When a member of your family is admitted to the hospital for lifesaving or health-restoring medical treatment and dies instead due to hospital error, you and your family are understandably devastated. You may be thrown into financial turmoil as well, left with a pile of medical bills in addition to the loss of financial and emotional support of your deceased family member.
A Phoenix wrongful death attorney from Knapp & Roberts can help you mitigate such a tragic time and hold the hospital accountable for their mishap. You may think that wrongful death claims are a rare occurrence, but recent data from a study published in the Journal of Patient Safety reveals that it is far from uncommon. Hundreds of thousands of patients die and are otherwise injured as a result of medical errors committed during a hospitalization. According to the research, the number of hospital deaths resulting from medical mistakes ranges from 210,000 to as high as 440,000, much higher than previous estimates.
Holding Hospitals And Doctors Accountable For Errors Resulting In Wrongful Death
These numbers are appalling and indicate a staggering amount of medical negligence. Most of the hospitals, doctors, and staff members responsible for this staggering loss of life are never held accountable for the deaths they’ve caused. As long as there continue to be no consequences for committing fatal medical errors, many hospitals will continue to allow unsafe practices and incompetent employees to put patients’ lives at risk.
If any of your family members were admitted to a hospital and died unexpectedly, and you have good reason to believe the death was due to medical negligence or malpractice, you should consult a Phoenix wrongful death attorney from Knapp & Roberts to help you determine if there is enough evidence to bring an action for a wrongful medical death claim against the hospital.
Knapp & Roberts cares about you and wants to help you and your family. Our wrongful medical death attorneys are:
- Compassionate and understanding of families and their needs;
- Diligent and determined to succeed on behalf of our clients and their loved ones; and
- Skilled negotiators and litigators, ready to fight for your family in any setting.
Contact Knapp & Roberts today online or by phone to schedule your consultation with a wrongful medical death attorney. We will listen to your story and advise you of the best possible legal route available to you and your family.
Our Experienced Wrongful Medical Death Attorneys Can Help
Wrongful medical death claims are complex and challenging. These cases require experienced legal representation and a support team of medical practitioners and experts to organize, prepare, and prove.
At Knapp & Roberts, our legal team will proudly handle your wrongful death claim from start to finish and stand beside you throughout the entire claims process. This includes but is not limited to the following services:
- Managing all insurance company correspondence;
- Contacting bill collectors and informing them of your lawsuit and when to expect payment;
- Investigating your loved one’s death;
- Collecting any relevant evidence;
- Identifying all possible sources of compensation;
- Calculating the total damages that resulted from your loved one’s death;
- Aggressively negotiating with insurance companies to obtain a fair and just settlement; and
- Litigating your wrongful death case in court if the insurance company refuses to pay sufficient compensation.
Let our dedicated wrongful medical death attorneys take the burden of your legal claim off of your shoulders while working tirelessly to hold any negligent party(s) responsible for the harm they caused you and your family.
Contact Knapp & Roberts in Phoenix today to schedule your complimentary consultation with our legal team. There is no obligation associated with your appointment
What is a Wrongful Death?
In law, wrongful death is the loss of a person’s life that results from the negligent, willful, or careless act of another. Wrongful death is a civil cause of action in which the estate and surviving family members of the deceased may claim monetary compensation for their financial and emotional damages along with the pre-death pain and suffering of the deceased.
Holding Hospitals and Doctors Accountable for Errors Resulting in Wrongful Death
These numbers are appalling and indicate a staggering amount of medical negligence. Most of the hospitals, doctors, and staff members responsible for this staggering loss of life are never held accountable for the deaths they’ve caused. As long as there continue to be no consequences for committing fatal medical errors, many hospitals will continue to allow unsafe practices and incompetent employees to put patients’ lives at risk.
If any of your family members were admitted to a hospital and died unexpectedly, and you have good reason to believe the death was due to medical negligence or malpractice, you should consult a Phoenix wrongful death attorney who will help you determine if there is enough evidence to bring an action for a wrongful death claim against the hospital.
Proving Wrongful Death Due to Medical Malpractice
Proving medical wrongful death cases is challenging in Arizona. Doing so requires a Phoenix medical wrongful death attorney with specific skills and experience in this type of legal action.
When choosing a medical wrongful death lawyer to represent your family, look for the following factors:
- An extensive history of obtaining high dollar value awards in medical malpractice and wrongful death cases;
- Knowledge of medical terminology, practice, and procedures;
- Access to respected doctors and other medical specialists who can analyze medical records and testify as to expected standards of medical practice in Arizona;
- Sufficient resources to cover the high cost of medical malpractice litigation;
- Willingness and competence to take your case to trial if it doesn’t settle out of court;
- Ability to overcome the common bias of jury members in favor of doctors;
- Ability to prove causation when a patient has died prematurely of a medical condition that might have been fatal even without the error; and
- Commitment to open, regular communication with clients.
Potential Parties to a Wrongful Medical Death Claim
There are a variety of people and entities that may face a wrongful medical death claim. A Phoenix wrongful medical death attorney may pursue any of the following and more:
- The surgeon performing the operation that led to the patient’s death;
- The physician or health care worker who gave the incorrect prescription to the patient;
- The pharmaceutical company that was responsible for producing the drug causing a fatal result; and
- The hospital can be held directly or vicariously liable due to its employee’s actions.
Compensation for a Wrongful Medical Death Claim
There is no replacing the person who passed away due to wrongful medical death. However, wrongful medical death claims compensate survivors for their financial, emotional, and mental losses. The types of damages available in Phoenix for a wrongful death claim can be both economic and noneconomic.
Economic damages are financial losses like medical bills with calculable amounts associated with them. Noneconomic damages are intangible losses, such as pain and suffering resulting from the victim’s death.
A successful wrongful medical death claim could end in financial compensation for losses such as::
- Funeral and burial expenses;
- Mental anguish;
- Medical expenses before the death of the deceased;
- Property repairs;
- Loss of financial support from the deceased;
- Loss of care and guidance;
- Loss of consortium; and
- The deceased person’s pain and suffering.
The Wrongful Medical Death Claims Process
Wrongful medical death lawsuits can take between one and fours years, depending on the circumstances. They could end sooner if the at-fault party wants to settle immediately and prevent the case from going to court.
The process below outlines the typical proceedings in a wrongful medical death case:
- During what is known as the discovery process, each side must hand over documents and statements about the case to the opposing side;
- Witnesses are called regarding the facts and circumstances of the wrongful medical death lawsuit to help determine the damages caused by the event;
- Both sides engage in a mediation conference to attempt settlement without litigation;
- If there is no settlement, a trial date is set; and
- A trial occurs ending in a verdict; and
- Either side may appeal the decision.
Demanding Professional Accountability
Many families are in emotional turmoil following the unexpected and premature death of a loved one in a hospital and do not feel ready to face a legal battle right away. Or they may have always held the medical profession in high esteem and are reluctant to blame the doctor or hospital for the death, even in the face of compelling evidence of wrongdoing.
Unfortunately, the reluctance of survivors to hold incompetent, negligent, and careless healthcare professionals accountable for the wrongful loss of human life only helps to perpetuate the problem. If we don’t insist on professional accountability, more people will die unnecessarily.
Where To Get Legal Help In Phoenix
In Phoenix and the surrounding area, you will find the legal skill, knowledge, and passion for justice that is required in a medical malpractice/wrongful death action at the law firm of Knapp & Roberts. Our medical malpractice attorneys in Phoenix have a long and impressive history of bringing substantial monetary awards in complex medical malpractice and wrongful death cases. We work with highly respected medical professionals who help us locate when and where the medical error occurred, how the error was the direct cause of the person’s death, and where the medical treatment deviated from the expected standard of practice in Arizona’s medical community.
Knapp & Roberts is a well-established firm with the financial resources to advance all the costs of investigating and preparing these cases, which are not insignificant. You only pay us if we win money for you, so as a client, you risk nothing.
At Knapp & Roberts, our wrongful medical death and personal injury attorneys are committed to our client’s goals and needs. We respect your need to know how your case is progressing at all times and provide regular updates. And we promptly return all phone calls and emails.
Contact Knapp & Roberts to arrange a free consultation to talk to us about your case. Legal time limits apply, so call today to protect your right to justice.