Answering Your Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Malpractice
At Dillon Findley & Simonian, P.C., our team of medical malpractice attorneys in Anchorage has been helping victims of medical negligence recover damages for their losses throughout the state of Alaska for over 30 years. Our attorneys are from Alaska and have dedicated their legal careers to providing counsel and advice to clients in their home state.
Our attorneys collaborate on their caseloads, which gives our clients the advantage of having multiple legal minds come up with creative, efficient and effective legal strategies. We are an established boutique law firm with the resources, connections, and experience required to investigate a claim for medical malpractice injuries.
Our Attorneys Answer Your Commonly Asked Questions About Medical Negligence
In life, mistakes happen. But when medical professionals make errors in care, the consequences can be devastating. Medical negligence can cause further injury, delay a diagnosis, cause permanent damage or even death. Here, our medical malpractice lawyers answer some of the more commonly asked questions. Every case is different and has its own set of facts and circumstances. If you have specific questions, we offer a free case evaluation and consultation that will give us a chance to answer any of your additional questions.
What is medical malpractice?
When a medical or health care professional negligently acts of fails to act and their negligence causes injury, damage or death to a patient. Examples of medical malpractice can include:
- Failing to diagnose or wrongly diagnosing a patient’s illness or injury
- Errors during surgery including, performing surgery when it wasn’t needed, operating in the wrong place or performing surgery without using the appropriate skill and care, or causing other injury during surgery
- Prescribing the wrong medications or ordering the wrong dosage of a prescription
- Injuries to a baby or mother that occur during pregnancy or labor and delivery
- Failing to recognize and respond to a complication or condition
When these errors and mistakes leave lasting or permanent damage, you may have a medical malpractice claim.
How do I know if I have a case for medical malpractice?
To have a successful claim for medical malpractice, the injured patient must be able to prove that the medical professional failed to use reasonably safe care expected of a health care professional in that field. The patient must also be able to prove that the injury was caused by the failure to use reasonable care and that there were damages that were caused by the injury.
What should I do if I think I have a case for medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice cases can be extremely difficult to prove. If you think a health care professional made a mistake that caused you further injury, illness or damages, you should speak with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible. An experienced attorney can help you understand what you will need to prove for your case, and what sort of medical evidence and documentation that you will need to get to assess if you have a claim. There are also specific deadlines for filing a claim for medical malpractice lawsuit that must be followed.
How long do I have to file a claim for medical malpractice in Alaska?
In Alaska, a patient only has two years to file a lawsuit for a medical malpractice case. The two-year clock begins when the medical mistake was made. However, in some cases, a medical mistake or negligence isn’t discovered right away and the patient isn’t aware that a mistake even happened. When that happens, the patient has two years from the day they discovered that an injury occurred. But even then, the error has to be discovered within ten years of the date that it happened. In other words, medical malpractice cases can be complicated. For babies and children, they may have two years from their 18th birthday. But a long lapse of time can result in lost evidence or poor memories. The sooner you speak to an experienced medical malpractice attorney, the better it is for your case.
Do You Still Have Questions? Call A Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today.
At Dillon Findley & Simonian, P.C., we understand that if you or a loved one was injured or became ill because of a medical mistake you are likely overwhelmed with many conflicting emotions and questions. Investigating medical mistakes takes significant experience, knowledge and resources. We would like to help answer your questions, investigate your potential claims and fight for any possible compensation that you deserve. Call us today at 907-519-0668 or send an email through our website to schedule a free appointment to tell us more about your case.