We all depend on the professionalism and competence of doctors and other healthcare providers when we need surgery or other medical treatment. Sadly, doctors and other medical professionals don’t always do their jobs properly, and patients can get hurt as a result.
Perhaps you were given the wrong medication or an incorrect diagnosis. Maybe your surgeon made an error during surgery, leaving you injured and facing mounting medical costs. Whatever the circumstances, you are entitled to pursue compensation for the losses you have suffered due to medical negligence.
If you’ve been the victim of medical malpractice in Wilmington, North Carolina, you need help from our Wilmington medical malpractice lawyers.
The law firm of Poisson, Poisson & Bower, PLLC, has been helping North Carolina personal injury victims seek financial compensation for three generations. We have a long track record of obtaining significant settlements and awards for our clients.
If you’ve been injured due to medical malpractice in Wilmington, North Carolina, contact Poisson, Poisson & Bower, PLLC, for your free case review today.
Reasons to Work with Our Wilmington Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Why should you work with our Wilmington, North Carolina, medical malpractice lawyers? Because of our compassionate and effective approach to personal injury law. We’ve recovered millions of dollars for our clients across our 40-plus years in practice. Let our experienced trial lawyers put our legal legacy to work for you, empowering you to seek the money you need to rebuild your life.
Our client B.B. describes Poisson, Poisson & Bower, PLLC, saying, “They gave good advice and advised me not to settle my case for less than it was worth.” That’s precisely how we treat all our clients, and it’s why we’ve been able to get the results we’ve obtained, like the confidential settlement we secured from a pharmacist and a hospital in a medical malpractice case.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice in Wilmington
Here are some of the most common types of medical malpractice in Wilmington and all over North Carolina:
- Misdiagnosis, resulting in the patient not getting the treatment they need or even getting unnecessary treatment that may harm them
- Incorrect medication due to poor handwriting or overuse of abbreviations
- Incorrect medication dosage
- Surgical errors potentially causing injury, bleeding, or infection
- Childbirth injuries to the baby or mother
- Anesthesia errors
There are many different types of medical malpractice, but they all have one thing in common: the negligence of a trusted medical professional. If you’ve been injured because of medical malpractice, you have the right to pursue compensation.
Steps to Take If You Suspect Medical Malpractice
If you suspect you’ve been hurt by medical malpractice, here are the steps you need to take:
- Contact our Wilmington medical malpractice attorneys as soon as possible.
- Avoid any further contact with the clinic or hospital where you were hurt.
- Find a new doctor or clinic to replace the one where you were hurt.
- Take photographs of any visible injuries.
- Keep all medical bills and records.
- Write an account of the incident where you suspect medical malpractice, including every detail you can think of, such as your pain levels, your symptoms, and how the incident has affected your life.
Understanding North Carolina Medical Malpractice Laws and Statutes
Chapter 90 Article 1B of the North Carolina Code covers medical malpractice cases in North Carolina. To win a medical malpractice case in North Carolina, you must prove:
- That you were harmed by the treatment you received
- That the care you received was not in line with the standard of care for that profession
For example, if you were injured by an anesthesiologist who gave you the wrong dose of anesthetic before surgery, you would need to prove that their actions didn’t match the standard of care for anesthesiology and that you were injured as a result.
To prove this, your lawyer must call on medical experts from the same field who can testify that the care you received did not conform to the standard of care.
The statute of limitations in North Carolina medical malpractice cases generally gives you three years to file a lawsuit, but there are some cases in which you may have more time. For instance:
- If you didn’t discover the injury immediately, but more than two years have passed since the incident in which you were injured, you must file within one year of discovering the injury and no more than four years after the incident in which you were injured.
- If a foreign object was left inside your body, you must file within one year after discovering the object but no more than 10 years after it was left inside your body.
Types of Compensation Available in Medical Malpractice Cases
In a medical malpractice case, you can recover compensation for both economic and noneconomic losses. Economic losses include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
Noneconomic losses include:
- Pain
- Suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Inconvenience
Economic damages are not capped in North Carolina, so they will be determined by your actual losses and the amount of insurance coverage available. Noneconomic damages are capped at $500,000 unless:
- The injured person suffered disfigurement, disability, permanent injury, or death.
- The defendant’s actions displayed gross negligence, fraud, or malice.
In those situations, there is no cap on noneconomic damages.
How Our Wilmington Medical Malpractice Attorneys Can Help Your Case
If you’ve been injured due to the negligence of a medical practitioner, contact our medical malpractice attorneys in Wilmington immediately. It’s much less stressful to pursue a medical malpractice claim with the help of a lawyer than it would be without.
We can do many things to help your case, including:
- Investigating the incident to determine what happened and who may be liable
- Reviewing your medical records
- Finding expert witnesses to testify that the at-fault party violated the standard of care
- Calculating your economic and noneconomic losses
- Filing a demand letter with the insurance company
- Negotiating a settlement to obtain fair and complete compensation
- Taking your case to court if we can’t reach a settlement
Poisson, Poisson & Bower, PLLC is a medical malpractice law firm in Wilmington, NC. We’ve been in practice for three generations, and we’ve helped many people recover substantial settlements and awards after they were harmed in an accident someone else caused. We focus on helping injured people pursue justice.
If you’ve been injured due to medical malpractice in Wilmington, North Carolina, contact Poisson, Poisson & Bower, PLLC, today for a free consultation about your legal options.
