Hysterectomy--the surgical removal of a woman's uterus- is one of the most common surgeries in the world.  Approximately 600,000 hysterectomies are performed annually in the United States, and approximately 20 million American women have had a hysterectomy. By the age of 60, more than one-third of all women have had a hysterectomy.

In analyzing whether you have a good medical malpractice case, we’ll look at three issues:

1. Did the Doctor Make an Inexcusable Mistake?

It is not enough in a medical malpractice case to prove that a doctor made a mistake. Some mistakes are excusable and are not medical malpractice.

For example, during a surgery, a doctor may accidentally cut something he didn’t intend to cut. This is probably medical malpractice, but in some cases may be an excusable mistake, and therefore not medical malpractice.

Wernicke’s Encephalopathy Misdiagnosis Causes Severe Injuries and Death

One of the most consistent goals of so-called “tort reform” is to put an upper limit on the amount that a defendant has to pay for the damage he causes in injury suits.  For example, in Texas, where there are such limits, a doctor can kill a child or a housewife or a grandfather through malpractice and only have to pay a maximum of $250,000 for doing so—no matter how bad the negligence.  That’s it:  the value placed on human life is $250,000.

In just the last couple of decades, there have been dramatic improvements in methods of treating cancer and diagnosing cancer.  While cancer misdiagnosis cases are particularly tragic, our team has been handling more and more misdiagnosis cases involving not only cancer but other diseases.

Diseases like meningitis, and injuries like bleeding in the brain from an accident or a stroke, can now be diagnosed and cured with speed and precision that could not have been imagined even a few years ago.

Most lawsuits settle before they go to trial.   

Usually money changes hands, but often not:  sometimes cases settle for an apology, an agreement to change the terms of a contract, or even an agreement to enter into another contract which is lucrative to both sides.

So what about the cases that end up in court?  What makes cases go to trial instead of settling?  There are a lot of reasons for that, but they can be distilled into three general categories.

A Rigged System Protects Negligent Doctors

Many Victims--But Very Few Malpractice Suits.  Why?

Study after study--by the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine, the National Institute of Health, major medical schools and others, has conclude that hundreds of thousands of people die every year in this country because of medical malpractice.  Hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of other people are injured due to medical negligence.   

Many Victims--But Very Few Malpractice Suits.  Why?

Study after study--by the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine, the National Institute of Health, major medical schools and others, has conclude that hundreds of thousands of people die every year in this country because of medical malpractice.  Hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of other people are injured due to medical negligence.   

SHOULD THERE BE “CAPS” ON DAMAGES THAT JURIES CAN AWARD?