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Regan Zambri Long’s attorneys are all rated among the top Washington, DC medical malpractice lawyers by Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers. Our award-winning team is ready to answer all the questions you may have about medical malpractice, from whether substandard care occurred to how claims are proven and what compensation may be available.
Recognized as one of America’s Best Law Firms, we have built a national reputation for handling serious medical malpractice cases. Our work has led to over $1 billion in personal injury awards, including medical malpractice outcomes of $15 million, $8 million, $5.8 million, and $5.3 million. We work closely with top medical experts to review records, identify errors, and explain how those failures caused harm, and our approach is reflected in over 100 5 star Google reviews from people we have helped.
If these FAQs do not answer your questions about medical malpractice or you have possible claim you want to discuss, contact Regan Zambri Long today. One of our attorneys will personally call you back. We’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We front all case costs, so you don’t pay unless we win your case.
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An average medical malpractice settlement is a difficult thing to calculate, as the value of your claim will depend on the severity of your injuries and if death was involved. Further, the state where the malpractice occurred can also impact the claim’s value based on the adjusted cost of living.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Practitioner Data Bank, the average medical malpractice settlement was $342,307.97 for 2013 to 2022.
Proving negligence is often the most challenging element of establishing a medical malpractice claim. To prove medical negligence, you must illustrate that:
Medical negligence occurs when a healthcare professional’s actions or inactions do not meet the standard of care. It becomes medical malpractice when the negligence causes injuries and harm to the patient.
The statute of limitations to sue for medical malpractice in Washington, D.C., and Maryland is three years from the alleged malpractice and two years in Virginia.
There is no cap on damages in a medical malpractice suit in Washington, DC.
However, Virginia has a cap on damages, with a maximum limit of $2,500,000 on total damages.
Maryland also has caps on non-economic damages of $890,000 for cases arising in 2024.
Anytime a healthcare professional falls below the standard of care, resulting in injuries and harm to a patient, you may have a medical malpractice lawsuit.
However, between 80 and 90% of these cases are dismissed without settlement, making it critical to have an experienced law firm specializing in medical malpractice like Regan Zambri Long on your side.
Common types of medical malpractice include:
Depending on what you did before your settlement will determine if your malpractice award is taxable.
The award is non-taxable if you did not total your medical expenditures as an itemized deduction before the lawsuit. But, if you did, it may be taxable. Compensation from emotional distress and mental anguish is non-taxable so long as it is related to the physical injury itself. If it is not related to the injury, it is taxable.
If punitive damages are awarded, these are taxable.
The following states have caps on all or some medical malpractice damages as of 2024.
Call an experienced lawyer in your state to learn what medical malpractice laws are in effect.
While not an exhaustive list, the following parties may be held liable in your malpractice case:
A 2023 report from the American Medical Association found that 62.4% OB/GYNs had been sued for malpractice at least once in their carrers, followed by 59.3% of general surgeons, 55.5% of other surgeons, and 47.2% of orthopedic surgeons.
You may be entitled to compensatory or economic and non-economic damages for your losses. This includes medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.
Never events are medical errors that are preventable and so serious that they should never occur. Examples are operating on the wrong patient or giving the wrong blood type in a transfusion.
Two of the most dangerous types of never events are performing the wrong surgery on a patient and leaving foreign objects such as sponges or wires in a patient’s body during surgery. The American College of Surgeons reports that 112 wrong surgeries were reported in 2023, along with 110 incidents of foreign objects being left behind, each making up 8% of the total of 1,411 events in that year.
If you have suffered injuries that resulted in damages due to substandard care by a medical provider, you may be a victim of medical malpractice. Call Regan Zambri Long to learn how we can help.
You can sue a hospital for neglect if a hospital worker did not provide adequate care to you resulting in injuries. This may also be the case if you suffered harm due to staffing issues.
Sepsis can be caused by medical negligence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that one in three patients who dies in a hospital had sepsis during their hospital stay, which helps explain why failures to recognize or respond to infection carry such serious consequences. It may constitute malpractice if an error causes you to suffer the infection due to a provider not recognizing it, la ack of treatment, and poor sanitation.
If you suffer a hospital-acquired infection, you may be entitled to compensation. Though they can be difficult to prove, common causes of hospital-acquired infections are surgical sites, medical device-related infections, and respiratory infections.
Hospital-acquired infections are more common that we might realize. According to the CDC, on any given day, one in 31 hospital patients has at least one such infection.
Proving you got the infection from the hospital can be tricky, so it’s key to consult with an attorney.
A medical malpractice lawyer from Regan Zambri Long can help you with your claim by:
If you or a loved one need legal advice, call Regan Zambri Long for a no-obligation, free consultation.
Proving misdiagnosis by a health care provider can be difficult as you must establish the doctor-patient relationship and breach and highlight the damages resulting from their inadequate level of care.
You can do this by reviewing your medical records, getting a second opinion, and consulting with expert physicians with extensive experience in your health condition.
If you or a loved one need legal advice, call Regan Zambri Long for a no-obligation, free consultation.
The National Library of Medicine defines informed consent as “the process in which a health care provider educates a patient about the risks, benefits, and alternatives of a given procedure or intervention.” This allows the patient to get the final say before receiving medical treatment or undergoing a medical procedure.
Issues around informed consent continue to play a significant role in medical malpractice claims with allegations tied to informed consent making up more than one-fourth of all communication-related malpractice lawsuits.
Misdiagnosis is considered medical malpractice if another healthcare provider given similar information and under similar expertise would have come up with the proper diagnosis.
In essence, a breach of care must first have occurred when a duty of care was owed.
Duty of care establishes an agreement and relationship in which the doctor is expected to act according to a certain medical standard. A breach of care occurs when the standard is not met.
If you were harmed by a negligent medical practitioner in the DC metro area or have more questions about your claim, call our skilled medical negligence attorneys.
For almost 30 years, the medical malpractice lawyers at Regan Zambri Long have been helping injury victims with their claims. We’ve recovered dozens of multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts for victims of medical malpractice. Our team boasts 8 of Best Lawyers’ Top 30 Medical Malpractice Plaintiff Attorneys in the District of Columbia, with senior partner named as their Washington, DC Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year on two occasions. Five of our attorneys are also named as Washington, DC Medical Malpractice Super Lawyers.
We are here for you. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
Have you or your loved one sustained injuries in Washington DC, Maryland or Virginia? Regan Zambri Long PLLC has the best lawyers in the country to analyze your case and answer the questions you may have.