Medical Malpractice Attorney in Hanover Park, Illinois

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 When someone is injured as the result of an accident, you can often seek compensation from the at-fault party either through an insurance settlement or by bringing forward a personal injury claim. But if the injury occurs in a healthcare setting due to medical malpractice or medical negligence, these suits can be much harder to bring forward.  

If something like this has happened to you or a loved one and you want to learn more about the compensation available in a medical malpractice claim, call us at Maritote Law. We’re able to represent clients in and around the Hanover Park, Illinois, region, including Cook County, Schaumburg, Bloomingdale, and Rosedale.

You may be able to bring a medical malpractice claim forward if you were a patient who was injured due to the negligent actions of a healthcare professional, and this can happen under several different circumstances: 

• a doctor misdiagnosing your condition 
• a failure to diagnose a condition in the first place 
• a nurse administering the wrong drug or dosage 
• a surgeon making a mistake that causes permanent injury 
• an infection received while admitted to a hospital 
• childbirth injuries 
• failure to warn a patient about the potential risks of a procedure or treatment program 
• an anesthesiologist administering the wrong dosage of drugs before a surgery 

In Illinois, you must bring a medical malpractice case forward within two years of the date of injury to stay within the statute of limitations. In cases where the injury wasn’t detected for weeks or months after the precipitating incident, the timeline will start from the date the patient was aware of the injury. However, even under these circumstances, in most cases, you cannot bring a case forward more than four years from the date the medical error occurred.

The exception to this is if the injured patient was a minor, in which case you have up to eight years or before the victim’s 22nd birthday to file a lawsuit. 

Illinois has basic auto liability insurance requirements known as 25-50-20. The 25 stands for $25,000 in liability coverage for injury or death you cause to one person, and the 50 is for $50,000 in liability coverage for injury or death you cause to all persons. The final 20 is for $20,000 in property damage insurance. Note that the basic policy only covers property damage, injury, or death that you cause to other drivers. It doesn’t cover you.

To cover yourself, you can purchase collision coverage. To cover injury to yourself and your passengers, you can purchase a Medical Pay (MedPay) rider. Illinois does, however, recommend that even those with basic auto policies also purchase uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage. These policies can help pay for damages and injuries if the at-fault driver has insufficient coverage or no coverage.

In any personal injury lawsuit, you always need to know who the liable party is. For example, in a car crash, it can be fairly simple to identify who caused the accident and who can be held legally at fault. However, in a medical malpractice case, it can be much harder to know who was responsible for the error occurring and whether you have standing to file a lawsuit against them. 

So, who can be liable in a medical malpractice claim? Contrary to what many people may believe, it’s not just doctors but any medical professional who has a duty of care to the patient that they neglected in some way. This includes nurses, anesthesiologists, pharmacists, medical technicians, dentists, psychiatrists, specialists, pharmaceutical companies, and hospitals.

Note that just because a medical professional made a mistake or your outcome wasn't as beneficial as expected, that doesn’t mean that you can automatically file a claim against them. You’ll be required to include expert medical testimony stating that the actions of the individual were below the standard of care that someone else in their field would have provided and the injury was directly related to this. This is a complicated requirement but can be made easier by working with a medical malpractice attorney. 

Both personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits face a two-year statute of limitations in Illinois. The personal injury clock starts ticking on the date of your injury. For a wrongful death legal action, the starting point is the date of death, which may be later than the injuries that resulted in death. Under Illinois law, a wrongful death occurs when a person dies as a result of another party's "wrongful act, neglect, or default."

The standard for bringing a wrongful death lawsuit is that, had the person lived, he or she could have initiated a personal injury lawsuit. Illinois law requires that the personal representative named in the person’s will (also known as an executor of the estate) should file a wrongful death lawsuit.

If there is no will or no one so named, then the court will appoint someone, often a family member. When the judgment is reached, the settlement naturally goes to the family, starting with the surviving spouse and children.

It’s not advised to deal with insurance claim adjusters on your own. Let our legal team at Maritote Law pursue your claim. We will also examine the details of what happened in the accident, and if a lawsuit is warranted, we will launch the necessary legal action and fight aggressively for your just compensation. Reach out immediately. Your first consultation is free. 

Before you take the first steps of contacting a personal injury attorney about an injury from a doctor’s negligence, you should understand the basics of bringing forward a claim. Specifically, you should know what elements are needed to prove medical malpractice: 

1. There was a doctor/patient relationship: This is the easiest element to prove in your case. Basically, you must show that you had an established healthcare relationship with your provider and they were treating you directly.   
2. The doctor was negligent: You’ll next need to prove that the provider was negligent in their care, not simply that you weren’t satisfied with their care. This is typically done by comparing the actions of your provider to someone in a similar position in the medical field.   
3. The negligence led to injury: Third, you must show a direct connection between the doctor’s negligent action and your injury. 
4. The injury caused damages: Lastly, you must be able to show that the injury resulted in damages to you. 

The nature and extent of your injuries can dramatically affect the kind of damages you’re able to seek. In general, medical malpractice victims can pursue general damages (such as loss of enjoyment or pain and suffering), special damages (which are typically lost wages or medical bills), and punitive damages (which are usually reserved for only the most egregious actions).