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Medical Malpractice Attorney: When should you hire an attorney for a medical malpractice claim in South Carolina or North Carolina?
South Carolina Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Shockingly, malpractice is the third leading cause of death in the United States, falling just behind heart disease and cancer. We entrust medical providers to safely practice the medicine and not injury patients. Unfortunately, that is not always the case and medical providers act outside the accepted norms of their practice and cause severe injury or even death to their patients. When medical providers make mistakes, the patient can suffer long last impairments or even death and may have a continued sense of distrust of the medical field.
If you or a loved on suffered harm because of a health provider’s negligence, you may be able to obtain compensation for your losses by making a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit. Contact a qualified South Carolina Medical Malpractice Attorney.
- Amputations
- Asbestos exposure
- Back injuries
- Birth injuries
- Brain injuries/TBI
- Broken bones
- Burn injuries
- Bus accidents
- Car accidents
- Dog bites
- Drug injuries
- Hip & groin injuries
- Medical device injuries
- Medical malpractice
- Mesothelioma
- Motorcycle accidents
- Nursing home abuse / negligence
- Pedestrian accidents
- Premises liability
- Product liability
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Truck accidents
- Workplace injuries
- Wrongful death
North Carolina Medical Malpractice Attorney
Whether you or your loved one is prescribed the wrong medication or subjected to a surgery gone wrong, the injuries can be life-altering. Fortunately, our justice system provides victims of medical malpractice a way to seek significant recoveries. If you or a loved one has been harmed due to medical malpractice, you may be able to gain compensation through a personal injury claim.
At Keibler Law Group, our North Carolina medical malpractice attorney understands how overwhelming these situations can be. With the cost of medical bills and significant pain and suffering, you may not know where to start. Our dedicated legal team help personal injury victims in North Carolina and South Carolina. We will handle all of the legal aspects of your case while you focus on recovery.
Reach out to us and we will provide you a free case evaluation. In fact, if it is determined you have claim you will pay no upfront costs if and until you receive compensation. We take medical malpractice claims on a contingency fee basis – meaning the Keibler Law Group pays only receive gets paid if we get you money for your claim. Bringing these claims costs significant money to hire medical experts to testify on your behalf. Keibler Law Group pays for the costs upfront and only gets reimbursed for those costs if it successfully gets you money.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is when you are injured as a result of a medical professional’s negligence – often called medical negligence. This occurs when a hospital, doctor, or other health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, causes you injury. The negligence could be the result of errors in diagnosis (failure to diagnose), failure to treat, aftercare negligence, or health management.
In order to successfully bring a medical malpractice claim, you must show the following:
- A violation of the standard of care. The law acknowledges certain medical standards that are recognized by the profession as being acceptable medical treatment by a “reasonably prudent health care professional under similar circumstances.” This is known as the standard of care. A patient has the right to expect that their health care providers will deliver care that is consistent with these standards. If it is determined that the medical professional violated the appropriate standard of care, then negligence may be established.
- The medical provider’s negligence caused you injury. Just because a medical provider acted negligent, does not necessarily mean that is what caused the injury. The patient must also prove that she or he sustained an injury that would not have occurred in the absence of negligence. Sometimes this is obvious like when a medical provider leaves a medical device inside of a patient during surgery. Other times it can be more difficult to show the negligence caused your injury. In either case, you will want a creative and experienced attorney.
- The injury resulted in significant damages. Medical malpractice lawsuits are extremely expensive to litigate and often requires testimony of numerous medical experts and lengthy deposition testimony. For a case to be viable, you must show that significant damages resulted from an injury received due to the medical negligence. KLG can help evaluate your claim and determine if a lawsuit is best for you.
If you are able, we recommend keeping a journal or daily log after a you’ve been injured. Journals help you remember what you may have felt at the time of the injury, help you recall details, feelings, your surroundings, and possible struggles you were or are facing. A journal can be in many forms – it can be handwritten, typed, spoken on your phone, video recorded. Journals can also help with mental health after an injury.
Types of Medical Malpractice
We hope that healthcare professionals perform their duties in a safe and admirable manner, however, many also make errors when they are providing services. Medical malpractice is a form of misconduct that involves a doctor, nurse, or any other healthcare professional harming a patient through negligence or recklessness.
In the United States, common types of medical malpractice include, but are not limited to:
Emergency room errors
The emergency room can be a hectic place, however, that does not change the level of care you receive. If you were harmed as a result of negligence in the emergency room in the Carolinas, you may have a medical malpractice claim.
Misdiagnosis
In many cases, doctors are unsure about a patient’s condition. The doctor may simply assign a diagnosis instead of running additional tests. Or perhaps a doctor misreads or interprets a test. When this happens, you may not receive the care you need. You might also be given treatment that causes serious and unreasonable side effects.
Problems with Medication
A doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or another medical professional may have given you the wrong medication or dosage. This can cause serious unwanted side effects and significant suffering.
Surgical Negligence
When a doctor or anesthesiologist is inadequately prepared for a surgery, things can go terribly wrong. Organs can be damaged, blood vessels can be severed, and serious complications can arise that could ultimately lead to death. Too many times, surgeons leave foreign objects such as a sponge or scissors in a patient causing severe pain and requiring subsequent surgeries.
Pregnancy and Child Birth
A child is most vulnerable when they are in the womb. Even the slightest mistakes, such as the mother taking unsafe medications, can lead to serious birth defects. Problems can also arise during childbirth in the hospital.
How Much is my Medical Malpractice Claim Worth?
If you were harmed due to medical provider’s recklessness or negligence, you have the option of filing a personal injury claim. With this type of legal action, you are required to prove that the medical provider’s actions led to your injuries. You must establish that some form of medical malpractice took place. It must also be proven that your injuries were the direct result of the malpractice. In these cases, the burden of proof can be high, meaning that it can be difficult to convince the judge or jury that you were the victim of medical malpractice. For this reason, seeking the help of an experienced lawyer is essential. A legal professional can make your case for you, devising a legal strategy that will give your case the best possible chance of success.
In medical malpractice cases, funds may be sought for the following losses:
- Pain and suffering
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Physical limitations
- Loss of consortium, or loss of relationships
- Disfigurement
Contact a Carolina Medical Malpractice attorney for a free evaluation.
What is the Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice in South Carolina? – 3 Years
If you have been victimized by careless and reckless medical care, you must act quickly if you wish to seek funds for your injuries. In South Carolina, there are strict requirements associated with filing a personal injury lawsuit. According to state law, anyone who wishes to file a civil suit for injuries must do so within three years of when their injury is discovered. However, once six years have passed, you lose your right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in South Carolina, even if you did not know (or couldn’t have known) you were harmed by malpractice during that time, subject to a few rare exceptions. The most common exception to this six year bar is when a medical provider inadvertently or accidently leaves a foreign object in your body – such as a sponge, gauze, or tools like scissors. In these situations (which happens more often than you would hope), the lawsuit must be filed within two years from the date you discover the foreign object.
However, there may be exceptions depending on the circumstances. For example, if the medical provider is a government agency the statute of limitations pursuant to the South Carolina Tort Claims Act (TCA) and the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) is two years unless certain steps are taken. It is important to contact an experience South Carolina Medical Malpractice Attorney to determine when to file.
What is the Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice in North Carolina? – 3 Years
If you have been victimized by careless and reckless medical care, you must act quickly if you wish to seek funds for your injuries. In North Carolina, there are strict requirements associated with filing a personal injury lawsuit. According to state law, anyone who wishes to file a civil suit for injuries must do so within three years of when their injury is discovered. However there are several exceptions:
- For cases where injuries are not apparent right away, cases must be filed within one year of when the injury was or should have been discovered, with no more than four years passing from the date the injury was caused.
- For foreign objects left in the body, cases must be brought within one year of when the injury was or should have been discovered, and must be brought within 10 years from the date when the foreign object was left in the body.
South Carolina’s Medical Malpractice Damages Cap
Are damages capped in medical malpractice claims in South Carolina? – Yes
South Carolina has a statute that places a “cap” on the amount of compensation that can be award to a plaintiff in medical malpractice actions. In other words, even after a plaintiff proves (and the jury agrees) that the medical provider committed malpractice, the law limits the actual amount of damages that you can receive.
In order to understand the statute, you need to understand the three types of damages.
Economic damages usually consist of payment from past and future medical care, reimbursement of lost income, compensation for lost earning capacity, and other financial losses caused by the malpractice. These damages are not capped in South Carolina.
Non-economic damages include compensation for things like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and the loss of enjoyment of life that resulted from the malpractice. These damages are not as easy to “capture” with a dollar amount.
Punitive damages are designed to punish the defendant and deter future bad actors. They are in excess of quantifiable, economic damages and pain and suffering, non-economic damages.
The damages cap in South Carolina applies only to non-economic and punitive damages. In general: there is a $350,000 cap on non-economic damages in any medical malpractice case against a single care provider or institution.
For a judgment against more than one defendant, there is a $1.05 million total non-economic damages cap and a single care provider or institution cannot be liable for more than $350,000.
In South Carolina, punitive damages – damages intended to punish the defendant – cannot exceed three times the amount of actual damages (economic and non-economic damages combined) or $500,000 – whichever is greater. As an example, if the jury determines $100,00 in actual damages, punitive damages are capped at $500,000. If a jury awards you $200,000 in actual damages, punitive damages are capped at $600,000 – 3x the amount of actual damages. There are various exceptions that can both increase or limit the punitive damages cap.
These damage caps are adjusted each year for inflation. As of 2021, the current medical malpractice damages caps in South Carolina for non-economic injuries are: $479,064 against a single care provider or institution and $1,437,192 for each claimant against ALL health care providers involved in a medical negligence claim. As of 2021, the current punitive damages cap in South Carolina is $594,204 or 3x your actual damages, whichever is higher.
Calculated damages can get complicated. This is another reason it is important to hire a knowledgeable, creative, and attentive attorney who understands the law and can maximize the amount of compensation you are owed.
North Carolina’s Medical Malpractice Damages Cap
Are damages capped in medical malpractice claims in North Carolina? – Yes
North Carolina has a statute that places a “cap” on the amount of compensation that can be award to a plaintiff in medical malpractice actions. In other words, even after a plaintiff proves (and the jury agrees) that the medical provider committed malpractice, the law limits the actual amount of damages that you can receive.
In order to understand the statute, you need to understand types of damages.
Economic damages usually consist of payment from past and future medical care, reimbursement of lost income, compensation for lost earning capacity, and other financial losses caused by the malpractice. These damages are NOT capped in North Carolina.
Non-economic damages include compensation for things like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and the loss of enjoyment of life that resulted from the malpractice. These damages are not as easy to “capture” with a dollar amount.
Punitive damages are designed to punish the defendant and deter future bad actors. They are in excess of quantifiable, economic damages and pain and suffering, non-economic damages.
The damages cap in North Carolina applies only to non-economic and punitive damages. In general: there is a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages in any medical malpractice case in North Carolina.
However, there are exceptions to the North Carolina damages cap. The cap does not apply to non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases if (1) the plaintiff suffered the loss of use of part of their body, permanent injury, disfigurement, or death; or (2) the defendant’s actions were grossly negligent, reckless, fraudulent, committed with malice, or intentional.
In North Carolina, punitive damages – damages intended to punish the defendant – cannot exceed three times the amount of actual damages (economic and non-economic damages combined) or $250,000 – whichever is greater. As an example, if the jury determines $50,00 in actual damages, punitive damages are capped at $250,000. If a jury awards you $200,000 in actual damages, punitive damages are capped at $600,000 – 3x the amount of actual damages. There are various exceptions that can both increase or limit the punitive damages cap.
These damage caps are adjusted each year for inflation. As of 2020, the current medical malpractice damages caps in North Carolina for non-economic injuries are: $562,338.
This is another reason it is important to hire a knowledgeable, creative, and attentive attorney who understands the law and can maximize the amount of compensation you are owed.
Getting Help From A Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If you or a love one has suffered injuries as a result of a medical providers malpractice, you should contact Keibler Law Group for a free, no-risk consultation. We’d be happy to evaluate your claim and determine if filing a suit is right for you. We can help you gain justice and recover compensation to assist in your recovery from the malpractice. Our South Carolina and North Carolina medical malpractice attorney has the knowledge, resources, and dedication to get you the maximum compensation for your claim. Whether you have been injured in a poorly performed surgery or hurt by dangerous medication, you deserve to be compensated for your losses.