Dearborn Hospital Malpractice Injury Lawyers

Corewell Health, Dearborn Hospital, and other hospitals in and around Dearborn seek to provide quality medical care to Dearborn residents, workers, and visitors. However, serious harm may occur when hospital staff fail to meet the standard of care for medical treatment.

If you’ve been injured during treatment at a local hospital and suspect that hospital malpractice played a role in your injuries, don’t wait. Talk to an experienced Dearborn hospital malpractice injury attorney today. The legal team at Sommers Schwartz, P.C. is here to answer your questions and provide information about your legal options.

Hospital Malpractice Injury Rates

On average, about 12,414 medical malpractice cases are reported annually to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) in the United States. Successful claims against medical providers resulted in an average award of $309,908 between 2009 and 2018, according to the NPDB.

Michigan is ranked 14th in the United States for the largest total amount of medical malpractice payments. Between 2009 and 2018, hospitals and other healthcare providers in Michigan paid $697,320,000 in medical malpractice settlements and verdicts to injured patients.

Not all malpractice claims are filed against hospitals. However, hospital malpractice often results in larger damage awards or settlement amounts than other medical malpractice claims. Patients typically visit hospitals for complex or severe medical conditions that cannot be handled in an outpatient setting, which translates to more opportunities for severe errors.

Types of Hospital Malpractice Injuries

According to a study by Johns Hopkins University, medical errors and negligence are the third leading cause of death in the United States, claiming over 250,000 lives each year. Certain medical errors occur more frequently than others. Common medical errors in hospital malpractice claims include:

Diagnosis Errors

In 2014, misdiagnosis was responsible for one-third (33 percent) of all medical malpractice claims. Approximately 100,000 US residents may be permanently or fatally harmed each year due to misdiagnosis.

Missing a diagnosis may result in a medical condition progressing until it is permanently disabling or even deadly. An incorrect diagnosis can result in a patient being harmed by improper and unnecessary medical treatment while the correct and required treatment is delayed.

Medication Errors

About 70 percent of US residents take at least one prescription medication, and over 50 percent take two or more, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Medication errors are a common source of hospital malpractice claims. About 50 percent of all medical errors that occur in the US each year are linked to mistakes in ordering, prescribing, dispensing, or administering medications.

Medications must be prescribed, dispensed, and administered correctly to avoid dangerous drug interactions or other causes of harm. Hospital patients rely on hospital staff to provide the correct dose and type of medication on the correct schedule. When negligence occurs, patients may pay the price.

Surgical Errors

The largest percentage of hospital malpractice claims involve surgical errors. Each year, over 4,000 surgical errors occur in US hospitals. Common types of surgical errors include:

• Surgical site infections.
• Surgical injuries.
• Unnecessary surgeries.
• Wrong-site surgical procedures.

Anesthesia-related injuries may also occur if patients are not given the proper anesthesia medications or monitored closely during surgery.

Hospital Malpractice Injury Claims in Michigan

Michigan law sets specific rules for medical malpractice claims, including hospital malpractice claims. These rules include time limits, notice requirements, and more.

Time Limits for Dearborn Hospital Malpractice Injury Claims

Michigan’s medical malpractice laws set time limits for filing claims related to medical negligence, including hospital malpractice. Generally, a hospital malpractice claim in Michigan must be filed within two years of the date the injury occurred. Several rules can change how this two-year period is counted or extend the time available to file a claim.

One such rule is the discovery rule. Some injuries from hospital malpractice are obvious the moment they occur. Others may take years to discover. In such situations, an injured person has six months To file a lawsuit from when they discovered or reasonably should have discovered that they had a claim.

Working with an experienced attorney is essential if your claim relies on the six-month rule. Often, a hospital will argue that you “reasonably could have discovered” your potential claim much earlier. If the hospital wins this argument, your case may be thrown out of court. Your attorney can help establish a timeline to prove that you filed your claim within the proper amount of time.

No matter when you discover your claim, Michigan law does not allow most hospital malpractice claims to be filed if more than six years have passed since the date of the injury. However, a court may make an exception if you can demonstrate the hospital attempted to conceal its mistake fraudulently.

Finally, different time limits apply to injuries that occur when the injured person is not legally competent to bring their own case to court. For instance, the time limits may differ when a child under 18 is injured by hospital malpractice. An experienced attorney can help you determine if these rules apply to your claim.

Notice of Intent

Michigan law requires an injured plaintiff to file a Notice of Intent (NOI) at least 182 days before filing a hospital malpractice lawsuit in court. The Notice of Intent must be in writing, and it must contain the following information:

• The facts that form the basis of the claim.
• The standard of care that applies, according to the injured person.
• The way the standard of care was breached.
• What should have been done to meet the standard of care.
• How the hospital’s failure to meet the standard of care caused the injury.
• The names of every party the injured person expects to name in the lawsuit.

Since these items often require input from an expert, an experienced Dearborn hospital malpractice lawyer should handle drafting a Notice of Intent for you.

Damages in Hospital Malpractice Injury Claims

Damages in Michigan hospital malpractice injury claims are intended to compensate you for your losses resulting from the hospital’s negligence. They address losses that would not have occurred in the absence of malpractice.

In Michigan hospital malpractice cases, damages are typically sorted into two categories.

Economic Damages

Economic damages include losses that are easily calculated from documentation. Receipts, medical bills, pay stubs, and similar paperwork can help demonstrate the full extent of your economic damages.

Common economic damages in Michigan hospital malpractice injury claims include:

• The cost of medical care to address the harm caused by the negligence.
• The cost of medical care you may need in the future if the negligence resulted in ongoing or permanent injury.
• The value of lost wages if the injury left you temporarily or permanently unable to work.
• Additional expenses for mileage, medications, medical devices, and other losses related to your injury.

Other types of damages fall under the category of non-economic damages. Michigan malpractice law treats these two categories differently.

Non-economic damages include losses that aren’t easily calculated based on paperwork. For instance, many malpractice injury victims face losses such as:

• Pain and suffering.
• Loss of enjoyment of life, including the loss of hobbies they once enjoyed.
• Scarring or disfigurement.

Michigan courts calculate economic and non-economic damages separately in a hospital malpractice injury case. Economic damages are not limited. Non-economic damages, however, are limited to amounts set by state law. These amounts are adjusted each year for inflation. The limit is higher if the malpractice caused certain types of permanent injuries.

Talk to an Experienced Dearborn Hospital Malpractice Injury Lawyer Today

Hospital malpractice can be devastating, but you don’t have to deal with these consequences alone. At Sommers Schwartz, P.C., we understand how overwhelming the results of hospital negligence can be. That’s why we’re dedicated to representing each of our clients with skill and compassion. We’ll fight for the compensation you need so you can focus on healing.

To learn more, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation with one of our experienced Dearborn hospital malpractice injury attorneys.