Oklahoma City Medical Malpractice Attorneys

You may be surprised to learn that medical malpractice constitutes the third leading cause of death in the United States. Every year, some 225,000 people die from various forms of medical malpractice, including:

• 12,000 from unnecessary surgery
• 20,000 from hospital errors
• 80,000 from infections acquired in hospitals
• 106,000 from the adverse effects and complications of medications

Of course, the number of people seriously injured from medical malpractice is considerably higher.

Unfortunately, very few people receive compensation for serious injuries or death resulting from medical malpractice. Why? Less than 2 percent of people who have suffered medical malpractice even try to obtain compensation, and a smaller percentage than that actually receives it.

If you or someone you love has been victimized by medical malpractice, you should at the very least consult with an attorney. Not just for your benefit, or your family’s, but also to help prevent a potentially incompetent medical professional or institution from harming others. You should also contact attorneys with experience in the complicated area of medical malpractice law. We understand the tactics used by the insurance company attorneys to minimize or deny responsibility for your injuries.

Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your case. You have nothing to lose and, potentially, a chance to right a wrong. We look forward to hearing from you.

It is important to note that determining whether a duty of care has been met is never easy. Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional deviates from the standard of care within the medical community. This type of claim arises when the healthcare provider injures someone by careless or negligent acts. Surgeries and other medical treatments don’t always turn out the way patients would like. That alone is not malpractice. The medical care provider must actually do something wrong, which causes the injury.

The negligent parties involved can be doctors, nurses, hospitals, or other healthcare professionals. These professionals are expected to perform their duties with the utmost care. When they do not, that’s where we come in. At Hasbrook and Hasbrook, we fight on your behalf to give you the best chance of proving your case and receiving all the compensation you deserve. This requires a deep understanding of the medical profession, the way hospitals and healthcare professionals operate, and of course, a thorough understanding of the law. Medical professionals and their representatives will hire “experts” to testify on their behalf, and their attorneys will fight tooth and nail to deny any wrongdoing. We will do the same for you.

Hospital Malpractice

While everybody makes mistakes, when they happen to patients at a hospital, the result is often serious injury or loss of life. Many instances of malpractice occur in the emergency room, during surgery, and even during recovery from an illness or surgery.

In Oklahoma, there are standards of care that every hospital must meet. They must adhere to these standards, and follow the policies, guidelines and procedures required to ensure adequate care. When they do not, and you or a loved one is seriously injured, we have the ability to find out what went wrong and help you obtain compensation. We will force the hospital in question to explain why they took the steps they did, determine whether the attending physicians and other staff were qualified to handle your medical problem, and fight to overcome all the obstacles the hospital’s legal representatives use to prevent you from obtaining compensation.

Remember that the insurance company lawyers will do everything they can to limit your recovery.

If you believe that you or someone you love has been a victim of hospital malpractice, contact us as soon as possible to learn how we can be of assistance.

Medication Errors

In the United States, 1.5 million people fall victim to medication errors. While some of these errors do not result in serious injury, it is important to note that nearly one fourth of medical malpractice suits involve medication errors, and that more people die from medication errors than on the job injuries. The most common forms of medication errors include:

Improper combination of medicines
Some medications that are fine on their own can lead to serious complications when combined with other drugs.

Being given the wrong medication
This could be due to an error by the pharmacy, a misdiagnosis, and other factors.

Improper medication due to handwriting errors
It has become something of a cliché that doctors have poor handwriting. Unfortunately, this “cliché” can prove deadly when it leads to misreading the drug’s name or the dosage.

Confusion over drug names
Many drugs sound alike, but the illnesses they are intended to treat and the effects of the drugs may be quite different. And, dangerous.

The pharmacy fills the prescription incorrectly
It seems simple enough to fill a prescription, but mistakes are made all the time. Lack of attention, understaffing, poor handwriting, mislabeling… all can lead to complications and injury.

Adverse side effects of medication
Some medications have severe side effects that may lead to injury and even death.

Allergic reactions to medication
Failing to note a patient’s allergies to certain medications is a common and dangerous medication error.

Failure To Diagnose

Misdiagnosis involves a doctor or health care provider failing to detect and/or order tests required in situations where it is reasonable to assume the patient is suffering from a disease or other medical condition. Common conditions or diseases that are often misdiagnosed include:

• Aortic dissection
• Breast cancer
• Other cancers, including skin, colon, cervical, lung prostrate, ovarian, and testicular
• Heart attack or stroke
• Lyme disease
• Pulmonary embolism
• Meningitis
• Infections
• Tuberculosis
• Diabetes
• Appendicitis

Shockingly, autopsies suggest that doctors seriously misdiagnose fatal illnesses about 20 percent of the time. In fact, the American Medical Association itself has suggested that in the United States, medical errors may be one of the leading causes of death. It has been estimated that inadvertent adverse effects or complications resulting from treatments by a physician result in anywhere from 225,000 to 284,000 deaths per year. Another analysis suggests that 4 to18 percent of patients experience adverse effects from misdiagnosis that lead to:

• 116 million additional physician visits
• 77 million more prescriptions
• 17 million visits to emergency rooms
• 8 million admissions to hospitals
• 3 million long-term admissions

While millions of people are successfully diagnosed and treated every year, it is clear that misdiagnosis is not as rare as we would like to believe. And, the consequences of being misdiagnosed can be physically and financially catastrophic. If you believe you have suffered serious injury due to a misdiagnosis, or someone you love has died because of a wrong diagnosis, you owe it to yourself and your family to contact us as soon as possible for legal representation.

Wrongful Death

Wrongful death suits are different from other medical malpractice claims. This is because the actual victim is not bringing the suit on his or her own behalf. Rather, family members of the person who died typically bring a wrongful death suit on behalf of their deceased loved one.

When a victim dies from medical malpractice in Oklahoma, the attorney for the decedent’s family will generally make two distinct claims.  One is known as a survival action. This allows for compensation to the victim’s estate for the pain and suffering, as well as other damages and expenses, incurred by the victim up to the moment he or she passed away. The second claim is known as a wrongful death action, which seeks compensation for the patient’s actual death. Damages are measured in terms of harm to loved ones resulting from the loss of the decedent.  

If you believe someone you love died as a result of medical malpractice, contact us as soon as possible. We can quickly determine whether you have a case and will fight for all the compensation you deserve.

Laser Burn

If you’ve sustained serious burns after receiving laser hair removal treatments, your first step should be to seek proper medical treatment for the burns.

Laser hair removal has become remarkably popular in the United States, with more than 1.3 million procedures performed in 2005 alone. Since then, its popularity has continued to climb. The medical-spa industry advertises these procedures as not only effective, but practically free of risk. The reality, however, is quite different. The FDA only recognizes laser hair removal as a temporary solution to unwanted hair growth, not a permanent one. Worse, laser and intense pulsed light treatments can, and often do, cause serious burns, skin discoloration and permanent scarring. In addition, these procedures are typically not performed by a doctor, but rather a cosmetologist or licensed technician.

If you have suffered an injury from laser hair removal, you may be able to obtain compensation from a variety of parties. These include:

• The technician who performed the procedure
• The employer of the technician
• The doctor or healthcare provider in charge of supervising the procedure
• The medical spa’s medical director
• The person or entity that owns the spa
• The person or entity responsible for the technician’s training
• The manufacturer or distributor of the equipment

You should know that if you are indeed burned, the majority of technicians will assure you that you are fine, all you need to do is put a little aloe vera on the burn. Oftentimes, the technician knows this is untrue, and is simply trying to convince you not to contact an attorney. Don’t take his or her word for it! Document your injuries and when you had the procedure/procedures. Take pictures of your injuries immediately, and continue to do so over time. After you’ve sough medical treatment for the burns, contact us for legal representation. We have handled a number of Oklahoma laser burn cases and have obtained compensation for our clients. Chances are, we can do the same for you.

Frequently Asked Questions Concerning Medical Malpractice