Even though people often trust doctors with their lives, there are also a number of accidents that occur in New Jersey and other states every year. The complications caused by improper medical treatment can affect people for years, or the rest of their days depending on the severity of the mistake. The law does offer some financial remedies that can be obtained through medical malpractice lawsuits, however, it is difficult to put a price on a permanently reduced quality of life.
Surgical mistake causes woman urinary incontinence for life
A Morris County woman received a huge payout after a botched procedure will give her problems with incontinence for the rest of her life. The doctor who performed the surgery misstated his credentials to a woman before a gynecological procedure which went wrong when he removed her urethra.
The victim was scheduled to have a surgical procedure for a prolapsed urethra at Specialty Surgery Center in Sparta Township. During surgery, the doctor ended up removing most of her urethra due to an alleged stricture present. However, expert testimony presented to the court demonstrated that no such removal procedure was necessary given the circumstances. The doctor also admitted during a deposition that he had never used the resectoscope instrument that was needed to perform the procedure without supervision before.
Because of the volume of evidence mounting against the defendant, the parties ultimately agreed that such damages were worth $2 million in a settlement agreement that was finalized before the main part of the trial took place. The doctor also agreed to changes in the way he would present he credentials in the future to avoid similar problems due to his lack of training in these kinds of procedures. The surgery center and two of its administrators were joined as parties in the lawsuit as well for failing to discover the doctor’s lack of credentials and allowing him to practice medicine in an area where he clearly lacked expertise.
The structure of a medical malpractice case
As a general rule, medical malpractice usually occurs when physicians make mistakes and cause damage to a patient during surgery or treatment. There also may be other issues related to a lack of information given to a patient about a procedure before it is performed. In some instances, this misinformation can include a doctor lying about their credentials like the case previously discussed. The doctor’s improper actions usually need to result in some kind of tangible loss or injury to a person for them to be able to file a claim for related damages. Damages are the law’s way of turning an injury into a specific quantity of money. Damages that are calculated in a settlement or after a trial tend to be larger in cases of severe injuries or permanent complications.
New Jersey has its own specific set of state laws and procedures regarding these claims and how they are handled by the local courts, which a lawyer can explain more thoroughly.
While it is not necessary to know anything about New Jersey’s medical malpractice laws to have an attorney file a lawsuit on your behalf, it is helpful to give as much detail and documentation as possible to begin building a case. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can guide you through the process and begin preparing your case.
Get help from a medical malpractice expert in New Jersey now
If you believe a doctor has done something wrong to you in Morris County or surrounding parts of New Jersey, there are lawyers available to help. An attorney who specializes in medical malpractice incidents will give more specific advice about how to proceed with your particular claim after a brief conversation.
