"Consent Forms" and Patient's Rights

Those of you who have been to a hospital lately have most likely signed a “consent” form, although you probably did not read it closely and it was presented to you with a bunch of other papers to sign by some clerk or possibly a nurse who was in a hurry.

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.

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.

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.   

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Help Everyone

Talk radio hosts and insurance lobbyists have made their careers criticizing people who file suit – as if using the courts guaranteed by the Constitution was dirty. Who is funding all this talk? People who get sued and their insurance companies, of course.

Powerful people and their insurance companies don’t like being sued, but much more is at stake than the convenience of a negligent doctor or the profits of an insurance company.

Wrongful Death Lawsuits

At my firm we handle a variety of Wrongful Death lawsuits.  Because we work on so many medical malpractice cases, most of the Wrongful Death suits we handle are also medical malpractice cases. 

Just yesterday, I had a client call us about a medical malpractice case, but she wanted to know if we also handle Wrongful Death cases.  Since many people have asked this question over the years, I thought now would be a good time to talk about what a Wrongful Death case is.