Subject: “Some Thoughts On Medical Malpractice Claims”

We recently prepared for trial on a medical malpractice case concerning a newborn who suffered brain damage, because during delivery, the doctor dropped her and the child's head struck the tile floor. This is not the first case we have handled where a baby was dropped in the hospital and suffered brain damage. However, it was the first case where the hospital records actually mentions that the child was dropped. Usually, the hospital records make no mention of how the baby was injured.

In this case, why did the hospital's records include the fact that the baby was dropped? The reason is that the baby's father and aunt were in the delivery room and witnessed the doctor dropping the child.

Doctors and hospital personnel do not readily include facts in the record that are detrimental to a doctor or a hospital. Detrimental facts are included only when there is no choice.

When family members and friends are hospitalized, one way to make sure that hospital records are complete is by spending as much time as possible at the hospital.

On many occasions, our office has been asked to review medical records to help prove that a child was injured as a result of malpractice. All too often, the parents seek our advice when it is too late and the Statute of Limitation has expired.

Relative to a possible malpractice claim, it is very important to seek experienced legal advice as soon as you have a suspicion that you or your loved one has been injured as a result of medical negligence. You don't have to prove your case before you see an attorney. If negligence was committed, it's the attorney's job to prove it. If your suspicions are not true, the attorney will find that out. The difference between proving and not proving a case can be a matter of time.

We live in a very mobile society, people changing locations, retiring and moving away. Therefore, nurses, interns, residents and hospital personnel can be hard to locate if too much time passes. Memories fade and records get lost. Waiting can never make a case better, it can only make it worse.

There is another reason to seek legal advice as soon as possible. When filing a complaint, the law requires a signed letter by a retained medical expert, expressing the expert's opinion, that the medical provider was negligent and the negligence caused the injury.

In order for a retained expert to prepare and sign such a letter, he or she must be made familiar with all the medical records and pertinent facts. This all takes time - time to get the records, conferences between the attorney and the expert, meetings between the attorney and client and other material witnesses, research that the attorney must do to become familiar with the medical procedure. The time the expert will need to review the records and examine the injured person may take months. The sooner one acts the better. You can never be too soon, but you can be too late.