Medical Malpractice Claims
In the United States, we are lucky to benefit from the best system of medical care and the best doctors and nurses available in the world. However, doctors, nurses and medical institutions do make mistakes that injure and kill people. Sometimes how a doctor, nurse or hospital injured or killed someone are so egregious that they make the front page of the newspaper or are featured on national news shows. We specialize in medical malpractice claims, lawsuits and trials. No money is necessary to hire us and we forward all expenses per our contingency fee arrangement. Call us at (314) 542-9999.
To win, a plaintiff must prove that medical negligence caused injury, damages or death. Medical negligence only occurs in situations where the medical care provided to the patient fell below the average standard of medical care that should be afforded to the plaintiff in the community where he or she lives. To succeed in a medical malpractice claim, a qualified medical expert must opine that the defendant fell below that average standard of care. A corollary to this is that a bad result from a medical procedure does not constitute medical malpractice. To put it simply, there must be strong evidence of something done fundamentally wrong by a medical provider to have success in a medical malpractice claim.
There are various restrictions on medical malpractice claims, including a two-year Statute of Limits, venue restrictions, and damage caps on non-economic damages. The restrictions also require that the plaintiff reveals the identity of the medical expert, who believes the defendant violated the standard care and caused damages, to both the defendant and the court.
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Important Missouri Medical Malpractice Statutes Explained
Medical Malpractice claims in Missouri are regulated carefully by statute. There are many pitfalls to pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit and if you have a claim against a doctor for malpractice you should seek good counsel immediately. Cantor & Burger has experience with medical malpractice lawsuits and has successfully recovered millions of dollars for victims of medical negligence.
$350,000.00 CAP on Damages for Pain
The first thing that you should know when you pursue a medical malpractice claim is that in August 2005 the legislature capped the amount of damages that you can receive for medical malpractice. Non-Economic damages, which are damages such as pain and suffering, have been capped at $350,000.00. This means that no matter how much pain and anguish you have suffered at the hands of a doctor that the most that a judge is allowed to award, despite what the jury writes on the verdict form, for pain and suffering is $350,000.00. So, for instance, if a doctor removes the wrong organ or cuts off your wrong leg the most you can get for pain and suffering is $350,000.00 in Missouri. If this seems wrong or unfair, the law firm of Cantor & Burger strongly agrees, but that is the law in the state of Missouri. Your economic damages are the damages for things such lost wages or the cost of medical care, and they do not have a limit or cap.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations in medical malpractice in Missouri is two years (if the medical malpractice causes death the statute of limitations for wrongful death is three years). This is the general rule, but there are exceptions. For instance, if a foreign object is left in a body, the statute may be extended to when you knew or should have known of that failure, but in no instance can a lawsuit be pursued after 10 years. There are different rules and arguments that can be made for minor children or in the instance of on-going treatment with the same physician, but as a general rule you must be vigilant in pursuing your medical malpractice claim and act within two years of the discovery of the malpractice.
Affidavit
In a Missouri medical malpractice claim, the Plaintiff (the injured party), cannot just simply file a lawsuit as you could in a car accident, but rather must have an expert agreeing that you have a case. As your lawyer, we must file an affidavit stating that we have a doctor or an expert in that specific medical field stating that the standard of care was violated. We must identify who that expert is. If that is not filed within 90 days your cause of action may be dismissed. It can be very difficult to secure a written opinion from a doctor that the standard of care was breached by another doctor, and this requirement is strict. Therefore, a good lawyer will not file a medical malpractice lawsuit until they have a letter from a doctor stating that the standard of case was violated and are certain they can file an affidavit because. If you have a serious injury or death as a result of medical negligence, please call Cantor & Burger at 314-542-9999. We will meet with you and provide a free consultation. If we choose to accept you as a client, we will not charge a fee unless we win. We will forward all expenses necessary to pursue the claim. We work strictly on a contingency fee basis.
?The specific Missouri statutes can be found and are, in part, titled as follows:
?Sections:
Another helpful resource tool is The Missouri Board of healing arts, where complaints may be filed against doctors in the state of Missouri. Similar statutes exist in Illinois where Gary Burger routinely represents clients who are victims of Medical Negligence. Call us at 314 542-9999 to help you. Again, no money is necessary as we work on a contingency fee.
