Fredericton Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Rare are the times when a patient needing treatment by a healthcare professional is a positive situation. As a result, medical malpractice is usually a bad situation turning worse. When a healthcare professional causes harm to a patient, it not only negatively impacts that patient, but also their loved ones, and the faith society has put into the medical profession to ‘do no harm’ and to provide the best treatment available. The betrayal of trust by someone the patient put their faith into can have lasting psychological effects, to say nothing of the physical and mental harm that was the direct result of the malpractice.

At NOVA injury, we are trained to help patients identify what medical malpractice looks like, what effects it can have, and how to help victims of medical malpractice get the compensation and understanding they deserve.

Understanding Medical Malpractice

Sometimes mistakes happen, even with trained professionals. However, medical negligence is more than a doctor or nurse performing less than perfectly. Medical malpractice is defined in New Brunswick’s Medical Act, as well as the decisions of the courts over time.  Generally, for a medical professional to cross the line into medical malpractice, they need to fall below the acceptable level of care that an average medical professional practicing in the same area of medicine would find appropriate.

In a medical malpractice case, the first step is identifying what procedure or advice should or should not have occurred. It can be difficult to determine if an act falls below the threshold of the standard of care. Each claim and each patient is different, and the healthcare system is complex. You will definitely require at least one expert medical opinion to prove that the professional involved did not meet the required minimum standard of care. Because of this, working with a law firm like NOVA Injury Law that employs medical professionals as well as doctors can let you know early into the process how likely your claim is to succeed.  

Once a viable claim has been identified, ideally in consultation with a medical malpractice lawyer, a lawsuit can be filed against the healthcare professional or institution responsible.The defendants will likely be represented by the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA), who will in almost all cases vigorously deny and defend the claim. The defendant may ultimately agree to settle the claim, or may choose to argue their case at trial. In either case, attempts to negotiate a fair settlement with the other side’s legal team is vital, and sufficient evidence of medical malpractice will need to be present to either negotiate successfully or to win at trial. An assessment from a different medical professional, corroborating your experience of harm, will also typically be necessary.

You won’t necessarily know when you start planning to file a claim whether or not your case will proceed to trial, and the proceedings often take years from start to finish. It is crucial to retain an expert in medical malpractice law early on, so that you do not accidentally miss your claim window or jeopardize your claim before it has been resolved. 

Types of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice can take a variety of forms, from failing to diagnose a condition, to misdiagnosing, delaying the diagnosis or the treatment, failure to provide treatments, or providing improper treatment. This could be caused by a medical error, a procedural error, or neglect due to a variety of factors, such as inherent bias.

Misdiagnosis and Diagnostic Errors

Failure to diagnose and delayed diagnosis have similar impacts in that they both result in patients not receiving medical treatment that they need in a timely manner, because the treatment is not seen as necessary without a diagnosed condition. This can either make conditions deteriorate or pass landmarks where prior treatment would have resolved the condition entirely. Misdiagnosis means that both the actual condition is left unknown and untreated, and non-necessary treatment is potentially being given, which can often be physically or mentally harmful. 

Treatment and Procedural Errors

Where diagnostic errors prevent successful identification of what is affecting a patient, failures in proper treatment are when patients don’t receive the treatment that they need. Delayed treatment and failure to treat both results in the patient not receiving treatment in a timely manner, often leading to conditions worsening. A procedural error is when there is set treatment flowchart that the medical provider doesn’t follow, impacting treatment quality. Healthcare providers can be liable if any incorrect treatment is a breach of care. 

Pharmaceutical and Device-Based Malpractice

Medical malpractice can occur as a result of a pharmaceutical or device-related errors. Drug errors include incorrect drug prescriptions for the illness, administering multiple drugs that produce negative effects when they interact within the body, and prescribing drugs despite allergies or contraindications. If medical device or drug is defective, not fulfilling its purpose or causing harm with use, then it may be a matter of product liability, where one or more parties in the chain of production and administration should have addressed the defect.

Medical Malpractice Injuries

The injuries that come from medical malpractice are as broad as the number of different medical procedures. This includes a severe injuries such as organ failure or brain damage. If a treatment is given to a pregnant patient and the result negatively affects the baby when it is born, such as the child having cerebral palsy or a condition caused by certain medications, then a claim can be made on the child’s behalf. If a patient experiences a wrongful death due to medical negligence or malpractice, then a claim can be made on behalf of the dependants of the deceased patient through the Fatal Accidents Act.

For medical malpractice claims, it is vital to be able to connect the wrongdoing of the healthcare professional with the injury suffered by the patient. For example, if anesthesia is improperly applied by the anesthesiologist during surgery, and as a result the patient moves and the surgeon damages an organ, the anesthesiologist can be a defendant despite not physically causing the injury, because their actions led to the injury.

Talk with one of our medical negligence lawyers today to get a free assessment on the particular circumstances of your case, to determine your options and paths to success.

The Role of Medical Institutions

Errors or inaction that leads to improper injury or even wrongful death can be the result of a single doctor or nurse. However, patient harms can also come from a series of slight errors due to more systemic failures. Nursing homes and hospitals have many employees, each playing a part in patient treatment. If three different healthcare professionals working at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital (the DECH) each made a mistake contributing to a serious patient injury, then the liability may be with the employees, the professional or facility that oversaw the procedures and the employer of those responsible.

Legal Process and Patient Rights

In many situations, the standard for malpractice is where a patient would have made a different decision with better information, or would have had better health outcomes. If the actions or inactions of the healthcare professional would not have changed anything, then there is no clear damage that occurred.

Patients have a right to be involved in the decision-making process for their own health whenever that is possible. A healthcare provider not telling a patient about the risks of a treatment plan, then the treatment going poorly, when the patient would have chosen a different treatment knowing all the information, could qualify as a violation of the patient’s rights.

The statute of limitations for filing a medical negligence claim in New Brunswick is generally 2 years from discovery of the harm, or 15 years after the harm regardless of discovery. Discovery is when the patient knows or ought to have known that the malpractice occurred. However, the 2-year timer is not in effect before the affected party is 19 years old, or while they are in an unfit state to make a claim, such as an extended period of consciousness or incapacitation.

If the worst is to occur and a person dies after starting their claim but before it is resolved, their estate is allowed to proceed with that claim due to the Survival of Actions Act, though some damage recovery is limited as a result.

Starting an action against another party involves filing notice with the court. Court proceedings and legal documentation is generally best left to legal professionals. The team at NOVA Injury Law can assist at any point in the process, even if an action has already commenced. 

Compensation and Settlements

Compensation for medical malpractice can include payment for pain, suffering, and emotional harm, lost wages, the cost of therapy treatments, loss of future earnings due to disability, and anything additional that addresses the physical or financial harms suffered because of the malpractice.

The amount of compensation can be determined either through settlement negotiations or at trial, though trial comes with additional expenses and the total time is generally measured in years. Reach out to the team at NOVA, for an assessment of the compensation you may receive for your situation.

Call Our Fredericton Medical Malpractice Lawyers Today!

Personally navigating both the medical and the legal system, especially when you or a loved one has just been the victim of malpractice, makes achieving the ideal outcome next to impossible. Medical malpractice cases often involve fighting against practitioners or institutions with both means, and in-depth knowledge of your particular case. To be successful in your claim, and to receive the compensation you deserve, contact a law firm that specializes in personal injury and medical malpractice. 

The skilled and qualified lawyers at NOVA Injury Law are experienced with medical malpractice cases in Fredericton. Our medical-centric approach ensures that a medical expert is available when the second opinion is needed to balance out the professional who caused the harm. The consultation process is free, and we only charge you when we are successful in getting you compensation.