Rhode Island Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Medical malpractice occurs whenever a health care professional causes an injury to a patient via a negligent act or omission that violates the standard of care. Anytime a doctor, hospital, or other provider makes a mistake that another professional would not have made under similar circumstances, they are violating the standard of care. To have a valid medical malpractice claim, you must also prove that this violation caused your injury and that your injury led to significant losses.

When you file a medical malpractice lawsuit, you may be eligible to receive general, special, and/or punitive damages.

• General damages are designed to compensate you for any suffering you endured as a result of medical malpractice. These damages include physical and mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of future earning potential.
• Special damages seek to cover expenses you accrued because of medical malpractice. If you were severely injured, you likely had subsequent treatments and missed a fair amount of work. Special damages aim to reimburse you for these costs and medical bills and make sure you have the funds to cover any future medical expenses and/or rehabilitative care.
• Punitive damages are rare in medical malpractice cases, but they exist to punish any medical professional who was behaving knowingly or intentionally. Not only do these damages provide you with additional compensation, but they also make an example of whoever harmed you to discourage similar behavior in the future.

This is an excellent question and one of the most difficult for us to answer without reviewing your case. Essentially, who you file suit against will depend on where and how you were hurt. For example, if you were harmed in the hospital, you might not be able to sue the institution directly. Instead, you would file suit against the doctor that hurt you, who was likely working as an independent contractor. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, and you may be able to file suit against a hospital if you were harmed in the emergency room or by an incompetent or dangerous doctor.

In many cases, supervisors and employers must accept responsibility for a medical professional’s behavior. One instance of this involves nursing errors. If a nurse makes a mistake with medication, you will probably have to file against the attending doctor or the facility they work for.

Rhode Island Medical Malpractice Laws

It's important to understand the medical malpractice laws in your home state. In Rhode Island, a person who is injured by medical malpractice will need to comply with basic rules.

Here are some basics to consider if you're claiming medical malpractice:

• The case must be filed within three years of the occurrence of the medical error or initial discovery of the injury.
• Rhode Island does NOT impose a cap on economic or non-economic damages.
• This state follows"pure comparative negligence" standards which allow an injured party to recover a monetary award in a medical malpractice case IF it can be proven that they were more than 50% responsible for an injury.

Hiring a skilled medical malpractice attorney can help you focus on recovery rather than the logistics of your medical malpractice case. There are many important deadlines to consider when bringing forth a personal injury case of this nature, so contact one of our Rhode Island medical malpractice lawyers today to schedule a consultation.