Rockford Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Illinois ranks number four in the United States for medical malpractice claims [1].  Medical malpractice victims are often left with expensive medical expenses and a complex legal process making justice hard to obtain. If you believe a medical provider’s medical errors led to worsening your condition or prolonged recovery, you may have a medical malpractice claim. 

Read to learn more about the types of medical malpractice lawsuits that Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers handles. We’ll also review some of the most common recoverable damages and important Illinois laws related to medical malpractice. 

Do You Have a Medical Malpractice Case in Rockford, Illinois?

Medical malpractice is a branch of law covering negligence by a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other medical provider. To qualify as negligence, the healthcare provider must have breached the standard of care.

Without a medical background, it’s not always easy to identify situations in which healthcare professionals breach this duty. Our Rockford medical malpractice lawyers are here to help you navigate the state’s medical malpractice laws and ensure negligent medical providers are held accountable. 

Illinois requires a Certificate of Merit when filing a medical malpractice case. This affidavit comes from a medical professional who confirms a reasonable and meritorious cause for the claim.

Medical Malpractice Cases Handled by Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers

Our Rockford medical malpractice lawyers handle a wide range of case types. Here are a few of the most common medical mistake types found in the Rockford area:

• Birth injuries: An injury prior to or during birth.
• Pharmacy errors: Prescribing medications without considering a patient’s health history or allergies could result in a medical malpractice claim.
• Surgical errors: Medical mistakes occurring during a surgical procedure, like leaving surgical instruments in the body or operating on the wrong location, could result in a negligence claim.
• Failure to diagnose/treat: Failing to diagnose or treat promptly may also be considered negligence, especially if it leads to more medical bills or delays a full recovery.
• Nursing home neglect/abuse: Failing to provide residents with timely medical care may also qualify for medical malpractice. Our Rockford nursing home abuse lawyers have extensive experience in advocating for the city’s nursing home residents.

Whether injured during labor and delivery or while taking a medication prescribed to you, medical mistakes frequently lead to medical expenses. A medical malpractice attorney can help you seek compensation following any of these medical mistakes.

The Importance of Hiring a Rockford Medical Malpractice Attorney

It’s crucial to have a medical malpractice lawyer on your side when navigating a medical malpractice claim. Medical malpractice laws are complex, and large legal teams back the medical providers.

Facing the aftermath of a car accident can be overwhelming, and choosing the right legal team to support you shouldn’t add to your stress.

We pride ourselves on successfully recovering over $450 million for our clients. Drawing upon our vast experience of more than 25 years, we leverage our legal knowledge to consistently yield significant outcomes that address both present and future needs.

When you choose our Rockford medical malpractice lawyers to represent you, we will fight to identify liability and get you the compensation you need. Our medical malpractice lawyers offer a free, no-obligation consultation so you can learn more about your legal options. When you work with a Rockford medical malpractice lawyer from our office, you also never owe us anything unless we win your case. 

Damages Recoverable in Medical Malpractice Claims

When medical professionals make mistakes, it often leads to expensive consequences. Filing a claim with a Rockford medical malpractice lawyer allows victims to recover the following damages.

Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages in a medical malpractice case include financial or emotional losses, which are divided into economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages are actual financial damages, like medical expenses, the cost of a surgical procedure, prescription costs, or lost wages while receiving medical care.

Noneconomic damages are the psychological outcomes of medical errors. They may include emotional pain and suffering, diminished earning capacity, permanent disability, disfigurement, or loss of consortium. Negligent medical care often leads to tremendous physical pain and suffering, which is just as important to compensate.

More recently, Illinois law removed limits on how much medical malpractice victims could recover in noneconomic damages. In 2010, the state’s Supreme Court found putting a limit on medical malpractice victims’ right to cover all associated damages was unconstitutional. As a result, our Rockford medical malpractice lawyers work hard to help clients recover every penny they deserve.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are in addition to financial and psychological costs and are meant to punish the medical provider. These costs are designed to encourage medical institutions or providers to avoid mistakes and promote better quality care. 

Wrongful Death Damages

In extreme cases, healthcare professionals who make a mistake, such as a failure to diagnose or improper surgery location, could cause a loss of life. Our Rockford wrongful death attorneys help victims’ families through the complex legal process to recover lost financial support, loss of parental relationship, and funeral and burial expenses.

Financial Compensation Awarded in Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Compensation in a medical malpractice lawsuit depends on many factors, including the severity of your injury, how much your earning capacity was affected, and whether or not punitive damages are a part of your case. 

A medical malpractice claim aims to make the victim whole again, which means your compensation amount should cover medical-related costs plus emotional pain compensation.

Our Rockford medical malpractice lawyers have successfully helped those injured by a medical provider’s mistake. Here are just a few of the Rockford personal injury cases successfully handled by Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers:

• Recovered $4,150,000 in compensation after a woman fell to her death despite calling for help numerous times.
• Recovered $5,000,000 in compensation after a surgical instrument was left in a patient after surgery, leading to an infection.
• Recovered $8,500,000 after medical professionals’ failure to monitor a patient led to death.

When doctors or other healthcare professionals are negligent in their care through a failure to monitor or remove surgical instruments, they may be held liable. The law expects doctors to follow all reasonable measures when treating a patient, and when they don’t, compensation may be due. 

Liability in Cases of Medical Negligence

Medical providers tasked with providing quality patient care can be found liable when negligence occurs. Any of the following healthcare professionals could be liable in a Rockford medical malpractice case:

• Doctors: A doctor can be liable for medical malpractice in Rockford when they fail to diagnose, treat, or consider a patient’s medical history.
• Surgeons: Surgeons who make mistakes or leave surgical instruments in a patient may be liable.
• Nurses: Nurses also have a standard of care when treating patients.
• Nursing home staff: When mistakes happen, other healthcare professionals, such as nursing home employees, may be to blame.
• Pharmacist: Medication errors from a pharmacist could make them liable in a malpractice case.
• Hospital or medical center: The hospital or medical center may be held accountable if mistakes are due to faulty hiring or training policies.

Proving a Medical Malpractice Claim

Illinois has strict laws on what constitutes medical malpractice. A Rockford medical malpractice lawyer from our team will work to build your case to include the following elements:

• Duty: The doctor or healthcare professional must have had an established professional relationship with the patient.
• Deviation or breach of duty: There must be evidence the healthcare professional deviated from the standard of care.
• Causation: There must be clear causation of the medical provider’s mistake to the victim’s personal injury.
• Actual damages: The medical mistake must have led to actual damages that can be compensated through a lawsuit, including medical-related costs or lost wages.

You Have a Limited Time to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Rockford, IL

It’s important to note that Illinois sets time limits on how long a victim can seek compensation for medical negligence. You must file your case within two years from the date the injury or mistake becomes known. 

The state also sets a comprehensive time limit of four years from the injury date, regardless of when the patient learned of the mistake. Failing to file your medical malpractice suit before the time limit is up makes you ineligible to file and collect compensation.

A malpractice personal injury claim that includes wrongful death also limits lawsuits to just two years from the date of death.

Contact a Rockford Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today!

A medical mistake can cause you to lose trust in the Illinois or Winnebago County healthcare system. We have come to expect doctors to exercise a standard of care; when they don’t, they may be held liable.

A Rockford medical malpractice lawyer from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help you navigate the state’s laws and time constraints. Our team will fight to get you the compensation you need to cover medical-related costs and pain and suffering.

Call Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers today for a free consultation at (888) 424-5757 or use our online form to have one of our personal injury lawyers contact you.

Resources:  [1] Forbes