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Hospitals should create environments of healing, comfort, and hope. Patients literally put their lives into the hands of medical professionals, expecting to be in the best of care. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. According to a Yale University analysis, over 7,000 previously healthy people die every year from hospital error.
If you or your loved one were injured by the negligence of medical professionals, you have the right to compensation. Regan Zambri Long is home to Maryland’s top medical malpractice lawyers who make it their business to protect clients’ rights and recover fair compensation. Call today for a free consultation to get the claims process started.
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Maryland holds some of the strictest, most complex medical malpractice laws in the country. It is critical to your case to have an expert medical malpractice attorney by your side during the claims process. The Regan Zambri Long Maryland medical malpractice lawyers have over 100 years of combined experience. They are deeply knowledgeable in Maryland medical malpractice laws, various insurance policies, and the Maryland court system.
Below is a partial list of our major settlements and verdicts won on behalf of clients like you.
To understand medical malpractice, we have to first break down the main factor in the act: negligence. Negligence means failure to take proper care in doing something.
According to Maryland law, to file a successful medical malpractice claim, your case must include negligence by a healthcare provider. Medical negligence is when the healthcare provider’s actions fall below the accepted standards of medical practice. When the medical professional’s negligence results in an injury or illness to the patient, then medical malpractice has occurred.
Medical malpractice is not limited to doctors and nurses. Any type of medical professional can commit or be accused of committing medical malpractice. Other providers whose negligence may lead to medical injuries are:
Several forms of medical malpractice can take place. Although each is different, every type of medical malpractice poses a large threat to severely impact the victim’s life. Injuries resulting from medical malpractice can be permanently debilitating and even life-threatening. The most common types of medical malpractice in Maryland are:
A large percentage of medical malpractice cases come from incorrect, delayed, or failure of diagnosis. Misdiagnoses can result in multiple problems for the patient, including the original illness worsening and new illnesses developing because of incorrect treatments and medications.
Delayed diagnosis or failure to diagnose can be the difference between life and death for a patient. For example, if a doctor fails to diagnose cancer at an early stage, the chances of it progressing to a terminal stage greatly increase.
Your medical malpractice claim may be based on delayed or failure to diagnosis if:
The most common misdiagnosed conditions are strokes, heart attacks, spinal epidural abscesses, pulmonary embolisms, meningitis, hemorrhages, lung cancer, fractures, and appendicitis.
Birth injuries are one of the most devastating forms of medical malpractice and can change a family’s life forever. There are three main categories of birth injuries: orthopedic injuries, nerve injuries, and brain damage. Although not all birth injuries can be prevented, there are certainly medical errors that can be avoided. Birth injuries can happen in three separate stages: during pregnancy, during delivery, and immediately following delivery.
During pregnancy: Expectant mothers should be closely monitored by their doctor, especially if they are considered to have a high-risk pregnancy. If not monitored properly, obstetricians may fail to diagnose serious conditions (like preeclampsia) that can result in serious harm to the mother and the baby. Abnormally large or small babies should be closely watched during pregnancy to make sure they are receiving the proper amount of nutrition.
During delivery: Delivery is a crucial time in the pregnancy with plenty of opportunities for error. Newborn babies may be harmed if the doctor:
After delivery: If a doctor improperly resuscitates a newborn, or is otherwise negligent during the newborn’s stay in the hospital, it can be considered medical malpractice.
Unfortunately, surgical errors occur all too often. Leaving equipment inside a patient after the surgery or making an incision on the wrong location or body part can lead to life-altering outcomes. Anesthesia errors can be fatal, while improperly sterilizing the surgical site can lead to life-threatening infections.
Nursing Home Negligence
The elderly are one of Maryland’s most vulnerable populations. Those who live in a nursing home require around-the-clock care. Tragically, nursing home abuse and neglect occur frequently in Maryland and across the United States.
Residents are often left in the same position for days or even weeks at a time, leading to bedsores that can become infected. Malnutrition, dehydration, and poor hygiene are all results of neglect. If your loved one resides in a nursing home, it is extremely important to keep a close eye on them and watch for signs of abuse and neglect.
Communication is a key component of healthcare, but often, there is a severe lack of communication among providers and between providers and patients. If medical personnel does not communicate properly with each other, patient charts can easily be incorrect or not updated, leading to serious illness or injury. If the healthcare professional does not regularly communicate with his or her patient and their family, the wrong care can be given to the patient once they are discharged from the hospital.
Even if the correct diagnosis is made, failure to treat the patient properly can still lead to a negative outcome. Incorrect prescriptions, wrong tests, discharging the patient too soon, and failure to follow up with the patient once they leave the hospital are all examples of healthcare workers failing to treat their patients properly.
Hospitals may be held liable for the actions of their staff, including doctors, nurses, surgical techs, anesthesiologists, and other medical personnel. Your Regan Zambri Long medical malpractice lawyer will be able to guide you through the process to determine if a single healthcare professional is responsible for your medical injury, or if the responsibility lies with the hospital or medical facility.
Other forms of medical malpractice are:
Pharmaceutical malpractice is closely linked to medical malpractice. Every medication must be properly labeled, measured, and stored to keep patients as safe as possible. Additionally, patients must be warned about possible side effects from different medications like blood thinners, which can cause internal bleeding. Both your doctor and pharmacist should warn you about these side effects before ordering and releasing the medication. Anything less is medical malpractice.
Pharmacists must also guide patients in dosage directions and information about the risks of taking the medication. They must also make sure they are giving the patient the medication that was prescribed. Unfortunately, many pharmaceutical malpractice cases occur when the pharmacist provides the wrong medication to a patient, causing severe injury or death.
If you were the victim of pharmaceutical malpractice, the Regan Zambri Long medical malpractice lawyers can help. We firmly believe we should hold medical professionals, including pharmacists, to the highest standards. You should never have to think about the possibility of being given the wrong medication or a dangerous drug. The Regan Zambri Long medical malpractice attorneys will make sure you are financially compensated for physical injuries, emotional distress, and mental anguish.
In personal injury claims, the burden of proof falls on the person who makes the claim. Therefore, it is up to you and your legal team to build a case that will prove you were injured by the negligence of healthcare providers. This is where Regan Zambri Long comes in – we will work with a team of medical consultants, legal advisors, and other experts to prove you were a victim of medical malpractice. Our medical malpractice attorneys will initiate and build your claim in steps.
The first step is to determine liability. Medical malpractice cases can get very complicated very quickly. Many times, it is not just one single provider that caused damage. The Regan Zambri Long medical malpractice lawyers will investigate your medical records, the medical facility, and the various providers to determine the liable party or parties.
The next step is to establish a doctor-patient relationship. This is extremely important to your claim – the party you claim against must have a duty of care to you. For example, if a friend gave you poor medical advice that led to an injury, they would not be liable for your injuries. They did not breach a duty of care. Our medical malpractice lawyers will pour over all written correspondence, medical bills, and other documentation to prove the responsible parties were in fact, supposed to be taking care of you.
The next step we will take is to prove your healthcare provider fell below the standard of care. Our medical malpractice lawyers will use medical records and expert consultants who will testify about what your doctor could have done differently that would have avoided injury or illness.
The third step in the process is proving that the medical professional in question was negligent and that his or her negligence was what caused you harm. Our lawyers will prove that if you had not been neglected by your healthcare provider, you would not have fallen ill or been subject to injury.
Finally, our medical malpractice attorneys will calculate the damages you should be awarded. Damages for medical malpractice claims may include:
Our <Maryland medical malpractice lawyers will aggressively pursue the highest amount of compensation for your claim. Our attorneys work on a contingency fee, meaning, we do not get paid unless we win a favorable settlement or verdict.
A: The statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice claim in Maryland is five years from the date of the injury.
A: Maryland is one of the five jurisdictions in the United States that still practices contributory negligence law. According to this law, if the claimant (the medical malpractice victim who filed the claim) is found to bear any responsibility (as low as 1% of the responsibility) in the illness or injury, then they cannot recover compensation. While it is unlikely the victim is liable for any part of the medical malpractice, it is still in your best interest to have a legal advocate by your side. The Regan Zambri Long medical malpractice attorneys have seen many defense lawyers try to use contributory negligence to get their clients off the hook. Our skilled lawyers will not allow that – we will build a rock-solid case that will prove you had nothing to do with your illness or injury and will recover the highest amount of compensation possible.
A: Regan Zambri Long is one of Maryland’s leading personal injury law firms. Many smaller firms who do not have the funds to take on large hospitals and their insurance providers, will refer their clients to our attorneys. Regan Zambri Long has the resources and the financial backing to take on large medical facilities – you can rest assured your medical malpractice attorney will be by your side until the very end.
Our medical malpractice lawyers have secured millions for our clients, including an $11 million settlement against a medical facility for failing to perform a pregnancy test on a patient before surgery. We work with the best medical consultants and legal brains – we can guarantee you’ll be in good hands.
Regan Zambri Long offers free initial consultations where you can speak with a seasoned Maryland lawyer who will guide you through the claims process and offer expert legal advice. Call today for your free consultation. Let us focus on securing compensation while you focus on a complete recovery.
