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ADDRESS:
Menzer Law Firm, PLLC
705 Second Ave., Suite 800
Seattle, WA 98104

TELEPHONE:
Tel: 866-751-8315
Fax: 206-903-1821

Our Medical Malpractice Attorneys: Legal Representation in the Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, and Tacoma Areas

The results that our Seattle-based firm have achieved in medical malpractice cases over the years are exemplary. Our highly experienced medical malpractice attorneys have helped many Seattle, Bellevue, Everett and Tacoma-area clients obtain fair and just compensation for their injuries. By drawing on this extensive experience, Matthew Menzer and Cheryl Gawron can help you with your medical malpractice claim, too.

What Is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice is negligence committed by a professional healthcare provider—a doctor, nurse, dentist, technician, hospital, hospital worker, or others—whose performance has not met the standard of practice for those with similar training and experience, resulting in harm to a patient. Most medical malpractice cases are based on the concept of negligence; that is, victims are harmed because a healthcare provider has failed to meet the required standards of skill and care.

It must be kept in mind, however, that under the law  healthcare providers do not guarantee the results of medical treatment, and therefore a patient's medical malpractice claim is not valid simply because his or her treatment was not successful or an injury or complication occurred. Medical malpractice claims in which compensatory damages are awarded often involve injuries resulting from the following conduct by a healthcare provider:

  • Incorrect diagnosis or failure to diagnose
  • Failure to treat
  • Improper treatment
  • Delay in treatment
  • Prescription errors
  • Surgical errors
  • Foreign objects left in the body
  • Prescribing the wrong medication
  • Failure to properly monitor a patient
  • Failure to order necessary tests
  • Birth injuries
  • Rendition of services without informed consent

This list is not exhaustive; other types of medical malpractice have been successfully claimed. The Menzer Law Firm has handled a wide variety of medical malpractice lawsuit cases for clients in the Seattle, Bellevue, Everett and Tacoma regions. Contact the Menzer Law Firm for a complimentary consultation — a medical malpractice attorney with experience will explain your options to you.

How Do I Know If My Injury Constitutes Medical Malpractice?

Healthcare providers are not expected to be infallible, and poor results from treatment are not necessarily the result of malpractice. Healthcare providers are expected to exercise the same degree of skill, care, and learning ordinarily used by other members of their profession acting under similar circumstances. This level of skill, care, and learning is called a "standard of practice," or "standard of care." When a healthcare provider treats a patient and fails to meet this standard, whether by doing something incorrectly or not taking necessary steps while administering care, that failure is a deviation from the standard of practice or care — in other words, medical malpractice or medical negligence.

In a medical malpractice lawsuit, the injured patient has the burden of proving that the healthcare provider negligently failed to meet the professional standards applicable to his or her profession. In addition to the proper hiring and supervision of healthcare staff, a hospital is responsible for providing its patients with an acceptable level of care using suitable medical equipment and facilities such as those that are common in other hospitals offering similar services. Often, expert testimony is required to establish that the defendant healthcare provider didn't meet the applicable standard of care. However, when a deviation from the standard of care is easily recognizable to a layperson, expert testimony is generally not required, such as when a foreign object is left in the body after surgery. If a breach of the applicable standard of care is proven, the injured patient must then prove that breach of  the standard of care was a “proximate cause” of the patient's injuries — that is, that there is a close connection between the negligence of the healthcare provider and the harm to the patient.

Finally, the injured patient must show what damages resulted from the medical malpractice. These may include physical or emotional injuries, past and future medical bills, past and future lost wages, physical and emotional pain and suffering, and more.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are often factually and legally complex. In addition, it is usually expensive to proceed with a medical malpractice lawsuit, in part because of the need for numerous experts to review the records and provide the necessary testimony at trial. For that reason, a settlement is often a good alternative. However, our medical malpractice attorney team is firmly committed to taking our clients' cases to trial if the defendant healthcare provider or his or her insurance company is not willing to offer a fair and reasonable settlement. We know that the best results are achieved by demonstrating that the patient and our medical malpractice attorney team are willing, able, and (most importantly) prepared to go to trial to obtain the right result.

Speak to a Medical Malpractice Attorney

If you would like to discuss your circumstances and find out whether you have a potential medical malpractice lawsuit or claim, an attorney in our office is available for a complimentary consultation. Contact the Menzer Law Firm today — our medical malpractice attorneys have helped many clients from the Seattle, Everett, Bellevue, and Tacoma areas, and we're ready use this experience to help you.