Medical Malpractice Attorney Near Me

We trust our medical care providers to meet a higher standard of service than almost any other professionals in our lives. Yet, when they fail to diagnose our illnesses or injuries correctly or engage in any other negligent behavior, we can suffer life-changing consequences. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a careless doctor or nurse, you need help from our qualified medical malpractice attorney near me law firm at Farnsworth & Vance in Anchorage, Alaska.

At Farnsworth & Vance, we believe you deserve superior legal representation to take on big insurance companies and healthcare institutions. You could recover compensation to pay for your unexpected costs and the effects on your well-being. Begin your journey by scheduling a free consultation with an Anchorage personal injury lawyer and learn more about what to do next.

Why Should I Choose Farnsworth & Vance as Medical Malpractice Lawyers Near Me?

With years of experience in fighting for the rights of Alaskans against big companies, our team is dedicated to helping the vulnerable and injured in their time of need. We are fierce and tenacious against wrongdoers, yet compassionate and caring with our clients. You can count on us to manage all aspects of your medical malpractice claim, allowing you to rest and focus on getting better.

We listen to your concerns during your free case review, then provide solid advice about the strength and merit of your case. Medical malpractice cases are challenging, and we only accept claims that we believe we can win. By always being honest, respectful, and clear, we ensure you do not put time, money, or energy into legal work that may not benefit you.

Because we carefully review cases before accepting them, we can also offer a contingency fee plan where our attorney fees come from a portion of your settlement. This approach means that if we do not secure a settlement or jury award for you, you do not have to pay. We have successfully claimed millions for past clients in Southcentral Alaska and the Gulf Coast Region. Our clients’ testimonials speak to our capabilities.

How Our Medical Malpractice Attorneys Near Me Build Your Case

After you are hurt by medical negligence or malpractice, you likely have many questions about whether you can file a claim against the provider. Doing so requires a thorough investigation to find the details of what happened and who is at fault. Often, you can start with filing a claim against the provider’s medical malpractice insurance, which they are required to carry under Alaska law.

In many cases, you benefit from having a medical malpractice lawyer on your side to provide the following services:

We file legal requests for all parties to preserve crucial documentation.
We speak with witnesses to record their statements and observations.
We collaborate with medical experts to verify the standard of care for your condition.
We keep you updated on the progress of your claim.
We negotiate on your behalf with insurance companies for a fair settlement.
We calculate the full value of your claim, including future medical costs.
We prepare your case for court in the event the other side does not meet our settlement demands.

Every case is unique, so there is no way to guarantee the timeline for settling your personal injury claim. What we can promise is that we will work diligently to recover the financial support you need to comfortably deal with the aftermath of a healthcare provider’s negligent actions. No matter what kind of case you have, Farnsworth & Vance will be by your side.

How We Establish Liability in a Medical Malpractice Case

A critical factor in a successful medical malpractice case is demonstrating how the provider neglected to do their duty while caring for you. There are five elements of negligence you and your attorney must show to establish who is liable for your harm:

Doctor-patient relationship: You must provide records showing that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the caregiver.
Duty to uphold the standard of care: Doctors must practice medicine according to the standard of care for each type of disease or injury. Your lawyer will present evidence establishing what that standard should be for your specific circumstances.
Failure in the duty of care: Failing to follow the standard of care could constitute negligence, and your attorney will gather evidence demonstrating this.
Causation: Your lawyer will show how the provider’s negligence directly led to your injury or illness.
Damages: Through medical receipts, pay stubs, and other records, you can request compensation for losses you suffered as a result of the provider’s negligent behavior.

Our team will collect your patient records, medical reports, witness statements, expert testimony, photos, scans, and other materials to support all five elements. We will build a persuasive story detailing how you have suffered and the impact on your life going forward. Although medical malpractice can happen in many areas of care, we have the experience and skill to take on your claim for the best possible outcome.

Failure to Diagnose or Delayed Diagnosis

A common type of malpractice claim is when a provider fails to diagnose a condition or somehow delays making the right diagnosis. In medicine, time is often the enemy, and every minute wasted when a provider does not correctly determine the problem can mean greater injury or even death for the patient.

For example, suppose a patient presents with night sweats, unexplained weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, and fatigue. If the doctor does not scan for potential masses soon enough, they could miss diagnosing lymphoma, a cancer that responds well to treatment if it is caught soon enough. By delaying the diagnosis or failing to diagnose, the provider could be held liable for medical malpractice.

Birth Injuries

The process of giving birth is extremely risky, even when a pregnancy appears healthy. Many things can go wrong for both parent and child during the delivery, and providers must make decisions with little room for error. Children may suffer birth injuries such as cerebral palsy from lack of oxygen, or nerve and limb damage, such as a brachial plexus injury.

These injuries can dramatically alter the future for both the child and the family. Children disabled from birth will require extensive medical care, therapy, and support for much or all of their lives. Those at fault must provide sufficient compensation so the victims can comfortably adjust to the consequences.

Surgical Mistakes

Performing operations is mentally and physically demanding, and surgeons must be at the top of their game when they enter the surgical suite. When they are unprepared or engage in careless behavior like drinking before surgery, the outcome for the patient can be devastating. The surgeon could operate on the wrong site, perform the wrong operation, leave items inside the patient, or perform the procedure incorrectly.

In these cases, it is critical to establish the correct procedure and verify whether the doctor had the skills necessary at the time you were injured. Your attorney will also investigate all staff members involved in preparing you, the equipment, and your medical records to determine where the negligence occurred. In some cases, you could require additional surgeries to correct the problem, increasing your costs due to their negligence.

Anesthesia Errors

Another issue during surgery is how well the anesthesiologist performs their job to keep you asleep and free of pain during the operation. These professionals are some of the most highly paid in the healthcare industry, performing complex calculations to determine the right dosage of important medications for your specific health history. When they administer too much or too little, you could experience a range of dangerous outcomes.

For example, if you have too little, you could wake up during the surgery, feeling pain. Even worse, you could wake up but remain paralyzed, unable to notify anyone of your situation. If you have too much medication, you could struggle to wake up, experience post-operative delirium, or pass away. In these cases, your family could file a wrongful death lawsuit with an attorney who also understands medical malpractice, such as our team at Farnsworth & Vance.

Pharmacy and Medication Errors

Medication errors can happen both inside and outside a hospital or other medical facility. In some instances, your doctor may prescribe a drug that is contraindicated with your other prescriptions, leading to illness or worsening an existing condition. Nurses could also administer too much or too little of the medicine, or use the wrong method.

Your pharmacist may dispense the wrong dosage or misread the doctor’s instructions, preventing you from recovering or making your illness worse. These mistakes can happen at your local pharmacy or from the one inside the hospital, putting both the pharmacist and facility administrators potentially at fault in your medical malpractice case.

Negligent Follow-Up Care

Once you are out of the hospital or after a doctor visit, it is vital that your physician performs adequate follow-up care to ensure you are recovering well. If they send you home after a cancer diagnosis, but fail to perform additional scans to monitor the disease’s progress, the cancer could spread out of control. Your doctor could be held liable for failing to maintain the standard of care for your disease that led to your sickness or eventual early death.

Even if you had a minor condition, your provider could be at fault if they ignore proper care to help you avoid further illness or injury. The nuance of demonstrating this carelessness is part of what makes medical malpractice cases so challenging and why you should trust in a skilled attorney for your claim.

EMT and Emergency Care Negligence

After an accident, you may need emergency care from EMTs or in a hospital’s ER. These are frantic and high-pressure situations, and it is easy for a provider to make a mistake. However, some mistakes are still preventable, especially if they breach the standard of care and cause you harm.

While you may be thankful for their quick action in saving your life, you still have the right to question whether they were negligent in their actions or inactions. By reviewing your case with a Farnsworth & Vance medical practice attorney near you, you can get guidance on whether you have a valid claim and should proceed with legal action.

Potentially Liable Parties in an Alaska Medical Malpractice Claim

Through a careful review of the evidence and additional research, your attorney can identify all at-fault parties and hold them liable. These may include:

Doctors, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, and advising physicians
Doctors supervising residents and other providers
Nurses, including assistants and nurse practitioners
Hopsital administrators
Facility staff, including those in records management, pharmacy dispensing, and sanitation
Nursing home staff, doctors, and administrators
Laboratories and testing locations
Drug manufacturers
Medical device makers
Doctor’s office staff

Both doctors and facility administrators will have insurance to protect them against medical malpractice claims. These insurers will fight very hard to avoid admitting fault or paying out a claim. We will fight even harder to ensure you get the compensation and sense of justice you need.

What Compensation Can a Medical Malpractice Lawyer Near Me Law Firm Seek in My Case?

Each case’s worth will vary, but your attorney will generally ask for compensation covering your current and future medical costs, lost income, nursing care, home services, and other financial damages. You can also request payment for your subjective losses, such as mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and pain and suffering. Your attorney will use special calculations to put a value on these psychological damages.

Factors such as your pre-existing health status, life expectancy before the incident, life expectancy after the incident, and the severity of your injuries can also affect what your compensation could be. Ultimately, our team will negotiate for the best possible settlement and go to court when necessary to secure what you deserve.

Damage Caps on Alaska Medical Malpractice Claims

When it comes to non-economic damages in Alaska medical malpractice claims, Alaska Statutes 09.55.549 limits the maximum amount, unless the provider’s actions were reckless or intentional. If those conditions do not apply, the damage caps are as follows:

Medical malpractice resulting in 70% or less severe impairment: Not more than $250,000
Medical malpractice resulting in death or severe injury that is 70% or more disabling: Not more than $400,000 or the number of years the deceased could have expected to live multiplied by $8,000, whichever is greater

Punitive Damages in Alaska

In some instances, the medical provider’s actions were so negligent that the jury may decide to award punitive damages. As the plaintiff, your attorney will need to present clear and convincing evidence (a higher standard of proof) that the provider’s actions were outrageous and performed with malice or bad motives, or the actions showed reckless indifference to your interests.

Contact Farnsworth & Vance as Soon as You Suspect Medical Malpractice

For most cases, you have only two years from the date you were hurt to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. There are some exceptions, such as if the patient is a minor, is legally disabled, or the caregiver leaves Alaska, but you cannot always count on these to give you more time. Instead, arrange a free case review right away to discover your legal options.

We have extensive experience serving clients in Southcentral Alaska and the Gulf Coast Region. Use our online form or call 907-416-9068 today to speak with a medical malpractice attorney near you in Anchorage, AK. We are ready to help you achieve maximum recovery. Our law office is located in North Star.