Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Chicago, IL
Willens & Baez Personal Injury Lawyers, P.C. is a top-rated law firm with an award-winning team of Chicago Personal Injury Lawyers and Medical Malpractice Attorneys who can help you when you have been injured in a medical malpractice case. Since we charge no legal fees, unless and until we succeed in obtaining a monetary recovery for you, you can count on us fighting hard to get you the compensation you need and deserve.
We know that an injury case has the potential to take over a person’s life, making it difficult to move forward. People turn to us for the dedicated, caring help they require, regardless of the type of accident they were in or the type of injury sustained. We want to help them take control of their situation so they can focus on what matters most — getting back on track. This is also why many of our firm’s cases are referred to us from other lawyers and law firms who trust us to handle their friends, family members and clients’ personal injury cases.
Why Let Willens & Baez Personal Injury Lawyers, P.C. handle your Medical Malpractice Case?
Effective representation and professional client treatment are two major reasons why Chicagoans trust Willens & Baez.
Our firm’s effectiveness in injury cases is evident in our track record. For instance, we have obtained a $300,000 settlement for the family of a young boy who suffered a wrongful death in a boat crash. We also got a $147,500 settlement for a woman who fractured her ankle in a boating accident. These are only a couple of examples from our long list of successful cases.
Our hard-hitting legal representation is coupled with compassionate treatment for our clients. As a boating accident attorney in Chicago and avid boater himself, Matthew Willens understands firsthand how distressing it can be to experience a water accident. We have seen how an injury can affect your finances, your work, and your quality of life. This is why we want you to get the compensation you deserve, without making it too stressful for you. Our entire team will be accessible to you throughout your case.
Willens & Baez Personal Injury Lawyers, P.C. serves Chicago and surrounding areas. We are available 24/7. If you can’t come to us, we’ll arrange to come to you. Your consultation with us is free.
Call (312) 957-4166 For a Free Consultation
Need an Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorney?
When you come under the care of a doctor, you trust that doctor will help you. If you are injured, they should be held accountable.
We commonly entrust our health to doctors and hospitals, expecting them to care for us with their knowledge, experience, and professionalism. That is why it is especially distressing when a negligent physician or medical staff causes injury to a patient.
If you or someone in your family has suffered because of this, it may be a case of medical malpractice and you may be entitled to compensation. Talk to an experienced Chicago medical malpractice attorney at Willens Injury Law to see how you can pursue a malpractice claim.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
When a medical professional or healthcare provider causes injury to a patient through negligence, it can be considered a case of medical malpractice. Liable parties can include doctors, nurses, hospital staff, pharmacists, medical device companies, and even hospital management.
In order to bring a valid malpractice claim, the injured party needs to establish four legal elements:
That the medical provider owed the patient a duty of care
That the medical provider failed or breached this duty
That this breach resulted in the patient’s injury
That the injury came with losses (or in legal terms, damages)
Without all four elements, a medical malpractice case cannot be pursued. While these elements can often be difficult to establish, especially when the at-fault party has a strong defense, an experienced medical malpractice lawyer in Chicago should be able to help you build a strong and successful case.
What To Do If You Suspect Medical Malpractice
Not all outcomes of medical treatment that turn bad are due to someone’s negligence. Modern medicine still has its limitations, and bad outcomes are not always the fault of medical professionals.
If you suspect, however, that the failed treatment can be traced back to your physician’s or hospital’s carelessness, do not hesitate to discuss it with a knowledgeable attorney. A lawyer with the right team and network of experts can thoroughly examine your case to determine if malpractice has indeed occurred.
Medical Mistakes by a Doctor or Physician
A 2000 report by the Institute of Medicine claimed that 98,000 people a year were killed and more than one million (1,000,000) were injured every year by medical mistakes.
Medical mistakes are unfortunately common. We don’t know how common, but a 2000 report by the Institute of Medicine claimed that 98,000 people a year were killed and more than one million (1,000,000) were injured every year by medical mistakes. A 2010 study by the Department of Health and Human Services estimated that among Medicare patients alone, about 1 in 7 suffered a medical error, contributing to about 180,000 deaths a year and resulting in about 1.6 million injuries. About 40% of the errors in the study were described as “preventable.”
If you suspect your doctor made a medical mistake during treatment, it’s important to understand that these mistakes are not rare. It can be hard to sort out the evidence and determine what errors might have been made. We can help.
Why Mistakes Are Made
Medical mistakes, often legally described as medical malpractice, are often due to human factors or procedural factors. These include:
- Poor procedure
- Understaffing or overworking
- Poor training
- Fragmentation of care and poor communication between care providers
- Poor labeling of drugs leading to medication errors
- Inadequate crisis response
- Use of inexperienced residents to provide care (the so-called July effect, the month when medical mistakes spike because new residents enter the system)
Almost all of these causes can be addressed, and some attempts have shown that preventable medical error rates can be dramatically reduced with determined, but sometimes expensive, efforts. Hospitals often don’t have the desire or willingness to implement these changes.
What Mistakes Are Made
There are many common medical mistakes. These include:
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
- Medication errors (a factor in up to half of all patient deaths due to error)
- Anesthesia errors
- Failure to give tests or act on test results
- Surgical errors
- Inadequate monitoring (contributes to fatal incidents like blood clots after anesthesia)
- Inadequate preparation
When these occur, the resulting injury may be immediate or it may take months or even years before the full effects are known.
Most Mistakes Are Not Reported
As we noted above, medical mistakes can generally be prevented, if hospitals and care providers have the willingness to do what it takes to revise procedures. However, they have little incentive to implement potentially expensive changes as long as few victims report the errors. Hospitals themselves only report about 1% of medical errors.
The average number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed in the US is only about 85,000, or approximately 8.5% of the lowest reliable estimate of the annual number of injuries from medical mistakes. Even for the most serious types of medical error—such as operating on the wrong body part—only about 20% of victims ever file a lawsuit.
As long as making medical mistakes is cheaper than preventing them, the for-profit medical system will continue harming patients. You have the ability to change this. If you have been hurt by a doctor’s error, you have a responsibility to come forward with your story and your claim.
Types Of Medical Malpractice Cases
Malpractice in the medical field may be more common than you think. Here are some injuries that unfortunately occur due to medical negligence:
Birth Injury
Some infants are born with minor birth injuries that heal on their own, but others sustain moderate to serious injuries that cause lasting damage.
See Also: Illinois Birth Injuries from Medical Negligence
Brachial Plexus Injury
Also known as brachial plexus palsy or Erb’s palsy, is a birth injury on a baby’s shoulder that may damage the arm.
See Also: Brachial Plexus
Cerebral Palsy
This wide-ranging brain disorder can be caused by deficient medical care during childbirth or childhood infections.
See Also: Cerebral Palsy
Delayed Diagnosis
A delayed diagnosis of a serious illness may cost a patient valuable time and the chance to truly recover his or her health.
See Also: Heart Attack Delayed Diagnosis or Misdiagnosis
Emergency Room Errors
In the high-pressure environment of the ER, carelessness of medical professionals can gravely worsen a patient’s condition.
Hospital Negligence
Hospital management may be liable for dropping patients, failing to sanitize or properly maintain equipment, failing to conduct staff screening, and more.
Improper Treatment
A doctor who prescribes outdated medication or inappropriate procedures has likely failed the accepted medical standards of duty.
See Also: Improper Medical Treatment
Medical Device Liability
A company producing medical devices may be held liable if those devices caused harm to their users.
See Also: Defective Medical Products
Medical Misdiagnosis
A doctor incorrectly diagnosing a disease may greatly harm a patient and their family.
See Also: Medical Misdiagnosis
Surgical Errors
If you suspect that something has gone wrong in your surgery, it is crucial to have the circumstances reviewed by medical experts.
See Also: Pain After Surgery Caused by Surgical Error?
Shoulder Dystocia
Excessive force when birthing an infant may result in fractures, nerve damage, internal lacerations, and even asphyxiation.
See Also: Shoulder Dystocia
Wrong Diagnosis
A misdiagnosis of a serious health condition can cost money, time, and even life itself.
See Also: Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis
Wrongful Death
If you have lost a loved one and you suspect that a negligent medical professional may have contributed to it, talk to a reliable attorney right away.
See Also: Who Can File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Willens & Baez competently handles these types of malpractice cases and many more. Our law firm has decades of experience in medical malpractice claims, and we have been proven successful in numerous cases. Talk to us if you believe that your injury or illness is a result of negligence in your medical case.
Why A Medical Malpractice Attorney Is Crucial
Given the stress associated with serious medical injuries, many people are hesitant to pursue legal actions with an attorney’s help. Hiring a lawyer is often associated with fees and exhausting legal battles, and this additional strain may be the last thing you want to deal with.
But a medical malpractice case differs from other injury cases. When your medical care causes you injury instead of a cure, it most likely means additional medical costs, additional missed working days, and additional distress – on top of the suffering you have already experienced. Incurring this much loss is enough reason to fight for much-needed compensation.
Further, careless medical professionals need to face their responsibility before they can cause harm to other patients. In our decades of experience in this field, we know that physicians or hospitals that make a mistake rarely ever come forward and acknowledge it. This, combined with deep resources to protect themselves from lawsuits, allows many negligent doctors and medical providers to continue practicing without consequences.
To get back on your feet and to stand up to negligent professionals, you should not have to go it alone. Consider that only 29 percent of medical malpractice trials in Illinois resulted in compensation for the patient, according to research by the Illinois Jury Verdict Reporter. It is a challenging fight, but with a competent lawyer on your side, you can win.
Successful medical malpractice cases are a specialty of Willens & Baez, as proven by the many million-dollar recoveries we’ve obtained for our clients. With an experienced Chicago medical malpractice lawyer on your side, you won’t fear the process and our entire team provides considerate, compassionate service to minimize the stress associated with legal cases.
Common Defenses That Doctors Use Against Medical Malpractice Claims
We know it can be challenging to face medical practitioners who are prepared to fight malpractice claims. These are some common defenses they use to undermine your case:
Standard Negligence Defense
Standard negligence defense. This seeks to disprove that the doctor acted negligently or failed their professional standards. They could say, for instance, that the doctor upheld his or her standards of duty and that the injury wasn’t a result of the actions in question.
Respectable Minority Principle
Respectable minority principle. If a “respectable minority” of medical professionals support the doctor’s line of treatment, he or her may have a valid defense.
Statute of limitations
Statute of limitations. This is one to bear in mind if you want to pursue a malpractice case. The statute of limitations sets a time limit for patients to file a lawsuit against their medical providers. In Illinois, you have two years from the date you discovered (or should have discovered) your injury to file your case; after two years, you could likely lose your right to pursue the lawsuit.
Contributory Negligence
Contributory negligence. A medical professional could also assert that the injury was partly or wholly the fault of the patient. For example, the patient may have mixed up prescriptions or failed to inform the doctor of important elements from their medical history.
Facts And Statistics About Illinois Medical Malpractice Cases
Illinois is unfortunately rife with medical malpractice claims. According to the Illinois Department of Insurance, these were the medical specialties with the biggest malpractice damages in the state from 2005 to 2008:
- Surgery
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Internal Medicine
- General Practice
- Anesthesiology
As previously mentioned, the Illinois Jury Verdict Reporter found that less than 30 percent of medical malpractice lawsuits that proceeded to trial in Illinois actually compensated the injured party. A separate report by independent research site True Cost of Healthcare shows that since 2003, the number of paid medical malpractice claims in the state has been declining. The same downward trend is seen in the total amount of medical malpractice payments in the state.
This sounds like bad news for patients in Illinois who are seeking justice for the harm caused to them by medical practitioners. It is far, however, from a hopeless battle. According to the Verdict Reporter research, on average, each favorable verdict awarded the patient with around $3,013,686. This means that it is still possible to obtain ample monetary compensation for malpractice injuries. The key is to have a robust case and powerful representation by a skilled medical malpractice attorney in Chicago.
How Much Will Your Medical Malpractice Case in Chicago Cost?
If you have been injured due to medical malpractice, you need to be prepared for a long and difficult case. The costs of litigation (and sometimes trial) will be expensive. It’s not uncommon for a medical malpractice case to cost from $50,000 to $150,000 to litigate.
However, if we at Willens & Baez take your case, we will advance these substantial costs. More importantly, when it comes to medical malpractice cases, we have years of successful experience, which means you have a greatly enhanced chance of obtaining your ideal outcome. The monetary compensation and the sense of justice you can achieve can significantly contribute to your healing and future well-being.
CASE RESULT:
$7,000,000 Settlement Medical malpractice case involving negligence
What Kind of Compensation Can You Expect For a Malpractice Case
One of the most common client questions is how much they are entitled to in a medical malpractice claim. The answer varies widely depending on the circumstances of each case. To name some, these are factors that affect the value of your case:
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The medical expenses associated with your case
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Your future medical or rehabilitation expenses
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Your missed earnings
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Whether or not you will be able to work again
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Whether or not you have a permanent injury
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Whether or not you suffered emotional trauma due to your experience
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Whether or not your injury has changed your quality of life
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Whether or not the medical professional was grossly negligent.
As mentioned in the statistics above, the average award for successful patients in Illinois is $3,013,686. A medical malpractice payment, however, can go much higher than this. In fact, in the same research period, seven cases resulted in verdicts amounting to $10,000,000 or higher.
In general, you may be able to receive compensation for damages, medical bills, future medical treatments, physical therapy, lost wages, lost opportunities, pain and suffering, grief, and more. Further, your legal action may help make certain that the doctor will be more cautious with his or her future patients.
What is the Statute of Limitations in a Medical Malpractice Case?
Statutes of limitations can vary greatly from case to case. It is crucial to contact an experienced lawyer if you suspect that a medical provider committed malpractice to, at a minimum, figure out whether you are eligible to make a claim under the statute of limitations. In Illinois, generally, the time a competent adult has to file a medical malpractice lawsuit is 2 years from the date of discovering an injury is due to malpractice. But, unless you were under 18 when you underwent the malpractice, you cannot file a lawsuit more than 4 years after the actual date of the negligent medical treatment.
Willens & Baez Has The Experience You Need
If you want sharp, effective legal representation to help you obtain the most favorable outcome possible for your case, choose Willens & Baez. These are only some of the successes our firm has obtained for our clients over the years:
- $10,000,000 settlement for a client whose infant had a traumatic birth injury
- $7,000,000 settlement for a client who went through a negligent abdominal surgery
- $4,000,000 settlement for a client whose doctor failed to diagnose his lung cancer
- $3,100,000 verdict for a client whose doctor failed to diagnose her breast cancer
- $1,700,000 settlement for a client whose doctors failed to timely treat her blood clots
Few law firms in Chicago have this stellar track record when it comes to medical malpractice claims. How does Willens & Baez do it? It boils down to our dedicated service: we pour our hard work, resources, and compassion into each and every case, treating each one as if it is our own. To make your case as robust as possible, we do the following and more:
- Thoroughly examine your medical records, from initial prescriptions and consultation records to test results and discharge notes
- Work with our network of medical experts to meticulously retrace your medical case, determining what went wrong and who were responsible
- Conduct in-depth research of the parties involved in your case
- Assess the most favorable strategies, arguments, and jurisdiction for your case
- Consistently communicate with you, providing clear answers to your questions so you will not have to be anxious throughout the legal process.
This approach at Willens & Baez enables our experienced attorneys to be smart and aggressive in representing you, even in the face of powerful physicians and hospitals. At the same time, the genuine care of our entire team produces compassionate service that minimizes your distress and lets you focus on your healing.
Get In Touch With A Law Firm You Can Count On
Willens & Baez Personal Injury Lawyers, P.C. is ready to provide this competent and caring service to you at anytime. It costs absolutely nothing to initially consult with us, so please do not hesitate to talk to us about your medical experience.
Our law firm serves the entire Chicagoland metro area and surrounding communities in Illinois. Hospitals in this region include:
- Advocate Christ Medical Center
- Advocate Lutheran General Hospital
- Alexian Brothers Medical Center
- Alexius Medical Center
- Loyola University Medical Center
- NorthShore Evanston Hospital
- Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital
- Northwestern Memorial Hospital
- Rush University Medical Center
- University of Chicago Medical Center.
So if you’ve been seriously injured due to the negligence of a medical practitioner, don’t be afraid to confidentially consult with us regarding your experience. For your free, no-obligation consultation, call us at (312) 957-4166 today.
Medical Malpractice Resources
- Elgin Medical Malpractice Lawyer
- Joliet Medical Malpractice Lawyer
- Naperville Medical Malpractice Lawyer
- What Is the Statute of Limitations for a Medical Malpractice Claim?
- Brain Injury Due To Illinois Medical Malpractice
