Baytown Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Filing suit against a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare provider over an injury caused by their professional negligence is never a simple process. That is true regardless of the state you live in. However, Texas is especially unfriendly to injured plaintiffs trying to file medical malpractice lawsuits, not just in the limits it places on financial recovery but also in the restrictions it puts on your right to file suit over malpractice.

If you want a good chance of getting a favorable result from a medical negligence claim, you will need help from a seasoned personal injury attorney who has successfully handled these cases in the past. No matter who holds legal liability for your injuries or what specific damages you need to seek restitution for, your dedicated Baytown medical malpractice lawyer could give you the support you need to recover for all your losses.

Understanding the Standard of Care for Baytown Physicians

Most of the time, suing someone over an injury caused by negligence in this state means proving that other person directly caused the injury in question by violating a general duty of care to act responsibly under specific circumstances. Medical professionals, though, are subject to a standard of care on the job instead. This means they are expected to act the same way another equally qualified and experienced physician would have acted under the same circumstances.

Some medical situations that might require filing a lawsuit include, but are not limited to: anesthesia errors, surgical errors, misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis, hospital negligence, medication errors, sepsis or infection, birth injuries, and even wrongful death.

The standard of care for a particular doctor—and accordingly, the types of actions which may qualify as a breach of that standard—can change drastically. It will depend on what kinds of conditions they are working under, what their area of expertise is, and even the specific patient they are treating. Additionally, state law requires malpractice plaintiffs to have support from at least one qualified medical expert who believes they have valid grounds for a claim. That is just one of many unique requirements for a medical malpractice claim which a Baytown attorney can assist with when they are retained.

Legal Obstacles to Recovery for Malpractice

Unfortunately, the “expert report” requirement mentioned above is far from the only roadblock Texas law puts in the way of medical malpractice plaintiffs. For example, state law prohibits individual plaintiffs from recovering more than $250,000 from any single defendant or more than $500,000 from any group of defendants for non-economic damages like physical pain and emotional anguish. Additionally, it is not possible to sue emergency room physicians for malpractice at all unless they demonstrated “willful and wanton negligence.”

Perhaps most notably, injured individuals generally cannot file suit over malpractice injuries more than two years after discovering they were harmed, or more than 10 years after the malpractice actually occurred. If an injured party has questions about this requirement, a medical malpractice lawyer in Baytown could go into more detail during a private consultation about the rules and regulations which may affect a specific claim.

Discuss Legal Options with a Baytown Medical Malpractice Attorney

Medical malpractice lawsuits are almost always complicated and time-consuming challenges, but they are not impossible to win. That said, your chances of getting the outcome you want from your claim without skilled legal representation are slim to none, even if it seems obvious to you that a doctor’s misconduct led directly to you getting seriously hurt.

From start to finish of your legal proceedings, your Baytown medical malpractice lawyer could enforce your rights and tirelessly work to get you every cent of restitution you deserve for your damages. Call today to schedule a free consultation with our experienced legal team.