Richmond Medical Malpractice Attorneys
Bringing a sophisticated, team-based approach to medical negligence claims in Virginia
At Phelan Petty, we work with a dedicated team of lawyers, nurses, and paralegals plus a nationwide network of physicians and surgeons to put your medical malpractice case in the best possible position for success. When you choose us to represent you, we use our extensive medical and legal knowledge to build your case, calculate your damages, and counter the insurance company’s defenses.
Because we only take on a select few medical malpractice claims each year, we can give your case all the time, attention, and resources it deserves. At Phelan Petty, our Richmond injury attorneys stay involved in every step of the process, gathering evidence and taking care of the legal details while keeping you informed about your case. We always work to strike the right balance between keeping you informed about the status of your claim and giving you the space you need to heal and live your life as normally as possible.
Contact us today for knowledgeable and compassionate legal guidance.
What is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a physician, nurse, therapist, or other medical provider fails to deliver medical treatment that meets acceptable standards of care. This can involve either an omission (like failing to diagnose a life-threatening health condition) or an active mistake (such as giving a patient the wrong medication or operating on the wrong body part).
Malpractice can occur in any setting where patients receive medical care. Examples of medical malpractice and negligence that we have personally seen in our practice include:
- Anesthesia and pain management errors
- Brain injuries resulting from a lack of oxygen (hypoxia)
- Birth injuries involving mother and child
- Bariatric surgery (gastric bypass, lap band) complications
- Bowel injuries, including perforations and obstructions as well as delayed diagnosis and treatment of injuries
- Bile duct injuries during gallbladder surgery
- Cerebral palsy due to physician errors during birth
- Communication errors
- Delayed diagnosis and improper treatment of cancers such as breast cancer, brain cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer, and bladder cancer
- Emergency room errors
- Failure to diagnose or treat a heart attack
- Failure to diagnose or treat a stroke
- Fetal death / Stillbirth
- Hospital-acquired infections
- Negligent hiring and medical credentialing practices
- Medication errors
- Radiology and x-ray errors
- Surgical errors, including wrong-site and wrong-level surgeries
- Veterans Administration (VA) hospital negligence
One of the first challenges and most important tasks involved in successfully pursuing a medical malpractice case is to identify the correct culpable party or parties. Multiple at-fault health care providers often contribute to our clients’ medical catastrophes. Our team at Phelan Petty commonly handles complex cases involving multi-party litigation against doctors, hospitals, nurses, long-term care facilities, and other medical organizations.
Medical Malpractice Case
"When Jonathan and Brielle came into our lives, what they brought to our family was a sense of order, a sense of peace."
Lori G.
How safe is my local hospital?
The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is a public service provided by the Leapfrog group, aimed at driving safety and transparency in the hospital system. A search for Richmond, Virginia hospitals provides current ratings for many of our local medical centers:
Our Richmond malpractice attorneys fight the insurance companies for you
Medical malpractice victims often struggle to find an experienced attorney who will handle their claim. Many lawyers will not even consider handling medical negligence claims because they’re complicated, expensive, and incredibly time-consuming. Often, the cases go on for years with no guarantee of a favorable outcome.
Insurance companies know that only a small percentage of medical malpractice victims will find an aggressive, skilled medical malpractice attorney, so they typically refuse to compensate injured patients who raise claims themselves. When a victim does retain counsel, the insurance companies hire teams of lawyers to fight these cases no matter how flagrant the doctor’s negligence or careless conduct was. They assume they can win most cases by outspending the injured victims and paying expert witnesses to say whatever is necessary.
Unfortunately, in too many cases, these tactics work. Without a knowledgeable malpractice lawyer, victims give up and either accept an unreasonably small settlement or drop their claims. Either outcome can lead to enormous financial burdens for victims on top of the physical and emotional trauma they have already suffered.
At Phelan Petty, we have a long history of successfully handling medical malpractice lawsuits in Richmond and throughout Virginia. We understand the struggles and confusion that patients face after they suffer from an inaccurate diagnosis, receive inappropriate treatment, or fall through the cracks when doctors do not listen to them. It is our mission to fight for these victims and help them obtain the compensation necessary to allow them to carry on with their lives.
Our medical malpractice team is headed by Jonathan Petty, an award-winning attorney with more than two decades of experience handling medical negligence claims. Jonathan brings a unique perspective to the claims he handles—prior to dedicating his practice to representing injured patients, he defended doctors, hospitals, and their insurance companies for a decade. Now, he uses the insight he gained as a defense attorney to hold negligent medical providers accountable for their errors. Our track record under Jonathan includes multiple verdicts and settlements in the millions of dollars.
In one recent case, our team secured a $5 million jury verdict for the adult children of a man who died after medical providers improperly placed a breathing tube in his esophagus rather than his trachea. The decedent had survived a fire but suffered injuries from inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. The defense argued that the victim could not have survived his injuries even with proper care, but our attorneys and experts successfully proved his death was the result of malpractice.
Our attorneys also work to reach favorable settlements when possible. For example, we settled a case for $1.35 million when a 67-year-old woman suffered a stroke and permanent blindness after her cardiologist instructed her to stop taking her blood thinner medication prior to a vein procedure. Although the physicians knew she faced a high risk of strokes, they did not give her immediate anticoagulants following the surgery, leading to her suffering a stroke just days later.
In another tragic case, our team settled a malpractice claim for $1.4 million after a doctor failed to recognize a newborn’s dangerously high heart rate as a sign of a treatable condition – neonatal tachycardia. Despite abnormal test results, providers wrongly reassured the baby’s mother that his heart rate was within normal limits. The infant died at 28 days of age.
You can read more about our other case results on our verdicts and settlements page.
If you or someone you love has suffered because of a medical professional’s negligence in Virginia, please get in touch with us today. Our experienced legal team will listen to your story and answer your questions during an initial consultation, all at no cost to you.
Medical Malpractice Case
“Jonathan Petty took my case…[the experience] has been wonderful. Very professional. I can tell that he was really genuine with my case. It’s been smooth sailing.”
Aleathia and Al S.
We demand accountability when you’re injured by doctors or hospitals
Some medical malpractice lawyers only focus on the profitability of medical negligence claims. At Phelan Petty, we understand that there is more at stake than dollars and cents. When prepared and litigated by experienced and dedicated attorneys, medical malpractice lawsuits help improve patient care and make our hospitals, medical centers, and nursing facilities safer.
According to researchers, medical errors frequently go unreported. Unfortunately, the organization that should provide data regarding medical mistakes, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), does not even track these incidents. However, data from a 2016 study indicates that medical errors cause roughly 250,000 deaths each year, making them the third most common cause of death in the United States.
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Virginia medical malpractice attorneys advocating for you
If you or a loved one suffered injuries due to medical malpractice in Virginia, you deserve answers. At Phelan Petty, our experienced medical malpractice attorneys work to hold negligent hospitals and healthcare professionals responsible for their actions. Our team carefully investigates our clients’ claims by studying medical records, interviewing witnesses, and consulting with world-class experts. Then, we use aggressive legal strategies to demand justice and accountability.
To schedule a free consultation, please call 804-518-3967 or fill out the contact form. We’re located near I-64 and Route 250 in Richmond.
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