When patients seek medical treatment, they trust doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other health care providers to provide appropriate care. Unfortunately, medical mistakes can sometimes cause serious injuries or make an existing condition worse. When that happens, Washington medical malpractice laws may allow an injured patient to pursue compensation.
Understanding some of the basic rules governing medical malpractice claims can help patients determine when it may be appropriate to speak with a Seattle medical malpractice attorney.
What Is Medical Malpractice in Washington?
A poor medical outcome does not automatically mean malpractice occurred. Generally, a patient pursuing a Washington medical malpractice claim based on professional negligence must establish that the health care provider failed to meet the applicable standard of care and that this failure caused the patient’s injury.
Washington law describes the standard in terms of the degree of care, skill, and learning expected of a reasonably prudent health care provider in the same profession or class, acting under the same or similar circumstances.
Medical malpractice can arise in many different situations, including surgical errors, medication mistakes, birth injuries, delayed diagnoses, failure to diagnose serious illnesses, and improper treatment.
Proving a Washington Medical Malpractice Claim
In most negligence-based medical malpractice cases, the injured patient must establish two important points: the provider failed to satisfy the applicable standard of care, and that failure was a proximate cause of the patient’s injuries. The plaintiff generally has the burden of proving the necessary elements by a preponderance of the evidence.
Because medical standards and causation can involve complicated medical questions, expert testimony frequently plays an important role in establishing what an appropriate provider should have done and whether a departure from that standard caused the injury.
What About Lack of Informed Consent?
Washington law also recognizes claims involving a health care provider’s failure to obtain informed consent. A patient may have a claim when a provider fails to disclose material information about treatment, the patient agrees to treatment without knowing that information, a reasonably prudent patient would not have agreed if properly informed, and the treatment causes an injury.
This can involve undisclosed significant risks, complications, or treatment alternatives.
How Long Do You Have to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
Washington imposes strict deadlines on medical malpractice claims. Under RCW 4.16.350, an action based on professional negligence generally must be commenced within three years of the act or omission or one year after the patient discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, that the injury was caused by the act or omission, whichever period expires later. Washington law also generally imposes an eight-year outer limit, subject to specific exceptions involving matters such as fraud, intentional concealment, or certain foreign objects.
Because determining the applicable deadline can be complicated, patients should avoid waiting until the statute of limitations is approaching before seeking legal advice.
Speak With a Seattle Medical Malpractice Attorney
Medical malpractice cases can require extensive review of medical records, consultation with qualified experts, and a careful analysis of how the provider’s actions affected the patient’s health.
If you believe that you or a loved one was injured because of negligent medical care in Seattle or elsewhere in Washington, consider speaking with an experienced medical malpractice attorney. An attorney can evaluate the circumstances, determine whether the evidence may support a claim, and explain the legal options available for seeking compensation.
Contact Otorowski & Golden, PLLC
Please know that our firm is here to help if you were injured due to a medical provider’s malpractice. Otorowski & Golden, PLLC provides free consultations to all our potential clients. The attorneys at our law firm also have over 120 years of combined experience representing injured parties in medical malpractice cases. They never back down to insurers and fight for their clients’ interests every step of the way. Do yourself a favor and contact them now for the quality legal representation you deserve.