When a medical professional fails to treat a patient properly and the patient is injured as a result, a person can file a medical malpractice suit, a special type of personal injury case. Defendants of medical malpractice suits are generally doctors, hospitals, nurses or other medical professionals, any of which demonstrate negligence that leads to a patient’s injury or death. The court holds medical malpractice defendants to the standard of care of similarly situated health care providers in the same or similar circumstances.
Common medical malpractice claims include:
- Failure to provide a proper diagnosis or providing a misdiagnosis;
- Improper consent or non-consent to receive treatment;
- Failure to disclose known risks of the treatment;
- Failure to provide proper treatment; and
- Unauthorized disclosure of confidential information.
Here are three things to know about medical malpractice suits:
Know the Statutes of Limitations and Award Limit Basics -
In the state of Indiana, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice suits is two years from the date of incident.
In instances where the act of malpractice doesn’t show up for an extended period of time, the two-year timer begins when the first symptoms are discovered, or when one should have reasonably discovered the symptoms.
In scenarios where the injured patient is a minor younger than age six when the medical malpractice occurred, the parents or guardian of the child have until the child’s eighth birthday to explore medical malpractice.
Know How to Prove Medical Malpractice
You and your attorney will need to collect and provide certain key information to prove you are the victim of medical malpractice:
- Test results, medical records, and treatment records as they relate to your injury;
- A timeline of the events as they occurred and all parties involved in the malpractice incident;
- Expert testimony provided by medical professionals.
The personal injury attorneys at CCHA are well-versed in these matters and prepared to help ensure professional standards are upheld, accountability is enforced and victims receive the compensation they are owed.
Know the damage/compensation caps for the state of Indiana
Indiana has a series of laws that help balance protection to both patients and doctors. The Indiana Compensation Act for Patients (INCAP) strives to compensate injured and wronged patients while still keeping insurance rates as reasonable as possible. INCAP has increased the damage caps several times since the Act took effect over thirty years ago. The damages cap is currently at $1.8 million for any patient seeking medical malpractice compensation for an act of malpractice occurring after June 30, 2019..
If found liable, the defendant is responsible only for paying the first half a million dollars in damages. The rest is pulled from Indiana’s Patient Compensation Fund, which prevents doctors from paying excessive insurance rates as well as ensures medical malpractice victims don’t lose money because of inadequate insurance policies.
Contact CCHA for personal injury attorneys you can trust
CCHA’s personal injury attorneys are here to help you seek justice after suffering from medical malpractice. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident because of someone else’s negligence, it is important that you have a qualified personal injury lawyer representing you from the outset. Contact us for a partner you can trust.
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