Were you or a loved one harmed because of a medical error in Creve Coeur, Missouri? The negligent healthcare provider may owe you compensation. An experienced Creve Coeur medical malpractice lawyer at Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers can help you fight for every available cent.
Our lawyers have more than 100 years of combined experience advocating for injured patients like you. Our hard work and dedicated approach have helped us recover over $100 million in settlements and verdicts. If you’ve been injured, contact us at (314) 444-4444 for a free consultation.
Why Choose Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers for Help With a Medical Malpractice Claim in Creve Coeur, MO?
Negligent doctors and hospitals will throw all their resources toward protecting themselves. They have insurance adjusters and defense teams who know exactly how to defend against allegations of malpractice. Hiring an experienced attorney is one of the most important things you can do if you are a victim.
Our Creve Coeur personal injury lawyers have been recognized by Super Lawyers, the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America. We’ve also earned an AV rating from the Martindale-Hubbell lawyer rating service. These awards mean that when you hire our Creve Coeur personal injury lawyers, the other side will take notice. They’ll be much more willing to stop the games and negotiate a fair settlement.
Are you ready to learn more? Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
All medical providers are held to a certain standard of care. The standard of care they must provide depends on many factors, including their experience, practice area, or specialty.
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional fails to meet the standard of care.
Any medical provider can be liable for malpractice, including:
- Hospitals and medical clinics
- Doctors and surgeons
- Pharmacists
- Nurses
- Specialists, such as OB/GYNs, cardiologists, oncologists, anesthesiologists, and neurosurgeons
- Radiologists
- Lab technicians
- EMTs
- Physical therapists
- Nursing homes
- Manufacturers of dangerous and defective medications and medical devices
Proving medical negligence can be incredibly tough. Our lawyers have decades of experience between us, and we’re up to the challenge. If you’re struggling because of a doctor’s mistake, contact us today for a free case review.
How Common Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical errors leave thousands of patients struggling with injuries every year. Every year, doctors and hospitals are forced to pay billions of dollars to settle medical malpractice claims in the U.S.
Medical malpractice is more than just a legal statistic—it’s a widespread patient safety issue. From small clinics to major hospitals, these errors can happen in any healthcare setting, and the consequences can be devastating. That’s why holding medical providers accountable through legal action is often the only way injured patients can seek justice and prevent similar harm to others.
What Is My Creve Coeur Medical Malpractice Case Worth?
The value of a medical malpractice claim will depend on:
- The type of harm involved
- How much you spent on medical treatment
- Whether you missed work and lost income during recovery
- Whether the error caused any long-term or permanent disability
- Your out-of-pocket expenses
- Impacts on your quality of life, including your ability to enjoy life
- Your need for ongoing assistance and care, and the cost
- Whether your earnings remain impaired after reaching maximum medical improvement, or the point at which ongoing medical care is unlikely to improve your condition
- The nature of the error
Assessing the value of a medical malpractice claim can be complex, yet a full assessment is critical to getting a fair deal. All of your financial costs must be accounted for. Your settlement or verdict should also compensate for projected future costs.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Victims of Medical Malpractice in Creve Coeur?
In Missouri, victims can seek compensation for economic (financial) losses and non-economic (non-financial) losses. Collectively, your losses are your “damages.”
Examples of damages include:
- Current medical bills
- Projected future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Lost future earnings and job benefits
- Physical therapy
- Rehabilitation
- Skilled nursing care
- In-home assistance
- Home and vehicle modifications
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental health issues
- Diminished quality of life
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Reduced life expectancy
- Loss of consortium
Our lawyers have methods for establishing the value of more difficult-to-value losses. Often, we bring in respected experts to help us prove your case.
Medical Malpractice Can Leave Victims Struggling With Painful Injuries and Serious Long-Term Consequences
Some possible consequences of a serious medical mistake include:
- New or worsened medical conditions
- Brain damage
- Broken bones
- Additional surgeries and more painful and dangerous medical procedures
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Hospital-acquired infections
- Internal bleeding
- Organ damage
- Amputations
- Paralysis
- Blood clots
- Stroke
Medical errors can prove catastrophic. Our Creve Coeur wrongful death attorneys are prepared to fight for your family if you lost a loved one due to a medical error.
What Causes Most Medical Errors in Creve Coeur?
Medical mistakes can happen for any number of reasons.
Some of the most common include:
- Failure to diagnose a disease
- Misinterpreting lab results
- Failure to order the proper diagnostic tests
- Lab mix-ups and mistaken patient identity
- Charting and communication errors
- Failure to train or supervise less experienced medical professionals
- Negligent hiring
- Failure to properly monitor a patient’s vitals
- Failure to account for adverse drug interactions
- Administering the wrong dose of a medication
- Anesthesia errors
- Failure to take a complete patient history
- Lack of informed consent
- Failing to refer the patient to a specialist when needed for proper treatment
- Surgical errors, including operating on the wrong body part
- Failure to maintain appropriate sanitary conditions
- Overworked health care providers, or fatigue
It’s okay if you don’t know precisely what happened. Our lawyers have the tools to conduct a full investigation and collect evidence to identify the root cause of your suffering.
What Do I Prove to Win a Medical Malpractice Case in Missouri?
To win a case based on medical malpractice, you must prove:
- You were the defendant’s patient and they owed you a legal duty of care
- They deviated from the medical standard of care, so they breached their duty
- That breach, or failure to provide the proper level of care, caused you some type of harm
- You suffered damages as a result
Medical malpractice is a specialized type of negligence. A healthcare professional commits medical negligence if they fail to provide the care that a reasonable, trained healthcare professional would have provided under similar circumstances.
What Is the Medical Standard of Care?
Establishing the medical standard of care is often one of the most complicated aspects of a medical malpractice case. These standards are developed by the medical community itself.
The standard of care can vary based on:
- The nature of the patient’s medical condition or injury
- The patient’s prior medical history
- The patient’s age and general health
- The medical professional’s specialty and training
Expert witness testimony is critical to winning a medical malpractice case. The expert’s opinion will be necessary to establish the medical standard in your case and to determine whether the defendant breached their duty by deviating from the relevant standard. For your case to proceed at all, an affidavit from a qualified medical expert is required in Missouri.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Missouri?
The fee structure in medical malpractice cases is essentially the same as in personal injury cases. Our firm works on a contingency fee basis. You pay a percentage of your settlement or verdict once we’ve recovered compensation in your case. So, if we don’t win, you don’t pay.
How Long Do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit After a Medical Error in Missouri?
In Missouri, the statute of limitations in medical malpractice cases is two years. Victims generally have only two years from the date of the error to file a lawsuit.
A discovery rule applies if:
- The doctor left a foreign object in your body
- Your case involved a negligent failure to inform you about the results of medical tests
In these cases, the two-year clock starts to run on the date you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the error.
Even if the discovery rule does apply, a statute of repose prevents you from filing a medical malpractice lawsuit if more than ten years have passed since the date of the error.
Contact a Skilled Creve Coeur Medical Malpractice Lawyer for a Free Consultation
Do you have questions about your legal options after a medical error in Creve Coeur? Our team at Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers has the skills to help. We have over 100 years of combined experience and have recovered over $100 million for our clients.
Contact us today to learn more about how an experienced Creve Coeur medical malpractice lawyer can help you get the compensation you deserve.
