South Bend Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Recent advances in medicine have been revolutionary. With the level of care offered at facilities like Memorial Hospital in South Bend, illnesses that would have been a death sentence just a short while ago can now be managed or even cured.

But as beneficial as modern medicine can be, it can sometimes do more harm than good when treatment is poorly executed or improperly prescribed. If you have been injured by a healthcare provider, you may be eligible for economic recovery through a medical malpractice claim. Success can often be out of reach, however, particularly in Indiana, which imposes strict limitations on cases against medical practitioners.

To overcome the challenges you may face, get in touch with the South Bend medical malpractice attorneys at Hensley Legal Group. No adversary is too intimidating to prevent us from serving the best interests of our personal injury clients.

Schedule a free consultation with a South Bend medical malpractice lawyer by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or completing our contact form.

What Is Medical Malpractice?

To determine whether you have grounds for a claim, it is important to understand what constitutes medical malpractice in Indiana. Patients typically seek medical attention only when they are suffering from a serious illness or injury. Because even the best course of treatment may not produce a favorable outcome, a negative outcome is not necessarily proof of malpractice.

Medical malpractice can only be said to occur when a practitioner deviates from the established protocols of the medical community, known as “the standard of care,” by neglecting to treat patients the same way they would be treated by other competent providers working under the same conditions.

If a deviation from the standard of care causes harm, it could form the basis of a medical malpractice case. For that case to be viable, a plaintiff will need to show that:

1. A duty of care was owed – The provider took the plaintiff on as a patient and therefore owed him or her a duty of care.

2. That duty of care was breached – The treatment provided to the plaintiff violated or “breached” the accepted standard of care.

3. That breach caused harm – The provider’s breach inflicted injury on the plaintiff.

4. Damages were incurred – The plaintiff sustained losses as a result of that injury.

Proving all four elements is no easy feat, requiring familiarity with the applicable procedures and treatments, laws, and professional regulations. Moreover, even if a breach by a provider is uncovered, the plaintiff will need to back up any allegations of negligence with evidentiary support from medical records, statements from witnesses and other caregivers, and even testimony from experts with relevant experience in the same field.

Our South Bend medical malpractice attorneys pride themselves on putting together complex cases of medical negligence and making them clear and comprehensible to judges and juries.

Who Can Commit Medical Malpractice?

The term “medical malpractice” may automatically trigger a mental image of a doctor accused of wrongdoing, but the reality is that a wide range of practitioners could be guilty of misconduct. Medical malpractice may be committed by:

● Doctors

● Nurses

● Paramedics

● Technicians

● Therapists

● Pharmacists

● Hospitals

● Rehabilitation facilities

● Long-term care centers

● Nursing homes

● Drug companies

● Medical device manufacturers

In certain instances, more than one caregiver may be liable for a plaintiff’s medical injuries. Given the number of parties who may be at fault, it is crucial to take action against all of them within the time permitted by law, known as the Statute of Limitations. A plaintiff who fails to file a lawsuit or otherwise resolve a claim before the Statute runs could be forever barred from doing so.

Hensley’s meticulous South Bend medical malpractice lawyers will be sure to meet all deadlines and requirements needed to establish a valid case against everyone responsible.

Legal Limits on Medical Malpractice Claims in Indiana

Constructing a medical malpractice case would be difficult anywhere, but it can be even harder in Indiana, where the law imposes additional constraints on medical malpractice claims, including a ceiling on compensation.

Indiana passed the Medical Malpractice Act in 1975, becoming the first state in the nation to impose caps on damages from medical practitioners. The maximum medical malpractice award is currently set at $1.8 million, up from the original cap of $1.25 million.

No medical malpractice plaintiff in the state is entitled to receive more than this capped amount, all of which may not even come from the providers. Under the Act, Indiana medical practitioners and their insurance companies do not have to contribute more than $500,000.00 towards a single verdict or settlement. Plaintiffs must recover any damages in excess of that number from a state-administered program known as the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund (PCF).

Though $1.8 million may seem generous, it might not actually cover the bills for some medical injuries, much less the total damages incurred, creating more roadblocks for injured patients and their medical malpractice attorneys.

Top Causes of Medical Malpractice

Justice can be elusive for medical malpractice plaintiffs, but many of them will still try to achieve it. Each year, more than 17,000 medical malpractice cases are filed in the United States, about 940 of them in Indiana. These cases all allege that medical providers caused harm by breaching the standard of care, and there are numerous ways in which a breach may take place. Top causes of medical malpractice include:

● Failing to diagnose

● Misdiagnosis

● Delayed diagnosis

● Improper use of diagnostic devices

● Mistakes during surgeries and non-surgical procedures

● Drug-related errors

● Medical device malfunctions

● Inappropriate anesthesia

● Infections from unsanitary conditions

● Excessively prolonged births

● Avoidable birth injuries

● Physical, mental, and sexual abuse by caregivers

Regardless of the cause of your medical injury, our South Bend medical malpractice lawyers will advise you of the next steps to take if you are considering a claim.

How Our Medical Malpractice Attorneys Can Help

Medical malpractice cases are some of the most frustrating in personal injury litigation because of their fundamental unfairness. Patients who suffered major harm at the hands of the very individuals they trusted to make them better are now forced to deal with insurance companies who will stop at nothing to minimize how much is paid out for that harm.

You need attorneys with the compassion to support you during this troubling period and the wisdom to guide you through it. You need the South Bend medical malpractice attorneys at Hensley Legal Group, who are dedicated to helping honest Hoosiers just like you who have been injured through no fault of their own.

If you decide to retain our firm, we will launch a comprehensive investigation into the causes of your medical injury and everyone liable for it. We will also act swiftly to secure the materials to support your claim, subpoenaing relevant hospital and provider records if necessary and joining forces with leading experts who can provide invaluable insight into medical misconduct.

After assembling the strongest case possible against the at-fault parties, Hensley’s South Bend medical malpractice lawyers will attempt to negotiate a settlement that reflects the entirety of your losses, including:

● Past, present, and future medical costs

● Lost income and diminished earning potential

● Pain and suffering

● Psychological and emotional trauma

● Reduced quality of life

● Detriment to marital relations

● Punitive and wrongful death damages (if applicable)

And unlike many of our competitors, who rarely, if ever, see the inside of a courtroom, we are more than willing to go to trial if we do not receive an offer that is worthy of your case. Furthermore, we will seek funds from the PCF as well when the circumstances warrant it.

You Won’t Pay Unless We Win

Your family’s finances may be stretched to the breaking point, so you will be pleased to learn that our firm works on a contingency basis. This means you won’t pay us anything unless our South Bend medical malpractice attorneys win your case.

We realize your faith has already been betrayed by a seemingly competent professional, so we will do everything in our power to reward your faith in our firm.

Talk to a South Bend Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today

Hensley Legal Group has been fighting for the everyday people of Indiana for more than 25 years. If you have been the victim of medical negligence, talk to a South Bend medical malpractice lawyer today to discover the remedies available to you.

Call (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or complete our contact form for a no-cost case review with one of our accomplished medical malpractice attorneys.