St. Louis Medical Malpractice Attorney

Medical malpractice is one of the most complicated areas of personal injury law. However, with a St. Louis medical malpractice attorney from The Floyd Law Firm helping you, it does not have to be a difficult legal battle.

You can trust our St. Louis personal injury attorneys to stand up for your rights during insurance claim negotiations or a medical malpractice trial in Missouri. We are committed to helping patients hold negligent medical providers accountable for their actions. Contact us today for a free case consultation.

How Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers Can Help You

The medical malpractice attorneys in St Louis at The Floyd Law Firm understand the toll malpractice injuries take on the victim’s life, both physically and emotionally. When the very professional you trusted with your health caused you harm, it’s an especially traumatic injury. At The Floyd Law Firm, our compassionate medical malpractice lawyers can give your case significant advantages including the following:

• A free case consultation and no upfront fees—instead, we only take a fee after we secure your compensation
• Experienced investigators who can determine the liable party and prove their liability to craft a compelling case for your compensation
• A law firm with a strong reputation for securing millions of dollars in settlements and jury awards for our injured clients
• A family law firm with decades of success navigating the most complex medical malpractice claims in Missouri
• An attorney who takes a results-oriented approach to achieving the compensation you need while protecting your rights, your best interests, and your dignity throughout the process

At The Floyd Law Firm, we have access to the best medical experts and other local resources in St. Louis to maximize your chances of successfully gaining full compensation for your damages. In medical malpractice claims and other personal injury claims, the word “damages” refers to all economic and non-economic consequences of an injury to the victim.

What Compensation Can I Recover in a Medical Malpractice Case?

A successful medical malpractice claim could bring you and your family the financial compensation that you need to pay for related medical care and move forward with your life. You may be eligible to collect the following types of damages:

• Past and future medical care
• Losses of income and earning potential
• Disability costs
• Travel or transportation
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium
• Wrongful death damages, if applicable

The potential value of your medical malpractice case is something you need to discuss with an attorney before accepting an insurance settlement. A St. Louis medical malpractice attorney can protect you from accepting a settlement that is too low based on the extent of your injuries and losses.

Do I Have a Medical Malpractice Case?

Medical malpractice refers to a situation where a medical practitioner or health care provider fails to act according to the accepted standards of care, resulting in patient injury or death. In the event of wrongful death, it is advised to contact a St. Louis wrongful death lawyer to help with your claim. Licensed medical providers have a legal duty to act in a way that a responsible and prudent medical professional would in the same or similar circumstances.

Any act or omission that falls short of this duty of care could lead to a medical malpractice claim in Missouri if a patient is injured.

Common Types of Medical Malpractice in St. Louis

Many different examples of negligence or carelessness by a licensed healthcare provider could result in a medical malpractice claim in Missouri.

Our St. Louis medical malpractice attorneys are equipped to handle every type of case, including:

• Anesthesia errors
• Birth injuries
• Brain injuries
• Defective medical devices
• Diagnostic errors
• Emergency room negligence
• Failure to treat
• Infections
• Lack of informed consent
• Medication mistakes
• Misdiagnosis
• Spinal cord injuries
• Surgical errors

A St. Louis medical malpractice attorney from The Floyd Law Firm can help you go up against a doctor, dentist, nurse, physician’s assistant, chiropractor, surgeon, hospital, or another healthcare provider in pursuit of fair financial compensation for injuries caused by any form of medical malpractice.

How to Prove a Medical Malpractice Case

The party that files a medical malpractice claim, known as the plaintiff, bears the burden of proof. This means the plaintiff must establish evidence or proof of malpractice to collect financial compensation.

These cases consist of four elements:

1. A doctor-patient relationship existed (establishing a duty of care).
2. The defendant breached the duty of care by behaving negligently.
3. The doctor’s breach of the duty of care caused the plaintiff’s injury.
4. The plaintiff suffered compensable damages as a result of the malpractice.

Missouri has an affidavit of merit requirement for medical malpractice claims. A legally qualified healthcare provider must confirm that a defendant failed to provide proper treatment and that this caused or contributed to the harm being alleged in the lawsuit. This affidavit must be filed within 90 days of the lawsuit.

Process for Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim

Missouri’s laws for filing medical malpractice claims are complex. Before a victim of medical malpractice may file a claim, the law requires them to alert the medical provider of their intention to file a lawsuit at least 90 days before filing. The notice of intent includes specific details of the case. The law also requires an affidavit of merit, which is a statement from a qualified healthcare provider demonstrating that they support the injury victim’s conclusion that their treatment deviated from the accepted standard of care. The provider who signs the affidavit of merit may be called upon to testify later if the case requires a trial.

Once your St. Louis medical malpractice attorney files the claim they will investigate the case, determine the liable party, and document evidence proving their liability. Typically back-and-forth negotiations with the at-fault provider’s medical malpractice insurance company occur. This results in an out-of-court settlement in over 90% of cases. If the insurance company fails to offer an acceptable settlement amount or wrongfully denies the claim, your attorney will take the matter to court before the statute of limitations expires on your claim.

Statute of Limitations on Medical Malpractice Claims

Like all states, Missouri places a time limit on the amount of time a malpractice victim has to file a lawsuit. Malpractice victims have two years from the date the malpractice occurred in which to file a claim. This limit protects defendants from living with the ongoing threat of a lawsuit and also ensures that evidence is still available and eyewitness testimony is still reliable when a case goes to court.

In some cases, the state may delay—or toll—the two-year time clock. The court allows extensions for delayed discovery. For example, if the victim of medical malpractice doesn’t discover the malpractice until some time after the malpractice occurs, the statute of limitations begins on the date of discovery. This delay helps injured patients such as those who were misdiagnosed and treated for the wrong condition. Another example of delayed discovery exists in claims for surgical tools or gauze left behind inside patients after surgery. This form of medical malpractice could remain undiscovered for weeks, months, or even years, in which case, the statute of limitation begins after the discovery.

The state’s two-year statute of limitations may also be delayed for a patient who is incapacitated or unconscious. The two-year time clock begins on the date that they regain cognition.

Who Are the Liable Parties for Medical Malpractice in Missouri?

An important aspect of proving a medical malpractice case is determining the correct liable party. While it may seem that the provider whose negligence or medical mistake caused the injury is always the liable party, that isn’t always the case. If a doctor is an independent contractor at a hospital, they may be personally liable for the victim’s damages. It takes an investigation into all aspects of a medical malpractice injury to determine the correct liable party before submitting a claim for damages.

Every healthcare practitioner owes a duty of care to treat their patient the way another, reasonable medical professional would under the same circumstances. If any licensed healthcare provider causes an injury or death due to medical malpractice, the injury victim or their surviving family members may sue for medical malpractice or wrongful death in Missouri. Common providers named in medical malpractice lawsuits in St. Louis include the following:

• Physicians, including family doctors, cardiologists, neurologists, orthopedic doctors, and oncologists
• Surgeons
• Plastic surgeons
• Nurses
• Physical therapists
• Obstetricians
• Chiropractors
• Anesthesiologists
• Pharmacists
• Hospitals
• Clinics
• Surgical centers
• Dentists
• Pathologists

If you have questions about whether or not you may file a lawsuit against a provider whose error caused you injury, a medical malpractice attorney from The Floyd Law Firm can tell you if your case has standing during your free case consultation.

What to Do After a Medical Malpractice Injury in St. Louis

If you suspect you or a loved one is the victim of medical malpractice, it’s important to take specific steps to protect your physical health and financial future by doing the following:

• Obtain a complete copy of your medical records from the facility where the malpractice occurred
• Go to a trusted doctor for a complete examination. Tell the doctor about your symptoms, and what you suspect. Allow the provider to examine your medical records
• Follow the care instructions of the medical provider carefully
• Have your trusted physician fill out a complete medical report with their recommendations for treatment and your prognosis for recovery
• Keep copies of all medical bills and receipts for related expenses
• Call the attorneys at The Floyd Law Firm before speaking to insurance representatives

Defendants in medical malpractice cases sometimes aggressively fight the claims against them and insurance companies are never eager to write out large checks for damages. That’s why a medical malpractice victim must seek representation from an experienced medical malpractice lawyer who can defend their rights, carefully calculate their damages, and pursue all avenues to secure the compensation and sense of justice the victim deserves.

Startling Medical Malpractice Statistics

We trust our doctors and other medical providers with our health and our very lives. When a patient interacts professionally with a doctor, they expect the doctor to act with care, caution, and a commitment to treating the patient within the standard of care accepted by the medical community. Sadly, mistakes happen, and they happen in the medical care system far more often than most people know. A stunning John Hopkins study reveals that medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death in the United States. A breakdown of the study shows the following:

• Almost 10% of all deaths in the U.S. are due to medical malpractice
• Around 250,000 deaths occur each year due to medical malpractice in the United States

The study used data collected over an eight-year period and the result shows that medical malpractice deaths are the third leading cause of death in the country despite the CDC’s data showing respiratory disease as the third-leading cause of death at 150,000 deaths per year.

The CDC collects its data through death certificates which don’t separately classify medical malpractice as a factor in the cause of death in their medical coding system. This system focuses on medical billing, not as a way to collect national health data which accounts for the alarming discrepancy.

Why Are Medical Malpractice Deaths So High in the U.S?

John Hopkins researchers warn that medical malpractice death rates don’t receive the recognition or research funding that they should due to the discrepancy in CDC data. The researchers also revealed the following systemic failures as contributing factors to medical malpractice injuries and deaths:

• Poorly coordinated medical care
• Limited consensus protocols
• Underused or absent safety protocols

Those who’ve suffered injuries or the loss of loved ones due to medical malpractice injuries can bring attention to this underreported problem by demanding accountability within the medical community through medical malpractice lawsuits.

Contact Our St. Louis Medical Malpractice Lawyers Now

You have rights as a victim of medical malpractice in St. Louis, Missouri. Protect them with help from The Floyd Law Firm. Our medical malpractice attorneys have decades of experience going up against hospitals and healthcare providers on behalf of injured patients.

We can help you seek justice and the maximum possible financial compensation if you have been wronged by a negligent doctor or health care practitioner. Contact us online or call (314) 863-4114 today to schedule a free case evaluation.