Medical Malpractice
Medical Malpractice Attorney In Greenville NC
Gain The Proper Compensation
Joseph T. Edwards and Sharron R. Edwards are experienced medical malpractice attorneys whose Greenville, North Carolina law firm has represented many individuals who received substandard medical treatment.
When a healthcare professional (such as a doctor, nurse, chiropractor, or therapist) or a healthcare organization (such as a hospital, clinic, nursing home, or HMO) provides treatment that does not meet the accepted standard of medical care, that professional or organization may be guilty of medical malpractice. The treatment in question may involve mistakes, inadequate care, any delay in care, a misdiagnosis, a failure to diagnose a condition or disease, or a preventable birth injury. If the medical malpractice results in a person's worsened medical condition, a disease or injury, or wrongful death, that person or his family may have a medical malpractice case.
If you would like to speak with one of our medical malpractice or birth injury/cerebral palsy lawyers, contact Edwards & Edwards in Greenville today! We can advise you regarding whether you have a case that can be pursued.
Examples of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice takes many forms, but the following list shows common examples of medical malpractice, whether committed by a doctor, surgeon, anesthesiologist, nursing staff, or other healthcare professional:
- Failure to diagnose a medical condition before serious or fatal consequences develop — for example, cancer, meningitis, or a heart condition
- A delay in the diagnosis of such a medical condition
- Mistaken diagnoses
- X-ray and diagnostic imaging misinterpretation
- Emergency room mistakes, delays, or negligence
- Anesthesiology errors
- Medical equipment failures
- Medication mistakes — too much, too little, or the wrong medication; wrong timing
- Birth injuries, Erb's palsy, and cerebral palsy
- Brain injuries
- Mistakes during surgery
In light of the severe potential consequences of medical malpractice, it's best to turn to experienced medical malpractice attorneys. The Greenville firm of Edwards & Edwards can provide the exceptional legal services you need at such a difficult time.
Medication Errors
A 2006 study by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies indicated that medication errors are one of the most common forms of medical malpractice, injuring at least 1.5 million patients in the United States each year. Jokes about doctors' poor handwriting on prescription instructions lose their humor in light of the potentially catastrophic consequences. The American Hospital Association provided this list of common types of medication errors:
- Incomplete information about the patient (for example, the person administering the medication does not know about a patient's allergy, other medicines he or she is taking, or about a previous diagnosis or lab results)
- Drug information that is not up to date
- Miscommunication based on factors such as:
- Poor handwriting
- Confusing a medication with another drug with a similar name
- Confusion about zeroes or decimal points
- Confusion of metric and other dosing units
- Inappropriate abbreviations
- Incorrect labeling of a medication when it is prepared or repackaged
- Interruptions that distract healthcare staff from the task at hand
The legal and medical issues regarding medication errors are well understood by the medical malpractice lawyers of the North Carolina law firm Edwards & Edwards. We advise you of your legal rights and options in such a case.
Emergency Rooms and Medical Malpractice
Emergency rooms can be a particularly fertile ground for medical malpractice. The system of ERs in the United States is widely known to be reaching a breaking point, due to overcrowding and underfunding. Federal law requires that emergency rooms of public hospitals treat everyone who comes through the door. Since more than 46 million Americans have no health insurance, many people receive all of their medical care at ERs. A "perfect storm" of overworked medical staff trying to treat too many patients is brewing, creating a setting where patients are too vulnerable to medical malpractice.
Edwards & Edwards Provides Surgery and Medical Malpractice Attorneys
It has been estimated that approximately half of all medical malpractice cases involve mistakes made during a surgical procedure, whether by the surgeon(s), the anesthesiologist(s), or attending staff. Wrong-site surgery (for example, the wrong limb is operated on, or the wrong organ is removed) is not unheard of; nor is the presence of a surgical instrument left behind in a patient. Fortunately, these two types of egregious error are rare, but there are many other possible examples of surgical medical malpractice. The lawyers at the North Carolina offices of Edwards & Edwards are familiar with the entire spectrum of surgical mistakes, negligence, and injuries. If you suspect that you or someone in your family has suffered surgical medical malpractice, contact our attorneys in Greenville to schedule an appointment to discuss your case.
Birth Injury and Cerebral Palsy
Perhaps you suspect or you've been advised that your child suffered a birth injury or has cerebral palsy that may be due to medical malpractice. If so, the birth injury/cerebral palsy lawyers at Edwards & Edwards in Greenville, North Carolina are ready to help you. Our attorneys can aid in (1) the determination of whether the standard of care was met by the obstetrician or attending physician, midwife, or nurses around the time of birth, during the delivery, and during other critical time points if any, and (2) the identification of the cause(s) of the birth injury.
Birth injuries due to medical malpractice give rise to complex and emotionally difficult cases. The types of possible birth injury include, but are not limited to:
• Cerebral palsy • Head trauma • Seizures • Asphyxia • Placental pathology • Neonatal stroke • Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy
• Pulmonary hypertension (the baby's) • Meconium aspiration • Chorioamnionitis • Maternal infection • Group B strep infection
Possible Birth Injury Causes
The following factors may be involved in a given birth injury case:
- Vacuum extraction and forceps use
- Electronic fetal monitoring
- Pitocin use
- Vaginal birth after cesarean section ("VBAC")
However, each birth and every medical situation has unique aspects, and many scenarios are possible. The tremendous advances made in medical technology and procedures contribute to the complexity of medical care today in the United States, and to the risk of medical malpractice.
The causation of a birth injury or cerebral palsy can be difficult to identify. Many lawyers do not have the experience or resources to devote to the medical issues that these cases may present. At Edwards & Edwards, our cerebral palsy / birth injury lawyers based in Greenville, North Carolina have both the medical malpractice experience and the compassionate, caring legal services that are needed in birth injury cases.
Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice
North Carolina law has statutes of limitations that limit the time in which a medical malpractice claim may be filed.
The complexity, finer points, and strictness of statutes of limitations are best dealt with by experienced medical malpractice lawyers, such as the North Carolina firm of Edwards & Edwards.
Contact Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Greenville, NC
The consequences of medical malpractice can be staggering medical bills, lasting physical and/or emotional damage, loss of income, pain and suffering, financial discord, and even death. Schedule a consultation with our medical malpractice attorneys in Greenville to discuss your circumstances. We're ready to listen and to help you.