Our medical malpractice lawyers in Columbia can represent you to seek compensation if you are harmed by negligence related to an infectious disease. Rely on Rikard & Protopapas to handle your infectious disease malpractice case. Contact us for a consultation.
Attorneys for Contracting Infectious Diseases
When medical malpractice occurs in the diagnosis, treatment, or contraction of an infectious disease, a victim may have a claim for compensation.
The Rikard & Protopapas lawyers have a track record of success representing victims and families in medical negligence claims. To see how we may assist you with claiming compensation for infectious disease malpractice, call or message us for your consultation.
Cases We Handle Involving Diseases
Failure to diagnose
Healthcare providers often mistake symptoms of infection, dismissing them for other ailments or failing to recognize their severity. Fevers, coughing, sore throat, changes in urination, diarrhea, vomiting, and pain can all be misinterpreted. Care providers may fail to consider the possibility of infection, or they may fail to take the appropriate steps to investigate whether the patient has an infection.
Misdiagnosis
An infection may be misdiagnosed. Care providers may identify the wrong body part as being infected. Diagnostic errors may result in the wrong treatment, and it may delay the treatment that the patient needs.
Failure to prevent
Hospitals and doctor’s offices are places where infection can spread. Hospital-acquired and hospital-related infections occur when a person is admitted for a condition that is unrelated. Bacteria may be resistant to antibiotics and medical care. Often, transmission of infection in hospitals may be prevented with proper sanitation and hand washing.
Improper management
A patient with an infection needs adequate treatment and management of the infection. Antibiotics are often appropriate. Surgery may be required. Infection management should be personalized to the person’s health status and their care needs. A patient must be adequately instructed on personal care, like wound dressing and identification of symptoms.
Other infectious disease malpractice
If you have been harmed in another way because of infectious disease malpractice, you may qualify to claim financial compensation.
When Is an Infection Considered Medical Negligence?
Infections may result from:
- Parasites
- Fungus
- Viruses
- Bacteria
A person may become infected because of contact from another person, by consuming contaminated food or water, or from being bitten by an animal. Infections may occur during medical care.
Infection-related medical malpractice may occur when a person presents for medical treatment with an infection. Healthcare providers fail to correctly identify the infection or treat it properly, and the person doesn’t get the healthcare they need.
Alternatively, infection may result from medical treatment for an unrelated condition. If medical equipment is not sanitized, or care providers don’t adequately wash their hands, they may expose the patient to infection-causing agents. Perforation may result in infection and can even lead to sepsis.
Compensation for Infectious Disease Malpractice
Compensation for infectious disease is appropriate when a patient has been harmed by medical negligence. An infectious disease malpractice claim is based on care providers deviating from the accepted standard of care in how they treat a patient. It is an affirmative act that is not appropriate or done in error, or it is the omission of an act that should have been done based on prevailing standards of acceptable care. Evaluation of a case is specific to the facts and circumstances of that case.
Proving a case typically requires medical experts, detailed medical evidence and thoroughly presenting the facts of what occurred. Our lawyers review the circumstances and use legal procedures to build evidence. We understand how to build a claim for infectious disease malpractice, and we customize a case plan for each client we represent.
Damages for victims
Damages for infectious disease malpractice are related to the harm that the victim has sustained as a direct result of malpractice, subject to any statutory caps that may apply.
Economic damages are pecuniary losses including:
- Medical expenses and costs of medical care
- Prescription medication and drugs
- Loss of earnings, wages, and earning capacity
- Substitute domestic services
- Loss of spousal services
- Burial costs
- Other monetary losses
Non-economic damages may include:
- Pain
- Suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress
- Inconvenience
- Physical impairment, disfigurement
- Loss of society and companionship
- Loss of consortium
- Humiliation, injury to reputation
- Other personal losses
It is our goal for you to claim the appropriate amount based on your losses and South Carolina law. We review your information, determine the best way to proceed, and advocate for your compensation.
Choose Our Experienced Lawyers
If you suspect medical malpractice related to an infectious disease in Columbia, you may need the help of a skilled lawyer. Explore your legal options and find a Columbia infectious disease malpractice lawyer who can assist you.
The lawyers at Rikard & Protopapas have a 97% success rate spanning 20 years of handling malpractice claims in South Carolina. We have a large legal team of attorneys and support staff to meet your legal needs. We are admitted in South Carolina state courts, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.
We’ve received recognition from Super Lawyers as a Rising Star and Top Rated Medical Malpractice Attorney. Columbia Living Magazine named our lawyers Top Attorney and Top Rated Personal Injury Attorney.
With more than $100 million recovered for our clients, we are proud to be leaders in medical negligence litigation.
Don’t wait to contact us!
Medical negligence claims, including infectious disease malpractice, have strict time frames. Waiting too long to talk to a lawyer may prevent you from receiving compensation. We are most likely to be able to help you when you contact us quickly after you realize something is wrong.
If you believe medical negligence may have occurred, contact us right away. We can start working on your case immediately.
Talk to a Lawyer – Contact Us Today
Having representation from our infectious disease malpractice lawyers can be a significant help for your healing and future. Contact us today to talk to a lawyer. Consultations are always free, so there is no charge for your initial contact with our law firm. A variety of fee arrangements are available, including contingency fees.
Consultations are available in our offices, virtually, in the hospital, or in another place that is convenient for you. Call or message us today.