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At the Phoenix, Arizona personal injury law firm of Gage Mathers Law Group, we represent people like you who were injured by medical malpractice. Our Phoenix medical malpractice attorneys understand that, as the victim of medical negligence, you are probably overwhelmed with medical bills, health problems, and anger.
As a victim of medical malpractice, you have the legal right to pursue compensation for your injuries, medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other harms and losses. Call our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer to learn how we can help you.
Our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyers aggressively and zealously fight to get you the maximum compensation you deserve. From the moment you hire our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer, you will feel how passionate we are about accountability in the medical profession. Everyone puts a lot of trust in health care providers, and it is wrong when a provider violates that trust or takes it for granted.
If you or a loved one was injured as a result of medical negligence, we encourage you to contact our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer for a free consultation. Our medical malpractice lawyer will work with a team of professionals to thoroughly investigate your claim and, if you have a viable case, represent you in all phases of litigation.
Medical malpractice occurs when a health care provider deviates from the applicable standard of care. A health care provider violates the standard of care when they fail to exercise that degree of care, skill, and learning expected of a reasonable, prudent health care provider in the same profession or class acting in the same or similar circumstances. Essentially, it is medical negligence when the health care provider does something they should not have done or fails to do something they should have done.
The most common types of medical malpractice in Phoenix, Arizona are anesthesia errors, surgical errors, failure to deliver a baby properly, prescribing the wrong medication or the incorrect dosage of a drug, failure to diagnose an urgent life-threatening condition, infections from improperly sterilized equipment or facilities, and failing to obtain a patient’s informed consent before performing surgery or other procedures.
Generally, health care providers are expected to do more good than harm. When you go to a health care provider seeking care, you expect that the care you receive will make your condition better, not worse. Unfortunately, some health care providers end up doing more harm than good, leaving you in worse health.
When you are injured by a healthcare provider’s malpractice, you have the legal right to hold them accountable. Medical malpractice laws make it difficult to get justice for these types of cases, so you should consult a Phoenix medical malpractice attorney. With the help of a skilled Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer, you can be compensated for the harms and losses you suffer.
Phoenix medical injury attorneys will work hard to establish these elements of a medical malpractice case:
Common examples of the types of medical malpractice our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer has seen include:
It’s important to note that not every undesirable outcome in health care constitutes medical malpractice. All medical procedures inherently carry risks, and not all adverse outcomes are the result of negligence. To determine whether a situation qualifies as medical malpractice, consult with an experienced Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer.
Two years. In Arizona, a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed within two years of the negligence, or within two years of when the person knew or should have known negligence occurred. This is called the “statute of limitations.” If you do not file the lawsuit within the allowed time, the Court will dismiss the case regardless of the facts.
In some instances, the statute of limitations is significantly shorter. If the lawsuit involves a public entity (e.g., the State of Arizona, City, County, or school) or a public employee of one (e.g., a medical student, resident, or teacher), then a Notice of Claim must be served on the appropriate entity(-ies) within 180 days after the negligence. After serving the Notice of Claim and allowing sixty days for a response, a lawsuit must be filed within one year of the alleged negligence.
These are strict deadlines with very few exceptions. Failure to file a lawsuit within the allowed timeframe can result in permanently losing the ability to pursue the lawsuit. Similarly, if a Notice of Claim is required and not timely served, the claim will be lost. So contact a Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer as soon as you think you might have a medical negligence claim.
Our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer knows health care and medicine are complex, but that does not excuse substandard care. Health care providers receive extensive education to make a complicated subject become second nature. At the heart of all medical education is patient safety. Ironically, most acts of medical malpractice are caused by:
With increasing frequency, our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer is seeing institutional factors that contribute to our clients’ injuries.
Our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer does not have a crystal ball and cannot predict the future. Case values vary greatly based on numerous factors, some of which are:
The average settlement payout for medical malpractice cases, by severity of outcome, are:
The national average payout is $329,565. In Arizona, the average payout for medical malpractice claims is $390,000.
These are averages and not reflective of the value of your personal injury case.
When you hire Gage Mathers Law Group, you can rest assured that your Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer has decades of experience handling medical malpractice cases, a reputation for getting great results for clients, and the respect of legal professionals around the country.
Medical Malpractice is a specialized area of personal injury law. We have some of Arizona’s top medical malpractice lawyers–they achieved this status through decades of experience, additional learning, and amazing results. Our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer is uniquely equipped to investigate these complex cases that often feature complicated medical issues, life-altering injuries, and extreme losses.
When we investigate your claim, you can rest assured that some of the greatest legal minds are communicating with some of the greatest medical minds to figure out what happened, why it happened, and whether you have a viable legal claim. Most personal injury lawyers cannot properly handle medical malpractice cases because they lack the necessary knowledge, resources, and experience. Hire our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer and leverage our knowledge, experience, and reputation for results to maximize your financial recovery.
Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers in Arizona
Speak to one of our personal injury attorneys and learn more about the legal options for your accident claim.
Medical malpractice cases are complex with several nuances. It is essential to get advice and representation from an experienced Phoenix Medical Malpractice Lawyer. If you believe that you or a loved one has been injured by a health care provider’s negligence, then you need the Phoenix medical malpractice lawyers at Gage Mathers Law Group. Call (602)-258-0646 today.
You can also learn more about medical malpractice claims here. If you are a medical malpractice lawyer and want to improve your skills, or you want to become a medical malpractice lawyer and don’t know where to start, check out the 5 Tools for Medical Malpractice Lawyers that we think are the most helpful.
Learn more about statute of limitations.
Hiring a Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer should be free.
Like other personal injury cases, Gage Mather’s Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer works on a contingency fee basis. That means your lawyer is paid a percentage of what they recover for you. If your case does not result in payment, you owe us NOTHING. We are only paid if you are paid.
We are different from many other medical malpractice law firms because we do not charge you to investigate your claim. No money upfront for us to investigate your claim, and we only recover the costs we advance if your personal injury case is successful.
If your case does not result in payment, you owe us NOTHING.
Yes. Medical malpractice is an epidemic in the United States. Preventable medical errors kill more than 400,000 people per year. That means, every day, 1,100 people have their lives cut short by medical malpractice. Estimates suggest, at least another 1,000 people are injured every day from their health care provider’s negligence. Surprisingly, that only leads to around 20,000 malpractice lawsuits each year. This disparity is largely because of the legal hurdles facing a medical malpractice lawyer and people’s fear of taking on a powerful corporation.
In the United States, nearly 1,000,000 Americans suffer serious injury or death every year due to medical malpractice. In Arizona, there are over 150 medical malpractice payments by physicians, annually, totaling tens of millions of dollars. Indeed, the American Medical Association reports that 31% of all physicians have been sued at some point in their careers, with certain specialties having an even greater rate of lawsuits.
Our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer carefully selects the cases we pursue. Case selection is largely dictated by the investment our firm anticipates, both financial and time. Medical malpractice claims are complicated and consume a lot of our time; therefore, we limit the number of cases we are litigating at any one time. Additionally, because of the hurdles Arizona’s legislators created, these cases are very expensive to pursue, often costing several hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Additionally, our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer does not take cases unless all indications suggest a jury would award enough money to sufficiently compensate you after we are paid for our time and the hundreds of thousands of dollars we advance in costs, as well as payment of any liens or reimbursement claims. When you hire Gage Mathers Law Group, your Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer wants to make sure you receive a fair amount to compensate you for your economic losses and non-economic damages (e.g., pain and suffering, mental anguish, impairment, emotional and psychological injury, and disfigurement).
You can read more about what do medical lawyers do to maximize the outcome of your personal injury case.
Yes. You will probably have to file a lawsuit to get justice because the health care providers who commit medical errors and injure patients rarely admit they made a mistake. It takes brave citizens, with the help of an experienced Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer, to hold these health care providers accountable for their malpractice.
Our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyers have decades of experience investigating and litigating medical malpractice cases. We help Arizona residents, like you, obtain the maximum compensation you deserve after suffering life-changing injuries.
As you will see from the next FAQ, you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit on your own; however, you are much better off hiring a lawyer who focuses on this specialized area of law. Our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyers have dedicated years to helping victims like you obtain money for injury-related medical expenses, lost wages, and non-economic damages like pain, suffering, scarring, and emotional injuries.
If a pre-litigation settlement is not reached, the claim proceeds through our civil justice system, usually in the superior court. To initiate a medical malpractice claim in Arizona, a Complaint and Summons must be prepared and served on the named defendants.
The complaint should include details about each plaintiff and defendant, legal authority, jurisdiction, a concise factual basis for each claim, and a specific demand for relief. A civil summons informs defendants of the lawsuit, and they have 20 days to file an Answer upon receipt. The Answer should address your allegations and list any affirmative defenses.
Arizona law mandates disclosures, including the factual basis and legal theory of each claim, trial witnesses and their testimony, persons who gave statements, expert witness details, and relevant document lists.
As the injured person, you have a burden of proof. You must prove three things. In basic terms, you must prove: (1) the health care provider either did something they should not have (negligent act) or did not do something they should have (negligent omission), (2) that the negligent conduct caused an injury, and (3) your damages. A bad or suboptimal outcome does not mean the health care provider committed malpractice.
Doctors and other health care providers have a duty to their patients, to provide care and treatment that complies with the appropriate “standard of care.” This means the health care provider must exercise that degree of care, skill, and learning expected of a reasonable, prudent health care provider in the profession or class to which he belongs within the state acting in the same or similar circumstances. If the health care provider fails to acts as a reasonably prudent provider under the circumstances, then that health care provider failed to perform his or her duty and was negligent. This must be proven by presenting a medical expert within the same specialty as the health care provider.
Medical negligence becomes medical malpractice when the doctor’s negligent treatment causes injury to the patient; that is, makes the patient’s condition worse, causes unreasonable and unexpected complications, necessitates additional medical treatment, or causes death. The key is that the doctor’s specific negligent act is causally linked to the injury or death. This again must be proven through expert testimony. There are many ways that health care providers can negligently cause injuries. For instance:
Finally, you must prove the injury led to specific damages. Even if it is clear that the health care provider was negligent, our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer cannot help you sue for malpractice if you did not suffer any harm.
Collectible medical malpractice damages may include:
Unlike many other states, Arizona’s constitution prohibits caps on damages. That means juries are free to award you as much money as they believe you are entitled to based on the facts of your personal injury case.
Our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer helps victims of medical malpractice in Phoenix and throughout Arizona fight for full and fair compensation. We represent people who have suffered injuries in doctors’ offices, hospitals, and other medical facilities throughout Arizona.
Defendants in medical malpractice cases can be individual health care providers, like doctors and nurse practitioners, or business entities, like hospitals and medical practices. Hospital defendants can include:
Impediments to a medical malpractice claim. In most cases, you must prove these three elements by a preponderance of the evidence. Arizona’s lawmakers raised the burden of proof in cases involving emergency room care and emergency medical services to clear and convincing evidence. In addition to raising the burden of proof, Arizona’s lawmakers have worked hard to interfere with your constitutional rights and impede your ability to hold health care providers accountable. These obstacles may limit your right to sue, limit your right to obtain full and fair compensation, and limit your right to the truth about what happened to you.
Medical malpractice cases rarely, if ever, resolve without hiring a lawyer. Even after hiring a lawyer, negligent doctors are reluctant to admit their mistakes. Most negligent doctors have egos and cannot accept that they made a preventable error. They often will not allow their liability insurance carriers to settle their case without litigation–most Arizona doctors have $1 million or more in liability insurance coverage, which includes a provision that does not allow the case to settle without their written consent.
Medical malpractice cases are very expensive. Expert fees are the largest cost of medical malpractice cases, usually driving the total costs of these cases over $125,000 and, in some cases, as high as $250,000. Doctors, especially local doctors, are not lining up to gratuitously provide their expert services to victims of medical negligence. Just the opposite. Most experts charge from $500/hr to $1,000/hr for their time, and local doctors will not testify against their colleagues.
Historically, medical malpractice laws were designed to accomplish certain specific social objectives, including addressing poor quality care, fairly compensating patients for injuries resulting from negligence, and imposing justice in a manner that would make future occurrences less likely. Normally, medical malpractice lawyers deal with the aftermath.
Medical Malpractice victims in Phoenix can pursue compensatory damages. Compensatory damages include both economic losses and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are financial losses you’ve suffered as a result of the medical negligence, such as:
Non-economic damages are the types of losses you suffer that do not have a price tag, such as:
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured, please fill out the form below for your free consultation or call us at (602) 258-0646
2525 E Arizona Biltmore Cir #A114, Phoenix, AZ 85016
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