Tuckahoe Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Skilled advocacy for patients who are injured due to medical negligence in Virginia
The legal team at Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers works with a network of independent doctors to build a successful case for victims of medical malpractice. Because we are selective in the cases we take, we can devote our extensive resources to helping clients. Our Tuckahoe medical malpractice lawyers understand that you need time and space to heal; that is why we handle every aspect of your case and provide updates about its progress at every step. Contact us today to get started.
How can we help?
- What is medical malpractice?
- What types of medical malpractice claims do you handle?
- Who is liable for medical malpractice in Tuckahoe?
- How can your Tuckahoe medical malpractice lawyers help?
- How much is my medical malpractice claim worth in Virginia?
- What is the time limit for filing a medical malpractice claim in Virginia?
What is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice is a form of professional negligence where a medical professional fails to uphold the acceptable standards of care. For a case to rise to the level of malpractice, it must meet these four elements:
- There was a doctor/patient relationship.
- The doctor (or medical professional) breached the duty of care owed to you as a patient.
- This breach of care was the direct cause of your injury.
- Your injury has led to damages (losses).
Medical malpractice can include active mistakes, such as operating on the wrong arm, or errors of omission, such as failing to diagnose your medical condition.
Not all errors will rise to the level of medical malpractice. Medical treatment comes with risks. However, when those risks are exacerbated, or when you sustain injuries or losses directly related to the negligent actions or inactions of a medical practitioner, you could have a claim.
What types of medical malpractice claims do you handle?
Our Tuckahoe medical malpractice lawyers handle all types of negligence cases that cause serious injuries or death. Even when the injuries can heal, you still can have a valid malpractice claim. We handle medical negligence claims involving:
- Amputation injuries
- Anesthesia and pain management errors
- Brain injuries
- Bariatric surgery complications
- Bowel injuries
- Bile duct injuries during gallbladder surgery
- Communication errors
- Delayed diagnosis and improper treatment of cancer, stroke, and health attack
- Emergency room errors
- Fetal death / stillbirth
- Hospital-acquired infections/ sepsis claims
- Negligent hiring and medical credentialing practices
- Medication errors
- Radiology errors
- Surgical errors
- Veterans Administration (VA) hospital negligence
Our Tuckahoe medical malpractice lawyers work with our own network of physicians within each type of practice area. These doctors are skilled at reviewing medical records, treatments, actions, and inactions to determine what medical conduct and performance should have happened that didn’t and what actions weren’t provided. The doctors we work with are also skilled at testifying at depositions and before juries. They explain the medicine in terms that juries and other non-professionals can understand.
Who is liable for medical malpractice in Tuckahoe?
At Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers, we prioritize determining which healthcare providers are liable for your injuries or the death of your loved one. In some cases, the defendant may just be one healthcare provider. In other cases, multiple providers are responsible. Our Tuckahoe medical malpractice lawyers are prepared to file claims against everyone responsible, including:
- Family physicians
- Surgeons
- Specialists
- Nurses
- Diagnostic technicians, such as radiologists
- Ambulatory surgery centers
- Hospitals
- Pharmacists
- Anesthesiologists
- Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
- Other healthcare providers
How can your Tuckahoe medical malpractice lawyers help?
At Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers, we take great pride in helping medical malpractice victims and their loved ones. We routinely take on complex cases which require substantial time and resources to pursue. Our Tuckahoe medical malpractice lawyers:
- Work with medical experts who can help identify the current status of your injuries, what treatments can improve your health, what complications may arise due to your injuries, and every way your life is impacted due to your injuries.
- Work with outside experts who can speak to the standards of care applicable in your case and explain easily but comprehensively how and why those standards were violated.
- Speak with your employer to understand the nature of your work, so we can show how your injuries leave you unable to provide for your family.
- Work with financial experts and advisors to get a better picture of what your financial future will look like, based on reduced income and increased expenses (medical or otherwise).
- Create state-of-the-art presentations, including 3D models, designed to show a jury the type of injury you have sustained, and how that injury could have occurred.
- Negotiate with health care providers and their insurance carriers on your behalf. Many physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers will contest your claim to the fullest because their reputations and jobs are on the line; we fight to hold them accountable.
- Can explain complex medical jargon and terminology in language that jurors can understand.
- Are respected by former clients, insurance companies, and defense lawyers for our impressive record of verdicts and settlements.
The head of our medical malpractice department is Jonathan Petty, an award-winning attorney with more than two decades of experience handling medical negligence claims. His background includes representation of doctors and hospitals – which means he can anticipate and counter the arguments and defenses that the medical care professional who treated you incompetently is likely to assert.
How much is my medical malpractice claim worth in Virginia?
Every claim is different, and the award you seek will be determined by the exact nature of your injuries and their impact on your life. In Virginia, however, you can seek compensation through a medical malpractice lawsuit for current and future:
- Medical expenses. These include ER care, hospitalizations, corrective surgeries, doctor visits, rehabilitative therapy, assistive devices, and medications.
- Lost income and benefits. This amount includes compensation if you can’t work until you heal or if you suffer a permanent disability, which means you can never work again.
- Pain and suffering. This sum compensates you for every moment of physical pain and emotional suffering.
- Scarring and disfigurement. You deserve compensation for any skin grafts, plastic surgery, and emotional trauma you suffer due to scarring and disfigurement caused by medical malpractice.
- Loss of quality of life and bodily function. You have the right to compensation for your current health as compared to your health if the medical malpractice had not occurred.
If your loved one died, we demand additional damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. Those damage can include:
- The funeral and burial expenses.
- The financial income your loved one would have provided family members if she/he had survived.
- The loss of comfort, society, guidance, and love your loved one would have provided.
- The value of the services your loved one would have provided.
- Any outstanding medical bills.
We may also seek punitive damages if the conduct of the healthcare provider is egregious, such as when a doctor performs surgery while intoxicated.
What is the time limit for filing a medical malpractice claim in Virginia?
In Virginia, the time to file any personal injury claim including a medical malpractice claim is two years from the date of the malpractice.
Virginia law also states that you may be entitled to an extension for your medical malpractice claim:
- In cases arising out of a foreign object having no therapeutic or diagnostic effect being left in a patient's body, for a period of one year from the date the object is discovered or reasonably should have been discovered;
- In cases in which fraud, concealment, or intentional misrepresentation prevented discovery of the injury within the two-year period, for one year from the date the injury is discovered or, by the exercise of due diligence, reasonably should have been discovered; and
- In a claim for the negligent failure to diagnose a malignant tumor, cancer, or an intracranial, intraspinal, or spinal schwannoma, for a period of one year from the date the diagnosis of a malignant tumor, cancer, or an intracranial, intraspinal, or spinal schwannoma is communicated to the patient by a health care provider, provided that the health care provider's underlying act or omission was on or after July 1, 2008, in the case of a malignant tumor or cancer or on or after July 1, 2016, in the case of an intracranial, intraspinal, or spinal schwannoma.
The cases, however, “shall not apply to extend the limitations period beyond 10 years from the date the cause of action accrues,” though exceptions apply when the lawsuit involves an act of sexual abuse or assault.
To protect your legal claim and your health, we recommend that you contact Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers as soon as possible. We’ll help you see the doctors you need to correct any mistakes, reduce the consequences of those mistakes, and help you cope with your injuries. An early review of your case also helps preserve the evidence necessary for your claim and to protect other patients who may be harmed in the future.
Speak with our respected Virginia medical malpractice lawyers today
We understand your pain, anxiety, and anger. Your healthcare providers have put your life on hold. You have bills to pay now. You hurt every day. At Phelan Petty Injury Lawyers, our accomplished medical negligence lawyers work aggressively to help you see the doctors who can help you and assert your right to compensation. We’re seasoned trial lawyers with a record of impressive recoveries. Call our Tuckahoe medical malpractice lawyers now or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We represent medical malpractice victims in Virginia on a contingency fee basis.