Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorneys

We trust doctors, nurses, and healthcare providers to take care of our families and us. But their extensive education, training, and experience do not mean they won’t make mistakes. When they act carelessly, exercise poor judgment, or make preventable errors, the results are often catastrophic, putting our health and lives in danger. 

Tragically, medical mistakes upend lives every day. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States, claiming an estimated 250,000 to 400,000 lives each year. Other mistakes leave patients scarred, disfigured, or left to suffer, often placing an emotional and financial burden on loved ones. The pain and disruption caused by an act of medical malpractice are often compounded by a lack of understanding about what went wrong, what to do about it, and how to hold negligent doctors and healthcare providers accountable.

At Hammond Law LLC, our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys help clients seek compensation and justice in the aftermath of medical malpractice. We understand the physical, emotional, and financial challenges patients and families must deal with after a medical error. That is why we are so committed to alleviating these burdens for our clients. Even in the most complex matters, we can uncover the truth and build the strongest possible case to get victims and families the resources to help them recover and move forward. 

What Is Medical Malpractice?

A healthcare provider commits medical malpractice if they violate the accepted standard of care when treating a patient, meaning they failed to exercise the same degree of knowledge, skill, and ability as an “ordinary professional” in that same specialty would exercise under similar circumstances.

Medical malpractice can occur in the doctor’s or dentist’s office, a nursing home, in the hospital emergency department, or during surgery in the operating room. It can happen when a doctor or other medical professional provides improper treatment or no treatment, misreads or misinterprets a scan or test, or prescribes or administers the wrong dosage or medication. 

The three most common types of medical malpractice are:

• Failure to diagnose, such as when a physician neglects to determine or incorrectly identifies the patient’s illness. Misdiagnosis can delay necessary treatment, allowing the underlying condition to worsen.
• Improper treatment, such as performing a contraindicated surgical procedure, administering unproven therapies, or misprescribing medication. Like a failure to diagnose, treatment errors can prolong an illness or condition.
• Failure to obtain informed consent, such as not properly warning the patient of known risks associated with a treatment, surgical procedure, or medication. In those instances, malpractice occurs if the patient would not have consented to the treatment had they been properly advised of the danger.

Neither Time Nor the Insurance Companies Are on Your Side

Under Illinois law, the plaintiff (the injured patient, the patient’s legal representative, or the deceased patient’s estate) must file a medical malpractice claim within two years of the date when the negligence was discovered or should have been discovered. Pinpointing the malpractice can be difficult, often requiring scrutiny of medical records and close consultation with medical experts. This can take time, which is why it is so important to contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible if you believe you were the victim of a medical error.

You are not only racing against time, but you also face professional liability insurers that immediately engage teams of lawyers to defend against medical malpractice lawsuits, especially since Illinois has no limit on the non-economic damages (such as pain and suffering) you can recover. Their goal is to reduce the defendant healthcare provider’s responsibility or avoid paying you any compensation at all. Without an aggressive lawyer protecting your rights and pursuing your claim, they will likely succeed. 

A Caring and Compassionate Law Firm Ready to Fight for Your Rights

Hammond Law knows what it takes to pursue a successful medical malpractice claim. For years, we’ve represented injured patients and their families in cases involving egregious examples of medical mistakes. We are not only proud of the compensation we’ve secured for them but also our ability to help rebuild broken lives.

If you or someone you care about has been the victim of a medical error or missed diagnosis, contact us today. The first consultation is free, and no matter how serious the injury or how complicated the medical issues, you won’t pay a fee unless we recover compensation for you.