Arizona Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Cronus Law provides top-quality legal representation to all causes of Medical Malpractice and has helped our clients recover millions of dollars. The qualified medical malpractice lawyers at Cronus Law have tremendous experience defending both patients and healthcare professionals. By understanding both sides, our experienced medical malpractice lawyers can strategize and provide alternative resolution techniques that other firms can’t.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., killing about 402,000 American citizens per year, right behind heart disease and cancer (The Journal of the American Medical Association). It occurs when a health care provider deviates from the standard of care for a patient. This standard is identified by what a reasonably prudent medical provider would or would not have done under the same or similar circumstances. Simply, it identifies medical negligence while a patient is under the care of doctors, nurses, technicians, pathologists, hospitals, nursing home facilities, or any person that provides medical care.

What are the causes of Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice is preventable. When you visit doctors or other trained healthcare professionals, you don’t expect these medical professionals to hurt you. Unfortunately, there are occasions in which these medical professionals fail to live up to medical standards. Overworked nurses, unprepared surgeons, careless physicians, and short-staffed hospitals could cause patients harm and possibly even death. Healthcare professionals should be held accountable for any errors when operating on patients or the potential injuries that they have caused.

The top causes of Medical Malpractice are:

Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis – This continues to be the undisputed number one cause of Medical Malpractice in outpatient settings. The delay robs the patient of time to treat the proper medical concern and exposes the patient to unnecessary treatment that can cause more harm or even death.

Childbirth – When you think of medical negligence, you probably wouldn’t think of childbirth. Unfortunately, there are numerous ways in which a fetus could be injured during pregnancy or birth. These injuries can result in lifelong conditions, including cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, paralysis, or even death to the mother or child. Injuries can be traced back to the various stages of pregnancy care. OB/GYNs can be sued for negligent prenatal care, including failure to diagnose the condition of the mother. Preeclampsia, Rh incompatibility, anemia, hypoglycemia, gestational diabetes, herpes, HIV, or lupus are all conditions that could hurt the fetus. General surgeons are often sued for failure to anticipate birth complications due to the fetal size, failure to catch a nuchal cord, failure to perform a C-section, or improper use of forceps or a vacuum extractor, all of which can cause iatrogenic injuries.

Anesthesia – Though anesthesia mistakes are not as common as surgical errors, they can be much more critical. The smallest errors in administering anesthesia can result in injury, brain damage, or death. Typical claims might include:

• Failing to solicit a complete patient history indicative of possible complications
• Failing to apprise the patient of necessary preoperative procedures to avoid aspiration
• Neglecting vital signs
• Excessive anesthesia
• Using defective equipment
• Failed endotracheal intubation

 Informed Consent – Health care providers are required to follow the patient’s wishes and provide enough information to allow the patient to make an informed decision. If a patient is unaware of the risks involved in a procedure resulting in a severe outcome, the patient would have good reason to initiate a Medical Malpractice lawsuit.

Infection – Hospitals and clinics are crawling with pathogens and heavy hitting superbugs like Staphylococcus aureus and life-altering COVID-19. Healthcare negligence leading to severe infection can be the base of a Medical Malpractice claim.

Medication Errors – Between 7,000 to 9,000 people in the United States die from medication errors. There are so many errors that can be made with medications, from an error with the initial prescription to improper administration of a drug to overlooking drug to drug interactions. In the hospital environment, medication errors typically result in overdoses, however, there could be errors where a patient is administered the drug of a different patient.

Surgical Errors – General surgeons are the physicians most likely to be sued due to Medical Malpractice. It is very common for surgeons to make negligent mistakes including puncturing an organ, ligating the wrong blood vessel, operating on the wrong anatomical site, or leaving sponges/instruments in the body. Nursing staff can also make errors during the postoperative phase including the administration of the wrong medications, inappropriate intervention that leads to infection, or failure to give adequate postoperative instructions that lead to complications.

What are the elements of a Medical Malpractice claim?

While each Medical Malpractice claim is unique, they all have the following in common:

• Proof of a professional relationship between the patient and health care practitioner at the time of medical injury.
• Clear evidence that there was a breach of care where the defendant failed to fulfill a duty of care to you.
• The defendant’s negligence must be the cause of your injuries to serve as a basis for your Medical Malpractice claim.
• Clear evidence of damages you have suffered due to the defendant’s breach of duty, which could include medical bills, physical pain, emotional distress, lost quality of life, or lost income.

What can you do about it?

Each Medical Malpractice case is unique and Cronus Law can help. Contact us for a consultation with our experienced Medical Malpractice lawyers to determine if you or a loved one’s injuries are due to Medical Malpractice.