Did you or a family member suffer harm because a doctor or medical professional made a mistake in Reno, NV? You may be entitled to compensation. An experienced Reno medical malpractice lawyer at Battle Born Injury Lawyers can help you fight to hold the responsible party accountable for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.
Our lawyers have over 85 years of experience getting justice for injured clients in cases like truck accidents, Reno car accidents, wrongful death claims, brain injury cases, assault injuries in Reno, slip and fall cases, and more.
If you’re interested in learning about your legal options, contact our law offices in Reno, Nevada, to schedule a free consultation today. Call us at (775) 535-7768.
How Can Battle Born Injury Lawyers Help With My Reno Medical Malpractice Case?
When your medical care makes you worse, you may not know where to turn for help. Doctors can’t cure every illness. However, they can be held accountable when they make mistakes.
Proving medical negligence can be extremely difficult. You need an experienced Reno personal injury lawyer who understands Nevada medical malpractice laws in your corner.
At Battle Born Injury Lawyers, our lawyers have been recognized by Super Lawyers and the Nevada Business Journal Legal Elite. We’ve won the Avvo Client’s Choice Award for our exceptional legal advice.
When you hire our legal team, our lawyers will help by:
- Gathering evidence to prove your case
- Determining how much compensation you deserve
- Hiring medical experts to provide affidavits as required under Nevada law
- Negotiating with the insurance companies to recover the maximum compensation possible
Don’t let the insurance companies scare you into accepting a lowball settlement. Contact our Reno personal injury attorneys to learn more about our practice areas today.
Medical Malpractice Is Shockingly Common in the U.S.
Patients are harmed because of medical errors every single day in the U.S. A widely-cited study by the prestigious Johns Hopkins Medical Center found that medical malpractice is now the third leading cause of death in the United States. Research shows that one in every three medical providers will be sued for malpractice at some point in their careers.
Our lawyers handle all types of medical malpractice cases, including those involving:
- Hospital negligence
- Surgical errors
- Medication errors
- Emergency room errors
- Anesthesia errors
- Failure to diagnose cancer and other diseases
- Misdiagnosis
- Birth injuries, including infant brain damage
- Radiology errors
- Nursing negligence
- Pharmacy errors
These mistakes can be extremely expensive. Insurance companies pay billions of dollars to settle medical malpractice claims each year. If you or a family member were a victim, don’t hesitate to reach out to our lawyers in Reno today.
What Is My Reno Medical Malpractice Case Worth?
Before taking legal action, most people want to know how much their medical malpractice claim is worth. The value of any injury claim depends on the facts of the case and the nature of your injuries.
Some of the factors that our lawyers will consider when we calculate your case value include:
- The cost of your medical treatment
- How the medical mistake impacts your health and wellbeing
- Whether the harm you have suffered impacts your ability to work
- The nature of the medical professional’s actions
- Whether you will recover or suffer permanent damage to your health
Your doctor’s insurance company has teams of defense lawyers who are paid to minimize your case value. That makes it especially important to understand how much your case is worth before settling. Our lawyers are here to help, so give us a call for a free case evaluation today.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Victims of Medical Malpractice in Reno?
Victims of medical malpractice in Reno can seek compensation for both economic and non-economic damages.
Depending on your specific losses, you may be entitled to compensation for:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning potential
- Physical therapy
- Rehabilitation
- Nursing care
- In-home assistance
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Depression
- Anxiety
- PTSD
- Diminished quality of life
- Disfigurement
- Reduced life expectancy
- Loss of consortium
- Damages for wrongful death
Victims of medical negligence are entitled to recover the full amount of their economic damages. Under Nevada law, your non-economic damages award is capped at $350,000.
Can I Recover Damages If I’m Being Blamed for My Own Injuries in Nevada?
Insurance companies often blame victims for their own injuries. In the medical malpractice context, they may claim that you failed to follow your doctor’s orders or failed to mitigate damages. They may even claim that your injuries were pre-existing.
Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence law with a 51% bar to recovery. Simply put, you can still recover damages even if you were partly responsible for your injuries (or for making them worse). Once your share of fault reaches 51%, you’ll be barred from suing for damages.
Medical Malpractice Can Cause Severe and Lasting Damage
Some examples of the types of long-term consequences caused by medical errors include:
- A need for more invasive, extensive, and expensive medical care
- Reduced life expectancy
- Ancillary medical conditions, including infections, shock, and sepsis
- Dependency on pain medications
- Loss of mobility
- Chronic pain
- Bed sores
- Depression and other mental health conditions
- Diminished quality of life
- Blood clots
- Stroke
- Wrongful death
Even if you’re expected to make a full recovery, injuries can be extremely expensive. The insurance company will try to downplay your injuries and the costs you may incur. That makes it important to have an experienced lawyer on your side.
Why Is Medical Malpractice So Common in Reno, Nevada?
Some of the most common causes of medical malpractice include:
- Overworked staff and understaffing
- Physician burnout and fatigue
- Negligent hiring practices
- Misdiagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failure to order the appropriate diagnostic tests
- Misinterpreting diagnostic tests
- Wrong-site surgery
- Charting and communication errors
- Inexperienced medical providers
- Adverse drug interactions
- Overtreatment or undertreatment
- Improper blood transfusions
- Defective medical devices and medical equipment
- Failure to take a complete patient medical history
- Failure to recognize a patient’s symptoms
- Failure to refer the patient to a specialist when needed
- Failure to properly train and supervise medical staff
Are you uncertain about what caused your injuries? Even if you think your case is clear-cut, it’s always a good idea to have an experienced Reno medical malpractice attorney review the facts. It’s possible that more than one thing contributed to the cause of your harm–meaning that more than one person may be responsible for your damages.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals are all required to provide a certain level of care. However, not every medical mistake gives the patient the right to sue for malpractice.
Medical malpractice occurs when your doctor deviates from the standard of care. In other words, medical professionals can only be held liable if they were negligent.
How Do I Prove My Healthcare Provider Was Negligent?
Negligence is one of the most basic legal concepts out there. Medical negligence, on the other hand, is much more complicated.
As in any other personal injury case, you must prove:
- The responsible party owed you a legal duty of care
- They breached the duty of care
- The breach caused you to suffer some type of harm
- The damages you suffered
A medical provider’s duty of care is also known as the medical standard of care. The “standard of care” is the level of care that a reasonable, trained professional would provide under the circumstances. This standard is established by the medical community itself. As the victim, you must provide evidence about the standard of care.
That standard is based on:
- The specific medical condition or injury involved
- The types of treatment options available
- The patient’s age and medical history
- Geographic location
Most victims of malpractice don’t have medical training. Our lawyers have relationships with respected medical experts who can help prove the standard of care in your case. To learn more, call our Reno medical malpractice attorneys for a free case evaluation today.
How Long Do I Have To File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Nevada?
In medical malpractice cases, injured patients have a limited amount of time to sue for damages.
However, the statute of limitations is more complicated than in your typical car accident case. Sometimes it takes months, if not years, for a patient to discover their injuries. Once you discover the harm you have suffered, you have one year to sue for damages.
Regardless of when you discover the mistake, you cannot sue for damages after three years have passed. This three-year statute of limitations starts to run on the date the injury occurred. This limitation period makes it important to seek legal guidance quickly if you suspect you were harmed due to a doctor’s mistake.
Contact a Reno Medical Malpractice Lawyer To Schedule a Free Consultation
Do you suspect you were a victim of medical malpractice in Reno? Do you have questions about your legal options? Contact Battle Born Injury Lawyers to learn how an experienced Reno medical malpractice attorney can help you fight for fair compensation.
