Unfortunately, when placing your trust in the care of doctors or a hospital, things can go wrong, leaving you worse off than before. Let a Chicago Medical malpractice attorney at Smith LaCien LLP help you untangle the truth to see if your medical case was handled properly, or if the harm could have been prevented. Our Chicago injury lawyers have helped clients throughout Illinois with unique medical malpractice claims and are prepared to help with yours.
When we seek out help from medical professionals, we expect to be taken care of. When they act in a negligent manner, it can have a massive impact on all areas of your life. Their carelessness can result in catastrophic injuries that leave you suffocating under medical bills or unable to work. We can help you hold the negligent party accountable. You and your loved ones deserve justice; our law firm is here to accomplish that.
Our legal team is determined to ensure you have the information needed to make the right decision for your future. We will hold the nurses, doctors, and medical facilities accountable for their unnecessary mistakes, missed test results, and more. We will act as your fiercest advocate from beginning to end.
Chicago medical malpractice attorneys and trial lawyers Brian LaCien and Todd Smith are renowned for their integrity, diligence, and track record of success. They firmly stand by the principle that each client we serve deserves undivided attention and are active members of the legal community in Chicago.
For over two decades, Brian LaCien has dedicated himself to aiding accident victims, winning millions in verdicts. Todd A. Smith has consistently been recognized as one of America’s top lawyers since 1995. With their collective expertise, they are committed to delivering the medical malpractice case verdict you deserve.
$20 MILLION – Obtained a major settlement for a college student who suffered brain damage while undergoing heart surgery. Smith LaCien LLP is a leader in the field of cases of medical malpractice law.
$10 MILLION – Granted to a 74-year-old client who suffered an adverse reaction to a pharmaceutical product, resulting in blindness. At Smith LaCien LLP, we handle both individual and class action suits in the field of drug interactions and medical product liability.
Not only can a medical malpractice attorney help you to know from the outset if you have grounds for a medical malpractice case or if your claim meets the definition of medical malpractice, but your attorney can also help to investigate your claim and craft a compelling case through the following:
You need the legal representation of a Chicago medical malpractice attorney with years of experience navigating the complexities of medical malpractice laws in Illinois to gain full recovery for your malpractice damages.
When health care professionals deviate from the accepted standards and it causes injury, malpractice cases often result. Sadly, medical malpractice is now widely recognized as the third leading cause of death in the United States, and your case may require the help of a wrongful death lawyer in Chicago. Medical errors may be mistakes of omission, such as failing to get informed consent or failing to strap a patient to a gurney. Other medical negligence situations are errors of commission such as leaving a surgical tool or piece of gauze inside a patient.
Some of the most common examples of medical malpractice include:
While not as common, some of the most catastrophic medical negligence cases are surgical errors such as wrong-patient, wrong-site, and wrong-side surgeries.
Similarly, birth injuries are often catastrophic and devastating, causing life-long injury to a child. Going over your case with a Chicago birth injury attorney is the first step to ensuring justice and fair compensation for medical malpractice.
While a medical professional may be entirely at fault for the error due to misjudgment, carelessness, or mistakes, medical malpractice is most commonly caused by administrative failures such as:
Regardless of the circumstances leading to the malpractice incident, medical providers and facilities must be held accountable for mistakes that cause great harm to patients in their care. Speak to an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Chicago from Smith LaCien today.
If you suspect that you’re a victim of medical malpractice, taking the following steps can help:
Proving medical malpractice requires demonstrating that the medical provider’s actions were negligent and that their negligence caused you to suffer injuries with related damages. The injury victim (plaintiff) in medical malpractice cases has the burden of proving the provider (defendant) liable for damages by using evidence to do the following:
A malpractice claim requires evidence that a doctor had an obligation to treat the patient at the industry-accepted level of care because a professional relationship was in place at the time the malpractice incident occurred.
All medical providers have a special duty of care to treat patients at the level of care expected by the medical community or the way a reasonable provider would have under the same circumstances. Proving that the provider breached this duty requires consulting with medical experts to show that the doctor acted negligently by failing to diagnose and treat the patient correctly or promptly within the guidelines of the medical community.
The investigation into the malpractice incident must clearly demonstrate how the doctor’s negligence directly caused the injury. If something else caused harm to the patient during the time the patient was under the doctor’s care—for example, if the patient took an illegal, or unprescribed medication errors and suffered an ill effect—then the doctor did not commit malpractice because something other than the doctor’s care caused the injury.
To recover compensation, the injury victim must be able to prove that they’ve suffered damages due to the injury. Typically, this requires showing evidence such as medical bills to demonstrate expenses, employer statements proving lost work days, and expert testimony of health care providers to highlight the amount of pain and suffering associated with the type of injury and for how long the patient is likely to continue to experience pain and suffering until they reach maximum physical recovery.
If you have suffered an injury as a result of substandard care by your doctor or another health care provider, you have a time limit known as a statute of limitations to take legal action. Under Illinois law, a medical malpractice action must be brought within two years after the date on which the victim knew or should have known of their injury or death related to medical error. However, regardless of when a victim becomes aware of their injury, no medical malpractice action can be brought after four years from the date of the medical error that caused the victim’s injury or death.
In a medical malpractice action, you may make claims for your economic and noneconomic medical malpractice damages. Your economic damages are tangible losses such as past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and other tangible losses that can be objectively determined. Noneconomic damages are intangible losses such as pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and disability.
Prior to 2010, there was a limit on the amount of non-economic damages that a victim could claim. Those limits have been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois. Now, there is no cap on the number of damages a victim of medical malpractice can claim. Nevertheless, the value of the damages in your claim must be supported by sufficient evidence.
Smith LaCien LLP understands how important it is to get you full compensation for your damages and we will work tirelessly to achieve the case results you deserve.
The majority of medical malpractice claims are resolved through an out-of-court settlement from the provider’s malpractice insurance. Only if the insurance company fails to provide ample compensation for the injury or seriously underestimates the value of the claim does the case proceed to court in a lawsuit.
Because the types of injuries caused by medical malpractice vary greatly in severity, the amount of compensation also varies, depending on the cost of medical expenses related to correcting the malpractice injury, the amount of time away from work during the patient’s recovery, the level of pain and suffering caused by the injury, and whether or not the malpractice injury caused permanent disability, impairment, or disfigurement.
Illinois has some of the highest average settlement amounts in the U.S. for malpractice injuries. The average settlement amount is over $700,000. Over $180 million has been paid to malpractice claimants in Illinois in the past decade. Does this mean your case is worth $700,000 or more? Possibly, but not necessarily. The evidence in the case and a careful calculation of your damages by your Chicago medical malpractice attorney will give you a better idea of the settlement you might expect.
The settlement amount depends on the following factors:
A consultation with your attorney will give you a better idea of the amount of compensation that could be available for your unique claim.
The overwhelming majority of personal injury claims—including medical malpractice claims—settle out of court through a skilled medical malpractice attorney’s strong, evidence-backed negotiations with the provider’s malpractice insurance company. Only if the insurance company fails to compensate a valid claim or offers an unacceptably low settlement amount does the case proceed to a courtroom in a malpractice lawsuit. If litigation in court occurs in your case, you may be required to testify about your injury and the related damages. A Chicago medical malpractice attorney from Smith Lacien, LLP will gladly defend your rights and best interests in court if required to maximize your compensation.
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Many people use the terms “medical negligence” and medical malpractice” interchangeably, but there are subtle differences in the meanings of the terms and how they’re viewed in a claim. Proving medical malpractice requires showing that the doctor or medical provider acted negligently by not treating the patient at the industry-accepted level of care; however, there are differences in the way an attorney, the insurance company, and a judge treat a case depending on whether or not it’s medical negligence or malpractice.
The main difference between the two types of claims depends on the provider’s intent:
Mistakes in the medical field have serious and sometimes grave consequences. Even if a doctor’s mistake was unintentional, if they did not treat the victim the way another reasonable medical professional would have under the same circumstances, they are liable for damages.
If you believe you are a victim of medical malpractice, it is important to contact an experienced attorney as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the higher the chance that these medical professionals will take advantage of more innocent malpractice victims. Call our office in Chicago today for a free consultation at (312) 509-8900 to learn more about how we can help. You can also email us.
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