Making a Wrongful Death Claim After Medical Malpractice

When you have just lost a loved one to the hands of a medical professional, you reserve the right to grieve. But how can you grieve at your own pace when justice does not exist for your loved one’s life? These are many ways that the death of a loved one can have a major effect on your life, from an emotional standpoint to a financial one, depending on the role that your loved one played in your life. There are many elements that must be present in these cases and many difficult aspects that you will have to ensure, which is why it is vital to have legal assistance on your side during the tough times.

Understanding Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice cases happen every year in the U.S., most commonly ending in serious injuries to victims. Victims tend to move forward with a medical malpractice case to gain compensation for their injuries in the most severe cases. These cases happen when medical professionals (such as doctors and nurses) supply care to a patient that falls below the standard of professional care that they are supposed to meet. Usually, this involves a variety of different circumstances, from misdiagnosis to mistakes in administering medication, surgical errors, and medical errors during pregnancy and childbirth.

When your loved one is scheduled for surgery or has been diagnosed with a disease or disorder, you never expect the worst. You believe that your loved one is in the best care of a doctor, but all too often medical malpractice takes hold and leaves families in a tight spot that calls for intervention. This is why medical malpractice cases exist – because no family deserves to suffer the loss of a loved one.

Proving Your Case

Wrongful death claims protect dependents. What if the victim of one of these terrible accidents was the sole provider for their child or spouse? Now that they have passed away, the family will experience financial strain. When trust is broken and the medical professional works below the standard duty of care, the family expects answers and compensation for their losses. If you are able to bring a claim, you can be compensated for both financial losses and non-economic losses, such as the pain and suffering you now deal with on a daily basis since your loved one has been taken.

To show your case, you must be able to prove that there was a connection between the cause of death in your loved one and negligence by the medical professional. Sometimes this can be a challenge, especially when patients already had complicated medical problems. In some cases, this leads to an autopsy to discover exactly what caused your loved one’s death. An attorney and experts with strong medical backgrounds can work together to show that there was indeed a connection.

A victim’s children could compensate for losses when they depended on the loved one for support on a financial level. If the loved one would have contributed to their college education, they could even bring a claim based on what they would have received if medical malpractice would not have occurred. Spouses can also bring these claims for compensation like loss of consortium and loss of the deceased’s services around the house.

There are many ways that you can show the courts that the loss of your loved one has had adverse effects on your life. If a medical professional has acted below their standard duty of care, you have a right to bring a claim for compensation. At the Los Angeles Injury Group, we have experience in medical malpractice claims and can help in your time of need. Give us a call to get started on your case at 310-954-7248.

Sources:

https://expertbeacon.com/be-prepared-when-suing-wrongful-death-due-medical-malpractice#.Wl2P62WFCFI

https://www.losangelesinjurygroup.com/