If anyone’s negligence hurts you, it can be upsetting and life-altering. However, being injured by a doctor that you trusted with your care can be especially devastating.
If a doctor or other medical professional injured you or someone you love, you may be entitled to compensation. Medical negligence injuries can be severe and permanent and have drastic negative consequences on your life. Contact the top Kansas medical malpractice attorneys at Dempsey Kingsland Osteen.
Seeking a Kansas medical malpractice attorney? Since 1986, Dempsey Kingsland & Osteen has been dedicated to fighting for your rights. Contact us today.
contact usWhat Is Medical Malpractice?
Most people have heard the term medical malpractice before, but you may not be familiar with the legal definition and all that it can encompass. Medical malpractice or medical negligence happens when a medical healthcare professional, through a negligent action or omission, causes injury to their patient. Most often, it is a doctor, but medical malpractice can be committed by any healthcare provider, including:
- Doctors,
- Nurses,
- Hospitals,
- Outpatient surgery centers,
- Therapists,
- Anesthesiologist,
- Technicians,
- Chiropractors,
- Aides,
- Dentists,
- Optometrists,
- Laboratories, and
- Pharmacists.
It is also common for several potentially liable parties to be involved in the malpractice.
Any medical professional who owed you a duty of care and failed to uphold that duty can be liable for the injury and harm you suffered.
Legally, medical malpractice is a cause of action in a lawsuit filed by an injured patient against the negligent medical provider. Not all medical errors or mistakes will rise to the level of medical malpractice. Generally, for an act or omission to be malpractice, the doctor or other healthcare provider must have deviated from the accepted standards of medical practice.
An experienced medical malpractice attorney in Kansas will help you investigate your claim and all potentially liable parties.
Types of Medical Malpractice Cases Our Lawyers Handle
At Dempsey Kingsland Osteen, our lawyer for medical malpractice is dedicated to medical malpractice and serious injury cases. Below are several types of med mal cases our Kansas medical malpractice lawyers can help you with.
Orthopedic Surgical Errors
Orthopedic injuries from motor vehicle accidents, sports trauma, and even violence often require extensive surgical repair.
Broken bones, torn ligaments and tendons, damaged joints, compound fractures, and dislocations are all common orthopedic injuries requiring surgery.
Common types of orthopedic malpractice include:
- Wrong-site surgery,
- Inserting defective or recalled medical devices,
- Left behind a foreign object,
- Post-operative infections, and
- Significant surgical errors.
Orthopedic surgery is intricate and extensive and usually requires significant physical therapy and rehabilitation afterward. If you are injured by a negligent surgeon or healthcare provider, we can help you hold them accountable for the harm you endured.
Obstetrical and Delivery Mistakes
An obstetrician (OB) is there to monitor your pregnancy and safely deliver your baby. Unfortunately, negligence and OB errors are not uncommon and can lead to catastrophic injuries to both mother and child.
Lack of prenatal testing, delayed diagnosis and treatment, unsafe delivery practices, improper training, and lack of communication can lead to unimaginable injury to your child. At DKO, we have helped families hold OBs accountable for their negligent actions that significantly and permanently injured their children.
Anesthesia Errors
Anesthesia errors are not uncommon and can occur for many reasons under various circumstances. Anesthesiologists, as well as any medical provider involved in patient care while receiving anesthesia, could be liable for injuries that occur. Common anesthesia errors include:
- Dosing mistakes (i.e., too much or too little anesthesia),
- Administering the wrong type of anesthesia,
- Failure to promptly recognize an adverse reaction,
- Administering anesthesia despite a known patient allergy,
- Improper intubation,
- Failure to monitor the patient’s vitals,
- Using unsanitary or defective equipment, and
- Failure to adequately monitor during the post-op period.
Anesthesia errors can lead to permanent injury but are often some of the most complicated claims to pursue because the patient is usually unconscious when the harm occurs.
Our attorneys will conduct an in-depth investigation.
Other types of medical malpractice cases we handle:
- Cancer misdiagnosis,
- Medication errors,
- Emergency room mistakes,
- Brain injury,
- Cardiology mistakes,
- Nursing home negligence, and
- Urgent care negligence.
Any type of medical malpractice can be devastating to the patient and their family. Our team can help you seek the justice and compensation you deserve.
Statutes of Limitations for Medical Malpractice in Kansas
Generally, a statute of limitation is a timeframe in which you have to initiate your court case. In Kansas, for medical malpractice claims, you typically have two years from the date of injury or from when you reasonably should have discovered your injury to file your complaint.
The law considers that medical malpractice victims do not always immediately know that they have been harmed. Sometimes, it is not until much later that they discover they were injured by a doctor’s error. However, pursuant to the statute of repose, a patient only has up to four years to file a medical malpractice claim, no matter when the injury was discovered.
Possible Applicable Exceptions
Some exceptions might apply under specific circumstances.
Minors
One of the most critical and common exceptions that might apply to the general statute of limitations is for injured minors. Injured minors must file the case within one year after their eighteenth birthday or eight years after the occurrence of the malpractice, whichever is sooner.
Medical Malpractice Resulting in Death
A person filing a wrongful death claim on behalf of a deceased patient will typically have two years from the date of the patient’s death to initiate a lawsuit.
Speaking with a seasoned malpractice attorney as soon as you can preserve your right to file a claim is essential.
What Damages Can Be Claimed in a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
The extent of damages you may seek in your medical malpractice lawsuit will depend mainly on your case’s specific facts and circumstances. Who the defendants are, and the applicable insurance policies play a huge role in how much money you can recover. Generally, you can seek compensatory, including economic and non-economic damages, for medical malpractice injuries. These include:
- Past and future medical expenses,
- Lost income,
- Disability,
- Loss of enjoyment of life,
- Pain and suffering,
- Scarring and disfigurement, and
- Emotional distress.
In rare instances of exceptionally negligent or reckless conduct, a plaintiff can seek punitive damages to punish the defendant for their egregious behavior.
How a Kansas Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help
Medical malpractice cases are complex and highly specialized and often involve medical experts, reports, and testimony. A Kansas medical malpractice attorney can help you conduct an in-depth investigation into what happened, who is liable, and potentially access resources you may not be able to on your own.
Kansas law requires you to file a certificate of merit in any action against a healthcare provider for damages for injury or death. The certificate must be filed with the court stating the plaintiff has obtained the opinion of a legally qualified expert to attest that the defendant health care provider deviated from the accepted standard of care under the circumstances and such failure to use reasonable care directly caused or directly contributed to the injury and harm. The certificate must be filed within 120 days of filing the initial complaint. Your medical malpractice attorney will help you with this vital requirement.
Why DKO Is the Best Choice for Your Medical Malpractice Case
Specific tasks, chores, and even legal problems require expert care. For instance, you would not hire a plumber to fix electrical problems. Similarly, you should not hire a criminal defense attorney to help you with your medical malpractice claim. When dealing with a medical negligence claim, it is imperative to have a lawyer who handles medical malpractice cases daily.
At DKO, we are dedicated medical malpractice lawyers. We only handle the most complicated and severe injury cases. Our attorneys are experienced and knowledgeable medical malpractice attorneys. We have an esteemed reputation among the community, insurance companies, and courts. When it comes to your case, we have the best medical malpractice attorney to advocate for you.
