San Antonio Medical Malpractice Lawyers

How do I know if I have a medical malpractice case?

Many clients ask me if it’s bad if they didn’t go to a follow up with their doctor or do everything the doctor told them to do. They worry that it bars them from having a case. Just like anything else in life, you need to examine what reasonable behavior would be. If your doctor told you to do something and didn’t make it seem like it was of utmost importance that you do it, maybe that’s why you didn’t follow through.

You might still have a case even if you didn’t follow all of your doctor’s advice. Let’s see what the doctor did or didn’t do. Let’s see what consequences the doctor should have warned you about. Let’s make sure that you were making fully informed decisions based on what the doctors told you.

How do I know if I have a medical malpractice claim?

People always want to know how do they know if they have a medical malpractice case. In Texas, that’s a complicated question. The only way to know is to get all of your medical records, and get those reviewed by an experienced lawyer; a lawyer who has the resources to hire a doctor in that field of medicine to review all of your records and make a determination what was done wrong. I don’t want to oversimplify it, but basically, we have what’s called a standard of care.

What that means is, that doctor has to do things the way a reasonable doctor or hospital should have done it. In Texas, what does that mean? If your doctor makes a judgment call, and some doctors would have made that same judgment call, and it’s supported in the medical literature, there might not be a case. You have to prove that that doctor did something no reasonable doctor would have done. The only way to know that is with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer.

How much does it cost to file a medical malpractice claim?

A lot of people think Texas medical malpractice cases, by their very nature, involve expensive lawyers. I’m going to tell you right now, beware. I’ve had people call me and say, “I ran my medical malpractice case by this lawyer and he said he needed $5,000 to look at it. I paid him but he said I didn’t have a case.” That lawyer wasn’t looking out for you.

A good medical malpractice lawyer in the state of Texas should be on a contingency fee. That means they don’t earn a penny unless they win your case. That means you don’t pay a dime of the filing fees, of the depositions, or of the expert witnesses; that law firm does. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer knows it’s expensive, it’s a long process, and you can’t afford it. Only hire a contingency fee lawyer. Hire an experienced lawyer who can tell you, “I won’t get paid unless I win your case.”

Why can’t I hold the doctor responsible for my injury?

Texas medical malpractice cases need to be supported by the law. Sometimes there are just bad results. People want to know: why can’t I hold the doctor responsible? Many times, through no negligence of the doctor, bad things happen.

The only way for you to know that is to hire an experienced medical malpractice lawyer who can review your records, and have them independently reviewed by an expert doctor. Just because something bad happens, doesn’t mean the doctor’s responsible. If they are, an experienced medical malpractice lawyer is the difference between you recovering for everything that’s happening to you or not.

Do I have a claim if I was given the wrong prescription?

One of the more common medical malpractice cases in Texas involves wrong prescriptions. It happens more than you think. You go to the pharmacy, pick up the prescription that your doctor called in, and go home. You then start taking it.

Not only are you not getting better from what you went to the doctor for in the first place, but now you’re having all sorts of bad side effects. That pharmacist is responsible. The law requires them to use due care and make sure that you’re getting your prescription, not somebody else’s. If you’ve been harmed because you got the wrong prescription, call an experienced medical malpractice lawyer who can look at your case the right way.

How long do I have to file a medical malpractice claim?

A lot of people that call with medical malpractice cases here in Texas want to know: how long do I have? You have two years, but don’t take the full two years to act. Medical malpractice cases are complex cases. They require thorough investigation. All of your medical records need to be reviewed. They need to be reviewed by an experienced malpractice lawyer that knows what they’re looking at. Then they need to be reviewed by a doctor.

I tell my prospective clients this all the time. I’m not a doctor, but I’ve spent 30 years reading medical charts. I know a thing or two. I can get an idea, but then I’ve got to have an expert say we can go ahead. That doesn’t happen overnight.

You have two years to file a claim, but you really need to act quickly because there are many cases. Many potential clients that call me and say, “I’ve got two boxes full of records, but the two years runs next week.” I can’t help those folks. I wish I could, but I can’t do the job that you’re expecting of me unless I have the time to inform myself and you of what your rights are.

Will my medical malpractice case go to trial?

One thing that clients ask me all the time is about if they will go to trial. The answer to that is probably not. Malpractice cases are a little different. You see, doctors don’t like to admit their errors. Hospitals don’t like to pay for their mistakes.

If you hire an experienced medical malpractice lawyer; someone who knows the medicine, understands all of the standards expected of a physician, of a hospital, of a nursing home, then preparing your case for trial usually results in those parties accepting responsibility and making a reasonable offer of settlement. If they don’t, you need an experienced law firm with the resources to go to trial because if they take your case, they need to be willing to try it.

What damages can I recover in a medical malpractice claim?

What damages can I recover in a medical malpractice case in Texas? I get that question all the time. There are a lot of different kinds of damages because there are many different injuries. There are a lot of different harms. There are a lot of different impacts on your life following medical malpractice.

You’re entitled to recovery for the medical bills that you shouldn’t have paid. You’re entitled to a recovery for time missed from work. Medical malpractice cases more often than not have devastating and long-term injuries. Those types of compensation require an experienced malpractice lawyer. They require somebody who knows to hire the right experts, who knows to hire people who can look into the future and make a projection.

The experts should be able to tell you, “Your injury is going to require this much therapy for the rest of your life. It’s going to require another surgery five years down the road. It’s going to require companion care or more.” Every impact on your life from this malpractice has an impact on your recovery. It takes an experienced medical malpractice lawyer here in Texas who understands all avenues of relief.

How long will my medical malpractice case take to settle?

Texas medical malpractice laws are not on your side. They’re on the doctors’ side, the hospitals’ side, and the corporations that run hospitals. One thing people always ask me is about how long their case is going to take. In Texas, if you’ve suffered from medical malpractice, your case is going to take a while.

You need a report written by an expert who can say you have a valid case. Not that you’re going to win, but this is a valid case. You have to file that when you file your lawsuit because you’ve only got 120 days to do that. Then what happens is a judge looks at that report. They read it. They read everything about your case. Then they have to make a determination. Is this meritorious? Does it deserve to go forward?

If that judge says yes, the insurance companies for the doctors appeal that decision. In Texas, it’s one of the very limited exceptions that allows them to appeal and freeze your case before you’ve ever done anything. That appeal’s going to take 18 months to two years.

Why do they do that? Because they want to discourage you. They want you to walk away. They want you to suffer more. You need an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. Someone who not only understands the expert report requirements, and all of the administrative needs of a malpractice case, but someone who’s handled appeals and has fought those battles.

After the appeals are over, and you know you’ve got a meritorious case, the appellate court says yes, that first judge was right. Your appeal is denied. Then you move forward. Then you move forward aggressively and fast with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer.