record for success that the insurance companies have learned to take quite seriously. A law firm’s experience should be an important consideration in choosing a lawyer. Results Matter.
