If you are considering a medical malpractice lawsuit, you should consider contacting a medical malpractice attorney right away. Medical injuries can be extremely expensive – hospital stays, surgeries, scans, prescriptions, rehabilitation, and ongoing medical treatment are enough to send a financially secure individual into distress. When your financial future is at stake, you want the best of the best to represent you. That is Regan Zambri Long.

The medical malpractice lawyers at Regan Zambri Long PLLC are confident they are right for you. Our lawyers are diligent, compassionate, and successful. We have secured millions for our clients and want to do the same for you. Call today for a free consultation where you will speak with a DC medical malpractice attorney who will give you a reasonable assessment of your case.

What Is Medical Malpractice?

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), medical malpractice is defined as any act or omission by a physician during the treatment of a patient that deviates from accepted forms of practice.

Medical malpractice can be committed by any medical professional – doctors, nurses, midwives, physical therapists, dentists, optometrists, etc. If you are receiving care from a medical professional, you are quite literally putting your life into their hands and deserve their utmost care, compassion, and professionalism at all times.

In a medical malpractice lawsuit, the victim has to prove three things:

A professional duty owed to the patient: The physician or medical personnel in question has to have an official and professional doctor/patient relationship with the victim. Suppose you sought medical advice from a family friend, but never entered into an official doctor/patient relationship. In that case, you may have a more difficult time succeeding in a lawsuit against them.
A breach of duty: In most medical malpractice cases, a breach of duty by a medical professional is medical negligence. For example, a medical malpractice case may be a patient going to the hospital because of stroke symptoms. The patient is misdiagnosed or receives no diagnosis, which is negligent on the doctor’s part. It is the job of a medical professional to thoroughly examine each patient to correctly diagnose the illness. The patient then has a stroke and suffers severe brain damage. The medical professionals’ misdiagnosis or lack of diagnosis is negligent and is a breach of their duty as the patient’s doctor.
The injury the victim sustained was directly caused by the breached duty: After proving a doctor/patient relationship and the breach of duty, the final thing to prove is that the victim’s injuries were directly caused by the doctor’s negligence. For example, a radiologist misreads an x-ray and doesn’t diagnose a broken arm properly. The patient continues to struggle with severe pain. The broken arm worsens and the patient has to have surgery to correct the break. That scenario would be simple – the misdiagnosis of the broken arm led to the patient’s pain and worsening condition.

However, if it is found that the patient also had an older injury to the arm that could have caused the pain, the defense lawyers may suggest that it wasn’t the radiologist’s negligence that directly caused the injury.

Once these three things are proven, damages will be awarded to the victim for medical expenses, lost wages, pain, suffering, and more.

If you find this information overwhelming, do not let it worry you. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer at Regan Zambri Long is here to guide you through the claims process. Our lawyers have a deep knowledge of medical malpractice law in Maryland, Virginia, and DC. We understand the evidence we need to present and the proof we need to provide to secure the highest amount of compensation.

We will work with expert witnesses, medical professionals, and other legal minds to make your case rock solid. Call today for your free consultation so we can get started on all your legal options.

What Is the Most Common Form of Medical Malpractice?

Medical errors are the third-leading cause of death in Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, and across the United States. Medical malpractice claims the lives of about 250,000 Americans per year.

Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis

According to a BMJ study, the most common, most costly, and most dangerous medical mistake is a misdiagnosis. In the study, diagnostic errors accounted for 28% of medical malpractice claims. Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnoses happen when a medical professional fails to recognize symptoms, fails to examine the patient properly, or fails to order tests.

For example, if a doctor fails to recognize heart attack symptoms, he may send a patient home with a diagnosis of indigestion or a stomach bug. A medical error can lead to serious injuries and even death.

Other common types of medical malpractice cases are:

Surgical errors
Prescription errors
Failure to treat
Emergency room errors
Birth injuries
Nursing home malpractice
Hospice malpractice
Anesthesia errors
Infections
Safety procedure failure
Failure to communicate
Informed consent

If you or your loved one suffered a severe medical injury due to any of the above, reach out to a Regan Zambri Long medical malpractice lawyer today. Our attorneys will work tirelessly to recover compensation to secure your financial future.

Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC Medical Malpractice Laws

The Regan Zambri Long law firm practices across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC. Our lawyers, including our founding partners Patrick Regan, Salvatore Zambri, and Victor Long, are deeply involved in the local community and care for DC Metro residents. Our clients are more than just clients – they are our neighbors and friends.

We handle each case with meticulous care and compassion. Our firm has been practicing law in the DC Metro Area for over 30 years. Our lawyers have expert knowledge of the medical malpractice laws in all three jurisdictions. Partner Jacqueline Colclough is also a registered nurse and brings this exceptional expertise to her medical malpractice cases.

Maryland Medical Malpractice Laws

Statute of limitations: Medical malpractice victims have three years from the date of the injury to file a malpractice claim. If the patient is a minor at the time of the injury, the statute of limitations clock begins when the patient turns 18 years old.
Certificate of Qualified Expert: After filing the medical malpractice claim, the victim has 90 days to file a certificate where a medical expert swears, under oath, that the healthcare professional in question did not meet the standard of care. They also must swear that your injuries are a direct result of the healthcare professional’s negligence.
Cap of medical malpractice damages: There are various rules surrounding how much money a victim may be paid out for a claim. The cap depends on the year the injuries occurred.
Contributory Negligence: Maryland practices the contributory negligence rule, which states that if the patient bears any responsibility for his or her injury, then he or she cannot collect any damages. The medical provider must be found totally at fault for the injury.

Virginia Medical Malpractice Laws

Statute of limitations: Patients have two years from the date of the injury to file a medical malpractice claim against the healthcare provider.
Certificate of Qualified Expert: Like Maryland, when a patient files a medical malpractice claim, a medical expert must sign off that he or she believes the healthcare provider deviated from the accepted standard of medical care.
Cap on medical malpractice damages: While some states put a cap only on noneconomic damages, Virginia puts a cap on the total amount of damages a victim can recover. This includes damages for medical expenses and lost wages.
Contributory Negligence: Virginia also practices the contributory negligence rule. If it is found that the victim contributed to his or her medical injury in any way, he or she cannot collect any compensation.

Washington DC Medical Malpractice Laws

Statute of limitations: Medical malpractice victims have three years from the date of the injury or from the date of the discovery of the injury to file a claim. If the patient was under 18 years old at the time of the injury, they have until their 21st birthday to file the medical malpractice suit.
Notice of intention to file suit: While Maryland and Virginia patients must file a certificate of a qualified expert, Washington DC does not have that requirement. However, a DC medical malpractice victim must notify the defendant of the case (the negligent healthcare professional) at least 90 days before filing the case in court.
Cap on medical malpractice damages: There is no cap on the amount of damages a DC patient can receive in a medical malpractice case.
Contributory Negligence: Washington DC joins Maryland and Virginia in the contributory negligence rule. The malpractice victim must prove he or she did not contribute to their injury in any way to recover any compensation.

The Regan Zambri Long medical malpractice lawyers are intimately familiar with all the medical malpractice laws in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC. While you are not required to have legal representation in a medical malpractice claim, you have a higher chance of collecting the maximum amount of compensation when you have a seasoned attorney by your side.

Our lawyers will work around the clock to collect the necessary evidence and build a rock-solid case that will ensure you recover compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

How to Choose a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Suffering a serious medical injury at the hands of a healthcare professional can leave you in physical pain, emotionally traumatized, and mentally exhausted. Additional medical expenses from the injury can drain your bank account. To claim what is rightfully yours, you need a legal team you can trust.

Our lawyers have a record-breaking history of success. This includes an $11 million settlement for a patient who suffered a stroke because her doctor’s failed to perform a routine pregnancy check before an operation. Our firm has the financial resources to take on large hospitals and insurance companies. Smaller firms in the DC Metro Area will often send their clients to us when the case is too big for them to handle. When it comes to fighting for your rights you need a comparable legal team with the knowledge, experience, and skill in medical malpractice litigation.

Our attorneys understand and care deeply about what you and your family are going through. Some law firms keep their clients in the dark, we make it our business to include you in every step of the process. Your lawyer will be available to you at all times and you will always be given an update on your case.

The Regan Zambri Long medical malpractice lawyers are dedicated to fighting for their client’s rights. Nothing makes us angrier or more motivated than seeing our clients suffer because of someone else’s medical negligence. We are passionate about protecting you and your family and will work relentlessly to recover the highest compensation you deserve. With Regan Zambri Long, you are not alone. Call today for your free initial consultation so we can get your claim started.

How Can a Medical Malpractice Lawyer Help My Claim?