St. Louis Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Were you or a loved one a victim of medical negligence in St. Louis, MO? An experienced St. Louis medical malpractice lawyer can help you determine whether you’re eligible to seek compensation from the negligent healthcare provider. You may be entitled to compensation for Medical bills, lost wages, and your pain and suffering.

At Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers, we have decades of combined experience helping injured clients recover fair compensation for their losses. We’ve recovered over $50 million for our clients over the years.

You can count on us to fight for the maximum compensation you deserve. Call our law offices in St. Louis, Missouri to schedule a free consultation to get started today at (314) 444-4444.

How Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With a Medical Malpractice Claim in St. Louis

How Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With a Medical Malpractice Claim in St. Louis

If you’re struggling because your trusted doctor made a mistake, hiring an experienced attorney can make a world of difference in the amount of money you take home. Doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies are prepared to fight your claim. They see cases like yours every day. You deserve a St. Louis personal injury attorney who will stand up and protect your legal rights.

Our attorneys at Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers have been recognized by Super Lawyers and the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers. 

When you hire our AV-rated law firm to represent you, you’ll have a skilled lawyer who will:

  • Investigate to determine the cause of your injuries
  • Carefully review your medical records and hire respected experts to prove your case
  • Assess the financial value of the harm you’ve suffered
  • Defend you if the insurance company claims you failed to mitigate damages
  • Handle all paperwork and administrative issues
  • Negotiate fiercely on your behalf to secure the maximum compensation you deserve

You probably have countless questions. Contact our St. Louis personal injury attorneys to get the answers you need today. There’s no risk in reaching out for help, so give us a quick call for more information today.

How Common is Medical Malpractice?

A study conducted by the respected Johns Hopkins medical center found that medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death in the United States. An estimated 250,000 people in the U.S. die because of medical errors every year. That’s about 685 deaths per day.

At Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers, we handle all types of medical malpractice cases in St. Louis, including those involving:

  • Surgical errors
  • Emergency room errors
  • Medication errors and adverse drug interactions
  • Nursing negligence
  • Hospital negligence
  • Anesthesia errors
  • Birth injuries
  • Failure to diagnose cancer
  • Hospital-acquired infections
  • Defective medical devices

If you suspect you were a victim of medical negligence, you aren’t alone. In 2020, Missouri insurance companies paid about $35,838,050 in medical malpractice settlements and verdicts. To learn more about your legal rights, call our St. Louis medical malpractice attorneys for a free case review today.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Doctors make mistakes like anyone else. Still, when a medical professional makes a mistake, the consequences to the patient can be disastrous. 

While not all mistakes amount to medical malpractice, sometimes the error is so serious that the patient has the right to seek compensation to hold the negligent doctor or medical provider accountable.

Simply put, medical malpractice is a failure to provide the level of care that a reasonable, trained healthcare provider would have provided under the circumstances. If a reasonable doctor would have acted differently in a similar situation, you may have a valid medical malpractice case.

What is My St. Louis Medical Malpractice Case Worth?

There’s no easy answer to this question. The value of any medical malpractice case depends on unique factors that our lawyers will evaluate during your free initial consultation and subsequent conversations. 

Some of the most important factors include:

  • The nature of the harm you’ve suffered
  • Whether your injuries were minor or catastrophic
  • The nature of the doctor’s mistake
  • The cost of your past medical treatment and whether you’ll need future care
  • The value of your lost wages and whether you’ll return to work
  • The degree of your emotional and psychological suffering
  • Whether your quality of life was impacted by the mistake

It’s never easy to put a price tag on your health. However, it’s critical that you understand the value of your case before you file a claim for compensation. Without that information, you run the risk of accepting a lowball settlement–or walking away with no compensation at all.

What Types of Damages Are Available to Medical Malpractice Victims in St. Louis, MO?

Missouri medical malpractice laws allow victims to recover compensation to cover all of their economic damages. Those damages include the financial costs incurred because of the doctor’s mistake.

Examples include:

  • Current medical bills
  • Future medical bills made necessary because of your injury or worsened condition
  • Lost wages
  • Reduced future earning potential
  • Rehabilitation 
  • Medications and medical devices

Medical malpractice victims are also entitled to seek compensation for their non-financial losses.

Examples of those non-economic damages include:

Missouri has a cap on the amount of non-economic damages a victim of medical malpractice can recover. That cap increases from year to year. For 2022, the cap on non-economic damages is $450,098 for victims who suffered non-catastrophic injuries. If your injuries were catastrophic or you lost a loved one because of a fatal error, the cap is $787,671.

What Are the Most Common Causes of Medical Malpractice in St. Louis, Missouri?

Some of the most common causes of medical malpractice include:

  • Misdiagnosis
  • Failure to diagnose
  • Misinterpreting diagnostic tests
  • Failure to treat or failure to order the correct tests
  • Overtreatment
  • Failure to monitor the patient before, during, and after a procedure
  • Failure to provide proper post-operative instructions
  • Wrong site surgeries
  • Mistaken patient identities
  • Failure to communicate or charting errors
  • Inexperienced medical providers
  • Understaffed hospitals and medical clinics
  • Sleep deprivation 
  • Failure to obtain a complete patient history
  • Failure to account for adverse drug reactions
  • Failure to refer the patient to a specialist
  • Failure to recognize the patient’s symptoms

Doctors, nurses, and other medical providers today are often overworked and exhausted. Even before the pandemic, one study found that 55% of physicians reported symptoms of burnout. Still, you shouldn’t have to suffer because the hospital or facility failed to provide adequate care.

If you suspect that you’re suffering because your doctor made a mistake, contact our law firm today. We offer a free case evaluation, so there’s no reason to wait.

How Do I Prove Medical Malpractice in Missouri? 

Not all medical errors rise to the level of malpractice. Before you can sue for damages, you’ll have to establish that the doctor’s mistake was serious enough to constitute medical negligence.

To prove medical malpractice, you must establish the following things:

  • The healthcare provider owed you a legal duty of care
  • The doctor or medical professional breached that duty in some way
  • You were harmed or suffered an injury
  • The doctor’s breach of duty caused the harm you suffered

All health care providers in Missouri owe their patients a duty of care. They have a duty to adhere to the medical standard of care. When healthcare professionals provide substandard care, they’ve breached their duty of care.

The medical standard of care varies from patient to patient. It will depend on factors such as:

  • The type of medical condition or injury involved
  • Your age and general health
  • The doctor’s training and position
  • Geographic location and the tools available to the healthcare provider

Any type of medical professional can be liable for damages if they commit medical malpractice, including:

  • Family physicians
  • Surgeons
  • Nurses
  • Radiologists
  • Pharmacists
  • Anesthesiologists
  • Medical clinics
  • Hospitals 

Building a solid medical malpractice case is almost always a challenge. You can count on our team at Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers to conduct a thorough investigation and gather evidence to support your case. We’ll even hire experts and specialists to back up your claim.

How Long Do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Missouri?

The Missouri statute of limitations in medical malpractice cases is only two years. You must generally file a medical malpractice lawsuit within two years of the injury, or you lose your right to sue for damages.

There are a few exceptions. If the malpractice involved a foreign object that was left in your body, the two-year clock starts to run on the date you discovered the object. If your doctor failed to inform you about the results of medical tests, you’ll have two years from the date you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the failure to inform.

Contact a St. Louis Medical Malpractice Lawyer for a Free Consultation

A doctor’s mistake can change your life forever. If you or a family member were harmed by a medical mistake, don’t wait to seek legal advice. Call Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation with an experienced St. Louis medical malpractice lawyer today.

Our personal injury law firm in St. Louis also provides:

Visit Our Personal Injury Law Office in St. Louis, MO

Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers – St. Louis
319 N. 4th Street, Suite 835, St. Louis, MO 63102
(314) 444-4444

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