Part of going to a health care professional involves placing trust in them to help you get better through medication, diagnosis, or surgery. If you suffered harm from a health practitioner’s error, you might face physical complications, additional bills, and lost income.

Establishing that your injuries were caused by malpractice is a complex process, and it is not something that you should have to face alone. A skilled personal injury attorney could be the ally you need in your claim. A Cleveland medical negligence lawyer could help you navigate your claim and ensure you get the best compensation possible.

What is Medical Negligence?

Also called medical malpractice, this occurs when health care professionals act or fail to act appropriately when it comes to the treatment of their patient. Common forms of health care malpractice include:

  • Failing to diagnose
  • Improperly reading test results
  • Failing to order correct tests
  • Failing to cover a patient’s history or recognize symptoms
  • Doing unnecessary surgery
  • Performing surgery on the incorrect body part
  • Failing to perform proper follow-up care
  • Discharging a patient too early

An accomplished attorney in Cleveland could help an injured person determine if their losses were caused by medical malpractice.

Filing a Health Care Negligence Lawsuit

Establishing what caused a patient’s injuries may be complicated, but it may be the sole way to get financial compensation. To determine negligence, the injured person needs to provide evidence that the health care practitioner violated the standard of care, resulting in their injuries.  Proving a violation of a standard of care may be challenging without the aid of a health care negligence attorney in Cleveland.

Under Ohio Rule of Civil Procedure 10(D)(2), these types of negligence lawsuits must include an affidavit of merit. This affidavit is made by a medical expert and must state that they have reviewed the evidence, they are familiar with the applicable standard of care, that they think that standard was not met for the injured patient, and that the patient’s injuries were caused by a health care professional’s failure to meet that standard of care.

Compensation in Medical Malpractice Claims

Patients who are hurt by their health care providers may be able to claim financial compensation for additional bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and future expenses for their recovery. If someone dies because of their injuries, compensation could also cover funeral costs.

A qualified lawyer may be able to help explain the financial compensation available and what types of damage caps there are on specific claims. Under Ohio Revised Code § 2323.43(A)(2), non-economic damages in certain cases are limited to $250,000 or three times the economic damages up to a maximum of $350,000, whichever is greater.

If someone loses their life due to malpractice, there is no damage cap because the state does not have financial recovery limits in wrongful death cases.  A skilled Cleveland medical malpractice attorney could help determine if there are any caps on compensation in someone’s case.

Deadlines for Recovering Awards

Under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.113, injured patients have only one year after discovering the medical error occurred to file a lawsuit. The law also provides a four-year deadline called a statute of repose.

Book a Consultation with a Cleveland Medical Negligence Attorney Today

If you suffered injuries due to health care malpractice, you may face additional costs and unexpected recovery times. While you focus on healing from your damages, a compassionate Cleveland medical negligence lawyer could help you achieve the best results possible in your claim.

Call our caring attorneys for assistance as soon as possible to ensure you are being fairly represented in your case.