Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider fails to meet accepted standards of care and that failure causes injury to a patient.

Examples include surgical errors, misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, medication mistakes, birth injuries, and improper treatment. And the claims are not always ‘medical,’ and may be dental, pharmaceutical, chiropractic, nursing home/assisted living, etc.

These cases will almost always require expert medical testimony to show that a provider’s actions fell below the accepted standard of care.

Yes. These cases are complex and often involve extensive medical records, expert witnesses, and strict legal requirements. For example, if it is in Texas, extensive historical treatment records must be provided on your behalf before suit, and when suit is filed, your attorney must present detailed reports from experts proving a case exists, and if this can’t be done, the case will be dismissed. So, the cases are intense and very expensive, not to mention difficult to win since most jurors like the healthcare profession and do not like having to find them negligent.

Texas generally requires malpractice claims to be filed within two years, though certain circumstances may affect the timeline. But, the exceptions are very limited and seldom viable, so count on two years being the deadline. Also, given what has to be done to file a medical malpractice suit, you must not wait until the last minute like you can with a car accident lawsuit. It generally takes months to prepare to file one of these lawsuits.