Little Rock Medical Malpractice Attorney & Little Rock Medical Negligence Attorney
When does Medical Malpractice happen and what does it include?
Medical malpractice, also referred to as med mal, healthcare liability, doctor malpractice, hospital malpractice, or hospital negligence, occurs when a healthcare professional makes a careless (negligent) or reckless error, which results in harm to you, the patient. This can be particularly disturbing because we, as a society, rely on and trust our healthcare system, and especially our doctors, to provide quality medical care and act in our best interest. However, a 2004 study concluded that in an estimated 9 out of 10 medical malpractice trials, the alleged harm involved either a permanent injury (57%) or a wrongful death claim (33%). People in Little Rock and Pulaski County, Arkansas are injured every day due to negligent errors and sometimes even physician recklessness in hospitals and other healthcare facilities across the Greater Little Rock area.
Areas of medical malpractice include, but are not limited to:
- Doctor error
- Hospital error
- Surgical error
- Birth injuries
- Infant brain damage
- Medication error
- Failure to diagnose
- Misdiagnosis
- Nursing errors
- Nursing home errors
If you or a loved one has suffered at the hands of a negligent doctor or healthcare professional, you know how devastating this can be, particularly when the injuries sustained are serious, long-lasting, debilitating, or, worst of all, have caused a death. Doctors, like everyone else, should be held accountable for their negligence, and a Little Rock medical malpractice attorney can help you make sure that physician recklessness and negligence doesn’t go unpunished. Most importantly, however, a Little Rock medical malpractice attorney can help you get the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Hospitals in the Greater Little Rock Area |
UAMS
Select Specialty Hospital - Little Rock
Onebanc: Baptist Medical Towers
St Vincent Infirmary Medical Center
University of Arkansas for Medical Science: Vascular Center
General Pediatric Clinic
Arkansas Heart Hospital
Baptist Health Medical Center - North Little Rock |
Mc Clellan V A Medical Center
Baptist Health Extended Care
Surgical Pavillion
Little Rock Surgery Center
St Vincent Doctors Hospital
State Hospital
St Jude Childrens Research
Arkansas Surgical Hospital |
Countless physician and hospital errors in the Little Rock area go unprosecuted, despite causing serious injuries or even death to patients. Contact a Little Rock lawyer for hospital negligence today to help you pursue your claim if you believe that you or a loved one has been injured by hospital negligence or medical negligence.
Brain Trauma Sustained at Birth
Infant brain trauma is just one of many areas of medical malpractice law; however, it is a unique area because the long lasting effects of a birth brain injury will impact all areas of a child’s life. Many births in Little Rock lead to the death or injury of either the mother or the child. The high strain placed upon the woman’s and baby’s body is extremely dangerous. The baby must deal with compression, contractions, twisting down the birthing canal, and being choked on the umbilical cord. As a result, many babies suffer injuries due to their oxygen supply being cut off or from the general strain from the birthing process. While the birthing process is difficult, the sad truth is that many times a baby’s injury is the result of hospital, doctor, or nurse negligence during the birthing procedure that could have been avoided altogether. Your baby may suffer from a long list of injuries such as: cerebral palsy, brachial plexus, birth hypoxia, shoulder dystocia, or Erb’s palsy.
If you believe that your child’s brain injury, learning disability, or physical or mental impairment might have been sustained during birth, you may have a legal claim against the doctor, nurse, and/or hospital. Contact a Little Rock medical malpractice attorney or Pulaski County medical malpractice attorney to discuss your options.
For more information on damages potentially recoverable for brain injuries, click here.
Why do you need a Little Rock, AR Medical Malpractice Attorney?
No one wants to believe that their doctor has committed malpractice. The truth is that most Arkansas doctors are excellent physicians and try very hard to cure or help their patients. Also, just because there was a bad result does not necessarily mean that a doctor has committed physician or surgeon malpractice. For this reason, a Little Rock malpractice lawyer will usually investigate a claim of medical negligence very carefully before agreeing to actually go forward with and file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Most times, a Little Rock medical malpractice attorney will hire an expert to review all the medical records, MRIs, films and all other types of medical evidence, and sometimes even have that expert meet and examine the client before commencing a malpractice claim. Having a trained Little Rock medical malpractice lawyer is essential when making a claim against a doctor or hospital. Rest assured that the insurance companies are armed with many malpractice defense lawyers and you need legal representation arguing on your behalf as well.
If you or a loved one has been harmed, you know how devastating an impact a doctor or other medical professional can have on a person’s life when he or she makes an error in judgment that results in injury, disfigurement, permanent paralysis, amputation, or even death. You need an experienced Little Rock malpractice attorney who can obtain an adequate settlement or, alternatively, show a court exactly the extent of your damages so that you are compensated for your injuries, pain, and suffering to the maximum extent possible under the law. The increased difficulty of prevailing in medical malpractice claims makes it all the more important that you retain a Little Rock medical negligence attorney to help you fight back.
A final reason to retain a Little Rock medical negligence lawyer to represent you in your Little Rock or Pulaski County malpractice claim is that a local lawyer probably knows a local expert who will testify at the trial or in a deposition if he or she makes a finding that negligence or recklessness was involved. Furthermore, it is readily accepted that Arkansas juries have a tendency to give more credence to a local physician’s testimony than an expert from somewhere else. Little Rock residents prefer scientists and lawyers with a reputation of excellence in their community, whom they can trust to provide the most accurate, definitive, and comprehensive evaluation of each element of the lawsuit. For this reason, it is in your best interest to obtain representation locally within the Little Rock area.
If you, or a loved one, have suffered at the hands of a negligent medical practitioner, call one of the expert Little Rock medical malpractice lawyers listed above. Little Rock medical malpractice law firms know how to deal with healthcare defense lawyers and can help you make sure that justice is served.
Arkansas Medical Malpractice Laws Overview
The following is a brief summary of the Arkansas laws applicable to all Little Rock, Arkansas Medical Malpractice Lawsuits:
- 2-year statute of limitations from the date of the breach or tort from completion of treatment. Different rules apply when the doctor negligently left a foreign object in your body and for children under 9 years old. (§ 16-114-203. Limitations) Filing notice can extend the statute of limitations.
- A procedural requirement that expert reports be filed early in the litigation process, generally within 30 days after filing a health care liability claim (§ 16-114-209 False and unreasonable pleadings).
- Specific requirements pertaining to a person’s qualification as an expert witness as to whether the physician or professional charged departed from accepted medical industry standards.
- Damage Caps: There is a cap on punitive damages in a Little Rock Arkansas Medical Malpractice case. The victim can recover up to the greater of $250,000 or three times the compensatory (actual damages) up to $1,000,000. (16-55-208. Limitations)
- Note that different rules may apply to governmental immunity for malpractice claims. Contact a Little Rock medical malpractice attorney for further legal advice.
Other Important Considerations for Little Rock, Arkansas Medical Malpractice Claims:
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Arbitration:
- Arkansas law does not require arbitration in medical malpractice actions.
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Periodic Payments:
- If future damages are at least $100,000, Arkansas courts must order periodic payment of future medical costs if any party so requests, and may order periodic payment of other future damages on request as well (§ 16-114-208 Damages).
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Collateral Source Rule:
- Arkansas follows the Collateral Source Rule, meaning that a claimant’s recovery cannot be reduced by benefits paid from a source other than the tortfeasor, such as an insurance provider.
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Comparative Negligence:
- Arkansas law provides for a system of modified comparative negligence in all tort cases. This means that if the plaintiff bringing the claim is considered at least 50% responsible for his or her own injury, he or she is barred from recovering any damages at all. If the plaintiff’s fault is 49% or less, however, recovery is diminished in proportion to the percentage of fault (§ 16-55-216. Comparative fault).
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Joint & Several Liability:
- Joint and several liability refers to the legal practice of holding more than one defendant jointly liable for the entire amount of a plaintiff’s damages. In Arkansas, each defendant is only liable for their share of the damages. (16-55-201. Modification)
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Vicarious Liability:
- Vicarious liability refers to the legal practice of holding one party liable for the negligent or otherwise tortious actions of another, despite the fact that the party held vicariously liable was not directly responsible for the injury. For example, a hospital might be held vicariously liable for the negligent acts of one of its surgeons or nurses. According to Arkansas law, the person who caused the injury must be proved to actually be an employee for this liability to attach. (§ 16-114-210 Employed medical care provider) This can be difficult to prove because many doctors and surgeons are independent contractors.
If you have been harmed due to the negligent or reckless behavior of a doctor, hospital employee, or other healthcare professional, you may be entitled to compensation. Call one of the Little Rock medical malpractice attorneys listed above for a consultation regarding your claim before Arkansas’s 2-year statute of limitations expires and you lose your legal rights!
Little Rock personal injury lawyers are experienced in handling medical malpractice and doctor and hospital negligence cases in both federal and state courts across the Greater Little Rock area. Just a few of the many courts in which Little Rock injury lawyers typically try cases are:
CIRCUIT COURTS
Pulaski County Circuit, Court Division 1
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 2
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 3
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 4
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 5
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 6
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 7
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 8
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 9 |
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 10
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 11
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 12
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 13
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 14
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 15
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 16
Pulaski County Circuit Court, Division 17
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Personal Injury Attorneys Serve Little Rock and Surrounding Communities
Serving clients throughout Central Arkansas, including Adams Field, Agusta, Arkadelphia, Batesville, Beebe, Benton, Cabot, Clarksdale, Clarksville, Conway, Dumas, England, Fordyce, Forest City, Hope, Hot Springs, Iron Springs, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Malvern, Mayflower, Mena, Morrilton, Nashville, Pine Bluff, Russellville, Searcy, Sheridan, Spadra, Waldron, Warren, and other communities in Pulaski County.
When you need someone in your corner, a Pulaski County personal injury lawyer will be there for you. Call now to speak with an experienced Little Rock medical malpractice attorney today.