Wayne County Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Medical professionals are expected to keep patients healthy. Unfortunately, medical errors cause tens of thousands of preventable injuries and deaths across the country each year. 

At Sommers Schwartz, P.C., our dedicated Wayne County medical malpractice attorneys have held negligent providers accountable for over 45 years. Assisting with countless compensation claims, we have proudly recovered more than $1 billion for our clients.

What Is Medical Malpractice?

Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals accept an important responsibility when entering a physician-patient relationship. Medical malpractice is the area of law governing the duty providers owe patients. While most healthcare providers treat with diligence, their care can sometimes fall below professional requirements. A medical malpractice claim can be brought to recover damages when patient harm results.

Of course, medical professionals do not have easy jobs. Emergency rooms are busy, operating rooms are stressful, and shifts are long. However, none of this relieves healthcare workers of their responsibilities to provide safe and effective treatment.

If you believe you or a loved one received negligent medical care resulting in injury, you may have a viable malpractice claim against your provider.

Types of Medical Malpractice Claims

Medical malpractice comes in many forms. A few of the most common examples include:

• Allowing a patient to develop pressure ulcers or bedsores.
• Failing to follow up regarding a course of treatment.
• Failing to order appropriate testing.
• Failing to address or prevent healthcare-associated infections.
• Misdiagnosing or failing to diagnose.
• Misreading test results.
• Performing the incorrect surgery.
• Performing unnecessary surgery.
• Prescribing the wrong medication or the wrong dosage.
• Making surgical errors.

Establishing a Wayne County Medical Malpractice Claim

While medical malpractice lawsuits are among the most complicated personal injury cases, they essentially boil down to four elements.

Duty: To bring a medical malpractice lawsuit against a healthcare provider, you must first establish the provider owed you a duty of care. In most cases, this involves demonstrating a doctor-patient existed. The “duty” element is often questioned when multiple providers treat a single patient.

Standard of Care: Next, you must identify the applicable standard of care. Under longstanding Michigan case law, this is defined as “what the physician of ordinary education, training, skill or judgment would do or not do under the same or similar circumstances.”

Breach: Once you have identified the duty owed, the next step is to show the care rendered by the defendant fell below the professional standard. Again, this typically requires an expert witness’s testimony.

Injury: To successfully bring a Wayne County medical malpractice case, it is not enough to show an error occurred. You must also prove you suffered injuries due to the error. Whether an injury occurred is not at issue in most cases, but the extent of the injury is often disputed.

Proximate Cause: Perhaps the most complex issue in medical malpractice claims is causation. Proving causation requires evidence that the defendant provider’s actions, more likely than not, were a cause of an injury.

Damages: Finally, you must prove the extent of damage you suffered to determine compensation. Pain and suffering, disability, loss of earnings and earning capacity, and medical expenses are all recoverable elements of damages.    

How Sommers Schwartz Helps Patients Recover Through Wayne County Medical Malpractice Claims:

If you recently learned your medical provider provided negligent medical care, you likely have many questions. Was the provider’s error the cause of your injuries? Where should you obtain follow-up treatment? What can you do about their mistake? Can you hold them financially accountable? If so, how do you start the process?

At Sommers Schwartz, our nationally recognized medical malpractice attorneys have extensive experience helping patients and their families. We are deeply proud of our reputation for success. Believing respect is the foundation of a rewarding claims process, we treat our clients with professionalism and make ourselves available for ongoing discussion.

We are also committed to transparency in every aspect of our representation. When you meet with us for a free consultation, we provide you with an honest assessment of your case. We accept cases on a contingency basis, meaning we do not charge for our services unless you receive compensation. This ensures that our interests are aligned with yours.

Contact the Wayne County Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Sommers Schwartz

If you, your child, or a loved one recently experienced inadequate medical care, reach out to Sommers Schwartz. Our nationally recognized Wayne County medical malpractice lawyers are committed to pursuing justice and fair compensation. Through diligence and skill, we have secured many seven-figure verdicts and settlements. To learn more and schedule a free consultation, call us at 800-783-0989 today. You can also reach us through our online form.