If you’ve suffered from medical malpractice in Huntsville, Belt, Bruner & Barnett Personal Injury Lawyers can help. Our skilled Huntsville medical malpractice lawyers fight for the justice and compensation you deserve. Call 256-666-4660 for a free consultation today.
However, taking on the provider’s insurance company or the hospital where treatment was received can be intimidating. The Huntsville medical malpractice lawyers at Belt, Bruner & Barnett Personal Injury Lawyers are here to help you fight for the financial justice you need and deserve.
Our award-winning trial attorneys have dedicated their careers to standing up to powerful insurance companies, hospitals, and healthcare providers and forcing them to do the right thing when mistakes are made. Our case results – which include hundreds of millions of dollars in monetary awards – speak volumes about what we can help our clients achieve.
How Belt, Bruner & Barnett Personal Injury Lawyers Help Victims of Medical Malpractice in Huntsville, AL
Medical malpractice claims are inherently difficult, thanks in large part to the laws of the state of Alabama. They tend to favor healthcare providers, hospitals, and insurance companies rather than victims of medical mistakes who have a legitimate need for compensation in Huntsville, Alabama.
Given the complex and challenging nature of medical malpractice litigation, it’s important to surround yourself with a trustworthy, experienced, successful legal team. That’s why Belt, Bruner & Barnett Personal Injury Lawyers should be your first call for help.
Our Huntsville personal injury lawyers are known as leaders in civil litigation in the state of Alabama. In fact, we’ve been recognized by The National Trial Lawyers, Best Lawyers, the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the National Lawyers Guild, and Super Lawyers. We’re passionate advocates who strive to improve the lives of each person we represent.
When you ask for our help with your medical malpractice case, you can expect us to:
- Investigate the details of your medical care to understand what mistakes were made, when, and how they could have been avoided
- Gather evidence to support your legal claim, including hospital charts, communication between medical staff, witness statements, photographs, provider notes, and more
- Bring in independent medical experts to evaluate your case, offer relevant testimony, and help us understand what your medical malpractice case is worth
- File your claim with the local Madison County court clerk
- Force the defense to make you a fair settlement offer or take their chances going up against our highly successful litigators at trial
We’ll be there to offer the support and guidance you need every step of the way. Our personal injury law firm in Huntsville represents clients on a contingency fee basis, so there’s no fee unless we recover compensation for your medical malpractice claim.
Your first consultation is free. Call our Huntsville law office to schedule a time to speak with our team today.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Malpractice refers to a healthcare provider’s illegal, negligent, or otherwise wrongful professional actions. Medical malpractice most often involves provider negligence. Alabama law holds doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers to high standards.
Specifically, they are expected to “exercise such reasonable care, skill, and diligence as other similarly situated health care providers in the same general line of practice ordinarily have an exercise in a like case.”
When a provider fails to satisfy this level of care, they can be considered negligent and, in turn, liable for a patient’s resulting injury or death.
What Are the Most Common Medical Errors?
According to a study by the American Medical Association, an estimated one-third of doctors are sued for malpractice during their careers. This is not surprising since medical errors cause hundreds of thousands of injuries and deaths across the United States every year. In fact, medical errors are reported as the third leading cause of avoidable death nationwide, accounting for up to 440,000 fatalities annually.
Some of the most commonly reported medical errors that cause injuries and deaths include:
- Misdiagnosis
- Cancer misdiagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failure to diagnose
- Emergency room errors
- Medication errors
- Anesthesia errors
- Surgical errors
- Birth injuries
Medical mistakes are most likely to happen when providers are fatigued, hospitals are understaffed, patient concerns or complaints are ignored, lab tests aren’t ordered or are misinterpreted, and charting mistakes are made.
Our Alabama medical malpractice attorneys in Huntsville will carefully evaluate the details of your medical care and work hard to pinpoint precisely what errors were made and why. When we understand how you were injured, we can begin to actively strategize a way to get the financial accountability you deserve.
Who Can Be Liable for Medical Negligence in Huntsville?
Medical mistakes don’t always happen because of one single mistake. Many times, several factors contribute to an error. In Alabama, anyone whose negligence or wrongful actions contribute to a patient’s injury or wrongful death can be liable.
Depending on the specific facts of your medical malpractice case, this might include a:
- Primary care physician
- Obstetrician, pediatrician, oncologist, or another type of specialist
- Surgeon
- Nurse
- Anesthesiologist
- Pharmacist
- Medical assistant
- Chiropractor
- Midwife
- Emergency room staff
- Outpatient clinic
- Urgent treatment center
You may also have a legitimate claim against the hospital where you were injured. In many cases, hospitals are vicariously liable for their employee’s mistakes. As a result, you can include the hospital in your lawsuit in an effort to maximize your financial recovery.
What Types of Damages Can Be Awarded to the Victim of a Medical Error?
Medical errors can cause debilitating physical injuries and trauma. As a victim, you have the right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit to force your negligent healthcare provider to take responsibility for these and other consequences.
Specifically, you can request two types of compensatory awards: economic and non-economic.
Economic damages help you handle the financial costs and losses you experience because of your situation, including:
- Current medical bills related to second opinions, hospitalization, surgery, medication, and transportation
- Future medical expenses for rehabilitation, medical devices, and follow-up care
- Lost wages, income, and benefits
- Diminished earning capacity
- Disability
- Nursing assistance
- Out-of-pocket costs
- Funeral expenses
Non-economic damages are designed to compensate for harder-to-value pain and suffering, such as:
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Reduced quality of life
- Mental anguish
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Disfigurement
- Scarring
- Chronic physical pain
Alabama also allows plaintiffs in medical malpractice litigation to receive punitive damages in certain situations. When a medical malpractice lawsuit goes to trial, a jury is empowered to award punitive damages when there is clear evidence of a defendant’s intentional, grossly negligent, or fraudulent actions.
The hospital and the insurance company will fight for your claim for damage at every turn. Don’t be surprised when they downplay your injuries and minimize the ways in which the medical error has changed your life.
Our Huntsville medical malpractice attorneys will work closely with experts throughout the claims process to keep these tactics from working. We’ll build a claim that proves liability, establishes your losses, and forces the defense to negotiate fairly. If they refuse to make things right, our top-rated Alabama trial attorneys won’t hesitate to bring your medical malpractice lawsuit to court.
What is the Statute of Limitations For Medical Malpractice Lawsuits in Alabama?
Alabama applies a two-year statute of limitations to medical malpractice claims. This gives you two years from the date you are injured, the discovery of your injury, or a family member’s wrongful death to take action.
Missing the filing deadline could be detrimental to your case. When the statute of limitations runs out, you may be barred from bringing a lawsuit against your doctor and other responsible parties.
Schedule a Free Case Evaluation With a Knowledgeable Huntsville Medical Malpractice Attorney
Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit can help you recover much-needed compensation. It can also help to force your doctor to take their role as a physician more seriously and protect others from suffering similar fates in the future.
Don’t think you have to navigate a medical malpractice lawsuit on your own. Belt, Bruner & Barnett Personal Injury Lawyers is here to offer the reliable legal representation you deserve.
Our Huntsville medical malpractice attorneys have 93+ years of relevant legal experience. We’ve successfully obtained hundreds of millions in damages for clients like you. Now, we’re ready to stand up to the hospital on your behalf and fight to get you top results, too.
Contact our Huntsville law office today. Your first case evaluation with our team is absolutely free.