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In Need of a Medical Malpractice Attorney?

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Doctors and other health care providers should offer helpful treatment. Unfortunately, sometimes, patients struggle because healthcare providers are careless. These patients may be eligible to receive compensation if they can show they sustained losses due to other medical professional’s negligence.

Do you believe you’ve been the victim of medical malpractice in Chicago, IL? You may want to discuss your case with a legal professional. Chicago medical malpractice attorneys are experienced in assisting with Illinois medical malpractice claim and negligence victims and their families, providing compassionate and professional service.

At Wallace Miller, we understand that a doctor’s negligence can majorly impact your life. We may help in these circumstances by pursuing compensation for losses like medical bills, lost wages, and more. Contact us today to learn more about the legal team and what Chicago medical malpractice lawyers can do for you.

Common Forms of Medical Negligence

Medical malpractice and negligence can take a variety of forms. Common examples include:

Surgical error – Various errors during surgery may result in patient harm. Surgeons and their teams may leave foreign objects in patients’ bodies, perform surgery on the wrong patients, perform the wrong procedures, perform procedures on the wrong body parts, or fail to monitor patient’s condition during and after surgery. Medical professionals play a crucial role in identifying and preventing these surgical errors.
Failure to diagnose – Failure to diagnose occurs when a medical professional doesn’t diagnose a condition they should have diagnosed had they not been careless. Failure to diagnose can result in a patient not receiving the treatment they need.
Misdiagnosis – Misdiagnosis occurs when a patient receives the wrong diagnosis. Similar to failure to diagnose cases, these cases can prevent patients from receiving necessary care. Misdiagnosis may also result in a patient receiving unnecessary treatment that could potentially harm them.

Other common examples of medical malpractice include nursing malpractice, medication errors, and hospital infections. Review your case with a professional if you’re not sure whether you have grounds to pursue compensation for medical treatment.

Can You Sue for Medical Negligence in Illinois?

Victims may file malpractice claims or lawsuits in Illinois when health care providers harm them or allow them to be harmed by medical providers. To show that you have grounds to take such an action, you should establish the following:

A doctor-patient relationship (or a similar relationship between a health care provider and you as a patient) existed.
A healthcare provider owes you a duty to adhere to a particular standard of care. They engaged in a form of carelessness that a reasonable health care provider in their position wouldn’t have engaged in.
You sustained losses for which you may receive compensation as a result of a health care provider’s negligence.

Proving medical negligence involves gathering substantial evidence to demonstrate that the health care provider deviated from acceptable standards of medical care only. Legal help is available if you need assistance building a strong case.

The Importance of an ‘Affidavit of Merit’ in Illinois Medical Malpractice Cases

You must attach an affidavit to your complaint when filing a medical malpractice complaint in Illinois. The affidavit will ideally state that you (or your attorney on your behalf) consulted with a medical professional who you “reasonably believe”:

Has knowledge relevant to the issues your complaint involves;
Practices or has practiced within the last six years in the area of medicine relevant to your claim, or teaches or has taught in that area of medicine within the last six years; and
Has relevant experience or competence.

The medical professional you consult must provide a written report with the affidavit. Their report must state that, upon reviewing the details of medical records in your case, they determined it has merit.

Sometimes, a victim filing a complaint is unable to include an affidavit of merit because the statute of limitations deadline is near. If they had to wait to receive an affidavit of merit, they might miss the filing deadline. In these instances, a victim has 90 days from the time they file the initial complaint to file an affidavit.

Compensation in a Chicago Medical Malpractice Case

You can file and have a successful medical malpractice claim with a healthcare or medical provider that’s insurance to seek compensation for losses resulting from medical malpractice. Or, you may file a lawsuit to seek damages (the money a jury awards in a trial).

Losses you may seek compensation for include:

Economic losses – An economic loss is a loss of financial value. For instance, you may develop new injuries or illnesses due to medical malpractice. An economic loss would be the medical expenses you’ve incurred when seeking treatment for these injuries. In addition, your injuries or illness might prevent you from working, leading to an economic loss in the form of lost wages.
Non-economic losses – Non-economic losses are struggles you may experience due to medical malpractice that don’t have exact dollar values. One of the most common examples of such a loss is pain and suffering. Accounting for intangible losses like these when seeking compensation typically requires using specialized formulas to assign dollar values to them.

Our law firm also has extensive experience in seeking justice for medical malpractice victims, ensuring they receive the compensation they deserve.

Calculating economic losses can also be a complex process if you’re seeking compensation for future economic losses. For example, a settlement should compensate you for any future medical expenses or any lost income or earning potential resulting from medical negligence.

Unfortunately, in injured patients, medical malpractice sometimes results in patient death. Surviving loved ones can file a wrongful death claim or lawsuit in these circumstances. When doing so, they may seek compensation for losses ranging from funeral and burial expenses to loss of the deceased’s earnings and financial support.

Essential Information About Lebron V. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital

Many states put a “cap” on the non-economic damages victims of medical negligence can receive when they go to court. Until relatively recently, Illinois law had similar restrictions on personal injury, too.

That changed on February 4, 2010, when the Illinois Supreme Court made a historic ruling. In the case of Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, the Illinois Supreme Court declared the cap on non-economic damages experienced by medical malpractice lawyers unconstitutional. Currently, there is no limit on how much money you may receive for non-economic damages if your malpractice case goes to court.

How a Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help You

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Medical malpractice lawsuits are notoriously complex. Hiring an experienced medical malpractice attorney may improve your odds of receiving compensation in these circumstances.

A lawyer can relieve you of many burdens by handling your case. Specific ways a lawyer can help include:

Establishing liability – Proving medical errors occurred often requires conducting an investigation. In addition, you must consult with a medical professional to establish a link between an injury or illness and the negligence of a health care provider. An attorney with experience handling cases like yours can help gather evidence showing why you may be eligible for compensation.
Calculating compensation – A lawyer can gather documentation like medical bills and pay stubs to calculate how much compensation you may deserve. They can also help by assigning potential dollar values to non-economic losses and estimating the cost of future losses. While an attorney can’t promise you’ll receive an exact settlement or damages, they can determine what might represent a fair settlement offer.
Negotiating – The initial settlement offer may be low. Your attorney can review settlement offers to help you determine whether to push for more. They’ll handle negotiations with the insurance company if you decide to fight for a better offer.

Hiring a lawyer also doesn’t require you to take a financial risk by paying for legal services with no guarantee you’ll receive compensation. A Chicago medical malpractice attorney may enter into a contingency fee agreement with you when you hire them.

A contingency fee agreement allows you to hire a lawyer without paying upfront fees for their services. You only pay your lawyer if you receive compensation. A lawyer’s fee is usually a percentage of the compensation you receive.

Knowing this, an attorney will fight for the maximum compensation you may deserve. They also won’t lie to you about your case’s merits during an initial review. Because a lawyer only gets paid if you get paid, they won’t accept your case unless they believe there’s a strong chance you’ll receive financial compensation.

The Statute of Limitations for Filing a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Illinois

The statute of limitations requires you to file a medical malpractice lawsuit within two years of the relevant incident to avoid waiving your right to compensation. That said, some forms of medical malpractice can result in harm that a victim might not discover right away. The law gives you up to four years from the date of the relevant medical malpractice damages or negligence incident to file a lawsuit if you were not immediately aware that medical negligence occurred.

There is an eight-year deadline from the date of the medical negligence incident when claimants file medical malpractice claims on behalf of victims who were under 18 when medical malpractice happened. However, the law does not allow claimants to bring such cases after a victim’s twenty-second birthday.

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Contact a Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Medical malpractice cases are among the most complicated types of civil cases. Proving a healthcare provider made medical mistakes that rise to the level of negligence is often a nuanced and multistep process.

It’s also one of many processes our team at Wallace Miller can handle on your behalf. You can focus on your recovery much more easily when a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer manages all aspects of your case. Learn more about how we can help by contacting us online or calling us at (312) 261-6193 for a first free consultation and case review.