Medical Malpractice

Doctors and other health care providers sometimes make mistakes. Some of these mistakes may have serious consequences, necessitating further medical care. Tragically, many people around the country die due to preventable medical errors. Determining whether a particular event constitutes medical malpractice may require an analysis of medical records and other evidence by an experienced injury attorney and a doctor or nurse. If you suffer a harmful outcome due to a medical error, you should consult the Grand Rapids, Detroit, and Traverse City medical malpractice lawyers at the Neumann Law Group.

Medical malpractice occurs when a health care professional fails to comply with the applicable standard of care, thereby causing harm to a patient. In order to prove the applicable standard of care and causation, the plaintiff will need to present an expert witness. The expert will need to be a licensed health care professional who practices or teaches in the same specialty as the defendant in the case, and the expert must have the same board certifications. The opinion is admitted only if the court determines it is reliable and will help the trier of fact.

Particularly in Michigan, you must comply with special requirements if you file a malpractice lawsuit. You will need to file your claim within two years of the malpractice date or six months from the date on which you discovered there was malpractice. There are some limited exceptions. However, you should consult an attorney right away to make sure that the attorney has time to evaluate whether your claim is viable.

Among other procedural requirements, your attorney will need to secure an affidavit of merit in which an expert certifies that your claim contains evidence of malpractice. The affidavit will need to set forth the applicable standard of care, the opinion that the defendant breached this standard, the actions that should have been taken by the defendant to avoid the breach, and how the breach was a proximate (legal) cause of your injury. The defendant is required to answer with a similar affidavit that he or she has a meritorious defense.

In Michigan, there is a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. These are damages that involve a subjective assessment, such as pain and suffering or mental anguish. The cap, when it was set in 1993, was $280,000, except when the plaintiff suffered spinal cord or brain injury, cognitive impairment, or loss of reproductive activity, in which case the cap was $500,000. These amounts have increased yearly based on the consumer price index. However, there is no cap on tangible, economic damages, such as medical expenses, lost earning capacity, and lost wages.

If you are injured or have lost a loved one due to negligence by a health care provider, you should consult the Traverse City, Detroit, and Grand Rapids medical malpractice attorneys at the Neumann Law Group. Kelly Neumann is an award-winning personal injury and wrongful death lawyer who has consistently obtained millions of dollars for her clients and recently obtained a settlement for a client of over $9 million. We also represent victims of medical malpractice in Flint, Detroit, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Wyoming, Saginaw, Midland, Muskegon, Holland, Ann Arbor, Warren, Dearborn, Petoskey, and throughout the Lower & Upper Peninsulas of Michigan, as well as the Boston and metro Boston areas. Neumann Law Group also represents injured individuals in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas in California. Contact us toll-free at 800-525-NEUMANN or via our online form to set up a free consultation.