Medical Malpractice

Do You Need a Medical Malpractice Attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota?

If you or a loved one has suffered from medical malpractice, you are likely experiencing many emotions ranging from pain and distress to anxiety and uncertainty about future remedies and legal and financial implications. You need guidance and assistance as you seek to prove medical negligence for the injury you suffered, collect evidence, and navigate the legal process within the statute of limitations. Your future depends on promptly contacting an experienced medical malpractice attorney to help you assess your case, prove negligence, and pursue appropriate compensation according to the legal requirements.

Patients often feel violated and lose trust in healthcare providers. The physical pain caused by malpractice can be severe and long-lasting, profoundly affecting the patient’s quality of life. Your attorney should account for these factors as part of the pain and suffering claim. Serious injuries or disabilities due to malpractice can prevent patients from enjoying their usual activities or hobbies. This loss of enjoyment of life also factors into the damages you seek for medical malpractice.

Contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney right away if you or your loved one has suffered medical malpractice. Your lawyer can help you navigate the legal process, work with you to gather necessary evidence, and advocate for fair compensation. Contact our Minneapolis medical malpractice lawyers at RSC Law today to schedule a free consultation.

Common Medical Malpractice Injuries and Scenarios

Every medical malpractice case is unique. It is imperative to address the nature of the injuries you suffered due to medical mistakes by the individual(s) who provided you with medical treatment.

Common Medical Malpractice Injuries

• Aggravated Conditions: Refers to situations where the patient’s condition worsens due to negligence or improper treatment.
• Birth Injuries: These injuries occur during childbirth and can be caused by negligence during prenatal care or during delivery itself.
• Surgical Errors: These errors include wrong-site surgery, wrong-patient surgery, and leaving surgical instruments inside the patient.

If your loved one died due to medical negligence, you may pursue a lawsuit for wrongful death due to medical malpractice. Discuss your unique circumstances with your medical malpractice attorney at our law firm during your free consultation.

Common Medical Malpractice Scenarios

Various scenarios can lead to medical malpractice claims in Minnesota:

• Misdiagnosis: Diagnosing a patient with the wrong medical condition, possibly leading to incorrect treatment potentially causing harm.
• Delayed Diagnosis: In this scenario, the healthcare provider fails to diagnose a condition in a timely manner, causing the patient’s condition to worsen.
• Failure to Treat: A healthcare provider correctly diagnoses a condition but fails to prescribe appropriate treatment.
• Discharged Prematurely: When the healthcare provider excuses the patient while they should have remained under medical care for further monitoring or potential treatment.
• Anesthesia Errors: Insufficient anesthesia can lead to emotional distress, psychological trauma, and an increase in pain and suffering. In contrast, too much anesthesia can cause physical injury or may lead to wrongful death.
• Unnecessary Surgery: If a medical provider caused you to undergo surgery that was not necessary or relevant to the improvement of your condition, this would constitute medical malpractice.
• Wrong Medication or Dosage: If a medical provider prescribes incorrect medication or an improper dose of a correct medication, such errors may be cause for a medical malpractice claim.
• Poor Follow-Up Care: In some circumstances, the medical provider’s failure to provide care following earlier treatment may constitute medical negligence if it causes harm to the patient.
• Death Due to Medical Malpractice: You may be able to pursue a wrongful death claim if your loved one died due to medical malpractice.

If you or a loved one have suffered an injury while receiving medical care that may have involved any of the above general descriptions, contact our medical malpractice lawyer team at RSC Law today to schedule a free consultation.

Proving Medical Negligence in Minnesota

Medical negligence is an important component of a malpractice case. The following steps are necessary to prove both that medical negligence occurred and that it is linked to injuries and damages you have suffered for which you seek compensation:

• Establishing a Patient-Doctor Relationship: The first step is to establish that there was a patient-doctor relationship, which means the doctor agreed to diagnose or treat you, and you agreed to be diagnosed or treated.
• Proving Negligence: Medical negligence refers to medical errors that deviate from the standard of care established by the medical community. After demonstrating a patient-doctor relationship, you must then show that the healthcare provider was negligent in diagnosing or treating your condition. You and your attorney will need to prove that the care you received deviated from the standard of care that a competent doctor would have provided under similar circumstances. Your medical malpractice lawyer will help you gather the evidence required to demonstrate the healthcare professional was negligent relative to this standard.
• Linking Medical Negligence to the Injury: It is essential to demonstrate that your injury is directly attributable to the healthcare provider’s negligence. This often requires testimony from a medical expert to establish a clear cause-and-effect relationship, which is an essential component to initiating and pursuing a Minnesota medical malpractice case.
• Demonstrating Damages: You must show that you suffered harm due to the proven negligence. This could include physical pain, mental anguish, additional medical bills, future medical expenses, lost work and earning capacity, and more. A cascade of financial woes can be set off when medical malpractice occurs, and you need to work with a medical malpractice lawyer to show that the negligence of the medical professionals involved in your treatment were responsible for your damages.

At RSC Law, your medical malpractice lawyer will review your medical records and pursue the opinions of knowledgeable medical professionals familiar with medical negligence cases to assess your condition, prove how it happened, and bolster the strength of your claim of negligence and malpractice relative to the standard of care set by the medical community. We can plan your legal strategy during your free case evaluation.

Two Affidavits are Required to Pursue Minnesota Medical Malpractice Claims

In Minnesota, a potential medical malpractice plaintiff also faces a significant hurdle due to Minnesota Statutes section 145.682, which requires an affidavit of merit for medical malpractice cases. This means you must have a medical expert — a medical professional whose credentials the court is likely to accept — review your case and certify that the medical provider you’re suing deviated from the standard of care and that this deviation caused your injuries.

Your coordination with a medical expert will involve filing two separate affidavits. The first affidavit is required to proceed with bringing a claim and indicates the medical expert believes the defendant failed to meet the standard of care.

The second affidavit must be delivered within 180 days of the discovery process and will include a list of every expert witness to be called and a summary of each expert witness’s opinion and the reasons for those opinions. This second affidavit must be signed by the expert witnesses and your attorney.

Legal representation and guidance are important from the start of your case. Your Minnesota medical malpractice attorney can coordinate this review on your behalf, and this further underscores the importance of promptly reaching out to an experienced attorney at our law firm for a free case evaluation to put the necessary processes into motion.

Be Mindful of the Statute of Limitations in Medical Malpractice Cases

In Minnesota, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases is four years from the date the injury occurred. You have four years from the date of the alleged malpractice to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. In the event of death, the statute of limitations is reduced to three years. Other limitations may apply, so it is important to speak with an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible after discovering the malpractice.

Establishing the scope of damages, collecting evidence, consulting with medical experts, commencing the lawsuit, and other necessary steps in building a case can take significant time. All of these actions must be completed before the statute of limitations expires. The sooner you begin working with an experienced medical malpractice attorney, the sooner you can begin organizing your case and pursuing a legal strategy.

Missing the deadline set by the statute of limitations has severe implications. Once the deadline passes, you may lose your right to seek compensation for your injuries and other losses related to the malpractice. Even if your claim is strong, it will likely be dismissed if it’s not filed within the required timeframe.

Minnesota differs from many other states in that it does not include a “discovery rule” for injuries due to medical malpractice that were unknown. Rather than adjusting to count from the date when the injury was discovered, Minnesota still counts the statute of limitations from the date of the alleged malpractice injury even if the harm had not been discovered. Navigating these complexities underscores the importance of consulting with a team of experienced Minnesota medical malpractice lawyers.

Recoverable Damages for Minnesota Medical Malpractice Cases Differ From Other Personal Injury Cases

Significant differences exist between seeking damages in a medical malpractice case and seeking damages in a personal injury case. While both cases involve seeking damages for injuries caused by someone else’s negligence, the context, burden of proof, and specific legal considerations involved can vary significantly. Consequently, your medical malpractice case must be approached differently.

The process for proving negligence differs from that of medical malpractice in that a personal injury case only requires a breach of the general duty of care rather than a breach of professional standard of care. Minnesota law does not cap damages for medical expenses, lost wages, or pain and suffering in a medical malpractice case.

Your medical malpractice attorney at RSC Law can guide you regarding proof of negligence, the scope of damages for which you may seek compensation, and other legal considerations pertaining to your unique case during your free consultation.