Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Mobile Alabama
Compassionate support when negligence by trusted medical practitioners causes harm
No one can expect his or her doctors to cure every illness or even guarantee no harm from potentially risky treatment. But Alabama law requires all medical practitioners to observe a certain quality of care based on the standards of similar professionals within their community. If you believe you or a loved one suffered harm from substandard medical care, you need the support of medical malpractice attorneys in Mobile with experience representing clients in this particular area of the law. The Law Office of J. Allan Brown, L.L.C. in Mobile has more than a decade of experiencing advocating on behalf of injured patients.
Types of medical malpractice
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, between 1991 and 2005, 7.4 percent of practitioners faced malpractice claims annually, but only 22 percent of all claims resulted in payments to claimants. In an analysis of claims based on medical specialty, claims were highest in neurosurgery and thoracic-cardiovascular surgery (19.1 percent and 18.9 percent, respectively) with general surgery claims representing 15.3 percent of all claims. But in spite of these surgery-related findings, Mobile medical malpractice lawyers regularly help clients injured in a variety of medical malpractice cases, including:
- Birth Injuries
- Diagnostic errors or failure to diagnose
- Surgical errors involving damaging surgical techniques, foreign objects left in patients after surgery or operating on incorrect limbs
- Prescription errors
- Substandard treatment or incorrectly performed treatment
- Errors in prenatal diagnostic testing
Hospitals may also be liable for system errors and the negligence of their employees
Hospitals call them “never events,” because they are never supposed to happen. Yet they happen every day in hospitals across the country, including right here in Mobile. When hospital system errors and employee negligence harm patients, the hospital malpractice attorneys at the Law Office of J. Allen Brown stand up to the corporate giants and hold them accountable for their failure to provide the appropriate level of care which they are required to provide.
Hospitals are liable for the negligent acts of their employees
Hospital system errors can result in patient harm at any stage from admittance to post-operative care. For instance, a patient may present at a hospital with neurological indications, but rather than referring the patient to a neurological facility or at the very least calling for a neurological consult, the hospital merely admits the patient as a routine matter, and a serious, urgent medical condition goes undetected until it is too late. Admitting a patient whose needs are outside the scope of the hospital’s services is a prime example of negligence and malpractice that can lead to serious personal injury or wrongful death. Other examples of hospital malpractice and medical errors include:
- The wrong medicine is administered to a patient
- Un-sanitized instruments are used in surgery
- Radiologist or lab technician misreads an x-ray, CT scan, blood work or other diagnostic test
- The wrong baby is sent home with new parents after delivery
- The wrong surgery is performed on a patient
- Surgery is performed on the wrong side of the body
- The wrong medicine is prescribed
- The wrong prescription is filled
- The wrong medicine is administered
- The wrong dosage is prescribed or delivered
- The patient is allergic to the medicine prescribed
- The medicine is improperly administered, such as intravenously instead of intramuscularly
- Drug interactions with the patient’s other medications are not considered
Are doctors employees? Experienced Mobile injury attorneys can answer this question.
In establishing a hospital’s responsibility for a physician or surgeon’s own medical malpractice, a key question is whether the doctor is in fact an employee of the hospital. Many doctors maintain the bulk of their practices elsewhere and are granted “privileges” to practice in the hospital, but this agreement may be with the doctor or a physician group formed by the doctor with others. The exact nature of the relationship between doctor and hospital can be a complex and challenging question, requiring the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney to determine.
How medical malpractice lawyers meet the challenges of highly technical cases
As an experienced Mobile medical malpractice lawyer, Allan Brown recognizes the challenges of obtaining reliable medical evidence when local doctors refuse to assist with claims against local colleagues. But he maintains a network of medical professionals outside the immediate local area who help analyze medical records, explain technical issues and provide courtroom testimony respected by local judges and juries.
Attorney Brown also believes that part of his responsibility as a Mobile personal injury lawyer is to make sure his clients have the time they need to focus on recovery from their injuries. He keeps you well informed throughout the legal process, and you always make your own decisions during your case. He takes on the complex day-to-day details to reduce your stress and allow you to heal.
For a free consultation and caring legal support, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Mobile
If you or a loved one has suffered from medical or hospital malpractice, or from medical errors, contact us online.
The firm provides personal injury services on a contingency-fee basis. You pay no attorney fees until you obtain a settlement or award for your case.