Aggressive Tacoma Medical Malpractice Attorneys Ready To Serve You
Tacoma
, Washington, in Pierce County, is home to numerous top-rated medical institutions such as the St. Joseph Medical Center, the MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital, the Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, and many others. Nevertheless, doctors are human, too, and the unfortunate reality is that medical malpractice can occur anywhere, even though it is far more likely to occur at some institutions than others. If you think you deserve a medical malpractice claim, let the highly-experienced Tacoma medical malpractice lawyers at Brett McCandlis Brown & Conner PLLC fight for you.
Exactly What Is Medical Malpractice, Anyway?
Medical malpractice occurs when a health care provider’s treatment falls below a specific professional standard of care. Although a professional standard of care is much more exacting than the standard of care that, for example, would be expected of a witness to an accident who renders emergency first aid, it is not always intuitively obvious what this standard should be in any given situation. The standard of care is usually determined by expert medical testimony.
To win your claim, you must prove that:
- A doctor-patient relationship had been formed;
- A certain professional standard of care was required of your healthcare provider;
- Your health care provider failed to meet that standard; and
- You suffered harm as a result of your health care provider’s failure to meet the applicable standard of care. Causation might be lacking if, for example, your doctor failed to diagnose a condition that was untreatable anyway.
You must prove all of the compensation you are claiming using admissible evidence. Let the winning Tacoma medical malpractice attorneys at Brett McCandlis Brown & Conner PLLC assist you.
What Our Clients Say
“Best attorneys around. Extremely personable and knowledgeable especially in complicated cases! They work hard for you and keep you informed on what’s happening! I would refer people here in a heartbeat!” — Tara Pavone
Practice Areas
In addition to medical malpractice and medical negligence claims, we also handle the following types of claims:
- Car crash accidents
- Truck crash accidents
- Airplane accidents
- Boating accidents
- Severe or catastrophic injuries
- Dog bite attacks
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Motorcycle crash accidents
- Wrongful death
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the deadline for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit?
The normal deadline for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit is three years after the incident occurred. A minor, however, has until his 19th birthday to file a lawsuit. Before that, the minor’s parents can file a lawsuit on the minor’s behalf. Certain other exceptions sometimes apply. Under almost no circumstances, however, can a medical malpractice lawsuit be filed more than eight years after the malpractice occurred.
What is mandatory mediation?
In order to prevent frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits from interfering with the provision of medical services, Washington requires you to mediate a medical malpractice claim before filing a lawsuit. You are likely to need concrete evidence, however, even to reach a mediated settlement of your claim.
If the consent form I signed before surgery is held valid, can I still recover medical malpractice damages?
Yes, it is still possible. It is unlikely that you consented to allow your doctor to commit medical malpractice. In any case, such a consent form would be held invalid as a matter of public policy. You might also have a battery claim if the surgery performed on you went beyond the scope of the consent form that you signed.
Who can be held liable for medical malpractice?
Everyone knows that doctors can be held liable for medical malpractice. In addition to doctors, however, the following health care providers can also be sued under the right circumstances:
- Nurses
- Assistants
- Hospitals
- Hospital staff (orderlies, etc.
- Dentist
Medical equipment manufacturers can also be sued under a products liability theory.
Can I settle out of court with the defendant?
Yes, you can settle out of court with the defendant (or more likely, his malpractice insurance company); in fact, this is how most claims are resolved. To win a settlement, though, you are going to have to gather enough evidence to present a credible threat of winning in court should the opposing party refuse to settle.
The Medical Malpractice Process
After your free, confidential, no-obligation case consultation, you may want to sign up as a client of ours. Then, we begin the process of addressing your medical malpractice case. The first step that we take is an intake evaluation with the client and a thorough evaluation of all available, relevant medical records. If we do not have all of the records pertaining to your injury, our dedicated Tacoma medical malpractice lawyers go through the time and expense of obtaining the necessary records.
Once we have thoroughly evaluated your injury and overall claim, we will file your claim within the appropriate deadlines. At some point in the process, generally prior to the mandatory mediation required in Washington State for medical malpractice claims, we will need to enlist the help of medical experts. This is another area where you will be thankful to have a medical malpractice attorney in Tacoma representing you. We have access to an incredible network of the top experts relating to your injury, and we enlist their help without you having to pay a cent to the expert out of your pocket.
The medical expert or experts that we hire will evaluate your claim from a medical perspective and give an objective, medical opinion of your claim or claims. We will use the evaluation from the medical expert to show the other side where the provider went wrong, how they damaged you, and why you are entitled to money for that damage. Oftentimes, we are able to settle cases out of court based upon the medical expert opinions, utilizing our trained negotiation skills.
If we are unable to settle your case, we then proceed to court where we will show the court why you are entitled to financial compensation for your injury. The medical experts will testify about your case to the court and present objective medical findings that support your position. We will enlist the help of any other relevant witnesses and professionals to show the court why you should prevail. After both sides have presented their evidence, the judge and/or jury will rule on your case and decide how much financial compensation you should receive for your injury.
Our highly trained Tacoma medical malpractice attorneys guide you through this process every step of the way and make sure that you know you are in good hands. Our team is always available to answer your questions and keep you posted on the status of your case.
You Can Afford Us No Matter What Your Finances Are
How can you possibly afford to retain a top-tier personal injury law firm to handle your claim? Well, it’s easier than you think. We charge nothing unless we win your case and the money has already arrived. Our legal fees are calculated as a pre-agreed percentage of your compensation. Get the assistance of our Tacoma medical negligence attorneys today.
You’re Going to Need a Medical Malpractice Attorney in Your Corner
Medical malpractice claims tend to be scientifically complex, and many health care providers will fight to the bitter end against a medical malpractice claim. That’s OK because we have seen it all before and we know exactly what to do. Contact the proven Tacoma medical malpractice lawyers at Brett McCandlis Brown & Conner PLLC immediately or fill out our online contact form so that we can schedule you a free, confidential, no-obligation case consultation.
