St. Louis Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Over $1 Billion in Compensation Recovered for ClientsVictims of medical negligence in Missouri can file a claim against a doctor, hospital, or another caretaker to recover compensation. Our experienced St. Louis medical malpractice lawyers can help you navigate the claims process, file a lawsuit, and seek maximum damages.
Medical errors are a leading cause of avoidable injury and death across the United States. When doctors and hospitals in St. Louis, Missouri make mistakes, Brown & Crouppen is here to hold them accountable. If you’ve been injured or lost a family member because of an act of medical negligence, don’t hesitate to contact our St. Louis medical malpractice lawyers for help.
We’re award-winning trial attorneys who have dedicated our careers to helping injury victims and grieving families in St. Louis and across the Midwest. Our results speak for themselves – we’ve secured over $1 billion in life-changing settlements and verdicts from insurance companies, hospitals, and other tough adversaries.
Don’t settle for less than you deserve. Don’t let the hospital push you around. Level the playing field by putting our top-rated law firm in your corner. We offer a free consultation, so please give our St. Louis law office a call to arrange a time for yours today.
What is medical malpractice?
Malpractice refers to a medical professional’s failure to provide an appropriate level of care to a patient. In Missouri, doctors and other healthcare providers are held to heightened standards of care.
We expect more from them because they have extensive training in the medical field – and because patients’ lives are quite literally at stake.
When a doctor fails to exercise a reasonable and appropriate level of care and a patient gets hurt in the process, they can be considered medically negligent.
What do I have to prove to win a medical negligence case in St. Louis?
When a doctor fails to exercise a reasonable and appropriate level of care and a patient gets hurt in the process, t
Medical malpractice cases are a matter of negligence.
When you file a claim or lawsuit, you’ll have to establish:
- A doctor-patient relationship existed
- The doctor (or other healthcare professional) breached the duty of care owed to you
- The doctor’s actions (or inaction) were the direct and proximate cause of an injury, and
- You’ve suffered damages, as a result.
How do you prove that a doctor breached the duty of care owed to you? In Missouri, you’ll have to establish that another doctor – of the same level of skill and specialty – would have acted differently under the circumstances.
Expert medical professionals will be needed to make this important point in an Affidavit of Qualified Health Care Provider. An expert can identify what went wrong and caused you to get hurt and discuss what conduct would have been more appropriate under the circumstances.
How can a St. Louis personal injury lawyer help me with a medical malpractice claim?
Medical malpractice is one of the most complex areas of personal injury law. In theory, it should be easy to hold negligent doctors and healthcare providers responsible for the mistakes they make. Unfortunately, laws in Missouri tend to favor doctors and hospitals, and not injured and traumatized patientss like you.
The best way to set yourself up for a successful result is by hiring an experienced St. Louis personal injury lawyer to handle your medical malpractice case.
At Brown & Crouppen, we’ve been going toe-to-toe with greedy hospitals and manipulative insurance companies in Missouri since 1979- and winning top results for our clients in the process.
When you trust us to represent you in your medical negligence case, we will:
- Handle your claim for damages from start to finish, giving you the opportunity to focus on recovering and moving forward
- Conduct a thorough and exhaustive investigation into your medical treatment and the error that caused you suffer an injury
- Gather medical records, patient charts, photographs, video recordings, lab reports, treatment plans, nurses’ and doctors’ notes, diagnostic information, and other evidence to support your case
- Interview and depose witnesses
- Consult with medical experts and specialists throughout the process
- Prepare an Affidavit of Qualified Health Care Provider
- Negotiate with the negligent medical professional (or their defense attorney), hospitals, or other interested parties on your behalf
- Prepare your case as if it’s definitely going to trial in the event that you aren’t offered a fair settlement or the other parties refuse to negotiate at all
Our goal isn’t just to help you win your medical malpractice case. It’s to maximize your financial recovery so that you can begin to put this traumatic experience behind you and begin to live your life again. While money may not reverse the damage that’s been done, it can relieve the tremendous financial burden of a catastrophic injury or illness. Contact our law office in St. Louis, MO to learn more about our legal services and schedule a free case assessment today.
We Handle All Types of Medical Malpractice Cases in St. Louis, MO
Some of the leading causes of medical malpractice include:
- Failure to diagnose
- Delayed diagnosis
- Improper diagnosis
- Surgical error
- Leaving a foreign object in the body after surgery
- Wrong-site surgery
- Anesthesia error
- Medication error
- Birth injury
- Failure to treat
- Failure to perform diagnostic tests
- Emergency room errors
- Failure to obtain a patient’s informed consent
- Premature discharge
Medical malpractice claims can be based on any act, omission, or mistake that’s made while a patient is under a medical professional’s care.
Who’s liable in a Missouri medical malpractice lawsuit?
Medical malpractice claims can be based on any act, omission, or mistake that’s made while a patient is under a
Medical errors can be a result of staff miscommunication, charting errors, understaffing, fatigue, and a whole host of other reasons. Under Missouri law, anyone who owes you a duty of care and contributes to a medical error can potentially be responsible for your resulting costs and trauma.
After a thorough investigation of your medical negligence case, our personanl injury attorneys may determine that one or more of the followign parties are liable:
- Primary care physician
- Emergency room doctor
- Specialist, including OBGYN, oncologist, psychiatrist, or pediatrician
- Nurse
- Nurse practitioner (NP)
- Physician assistant (PA)
- Pharmacist
- Surgeon
- Anesthesiologist
- Hospital staff
- Hospital administration
- Urgent treatment facilities
We will aggressively pursue compensation from anyone who directly (or indirectly) contributed to an act of medical negligence and caused you harm.
What damages are available in Missouri medical malpractice cases?
In a Missouri medical malpractice claim, plaintiffs can recover both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are awarded to offset the financial costs and losses associated with your negligent medical care:
- Present and future medical bills
- Physical therapy
- Ocupational therapy
- Transportation to another medical facility
- Medical-related travel expenses
- Lost wages and income
- Lost future benefits
- Disability
- Reduced earning capacity
- Funeral and burial costs if a family member is killed because of a medical mistake
Non-economic damages are awarded to compensate for the intimate and personal suffering victims experience:
- Pain and suffering
- Chronic physical pain
- Emotional distress
- Disfigurement
- Scarring
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of consortium
- Embarrassment
Punitive damages can potentially be awarded, but plaintiffs must prove that their doctor “intentionally caused damage” or “demonstrated malicious misconduct.”
When should I hire a lawyer if I’ve been the victim of medical malpractice in Missouri?
As soon as you can. Medical malpractice lawsuits in Missouri are subject to a strict two-year statute of limitations.
There is one notable exception – foreign objects left in the body during surgery. Patients will have up to two years from the date the object is discovered (or should have been discovered) to file a lawsuit.
However, even in those situations, patients will have a limited amount of time to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. There’s a 10 year statute of repose that bars all claims one decade from the date of an act of medical negligence. Once 10 years goes by, a victim loses the right to file a claim, even if their injury hasn’t been discovered yet.
Hiring a medical malpractice attorney will help to ensure that your claim is filed on time. Additionally, getting help right away can improve the odds of a successful claim for damages. Evidence can be lost or disappear, and witness memories will fade over time. The sooner our attorneys can begin to work on your case, the stronger it can be – and the more likely it is that you’ll secure the compensation you deserve.
Trusted St. Louis Medical Malpractice Lawyers Ready to Fight For You
Whether a doctor failed to diagnose your cancer, caused a traumatic brain injury during surgery, or caused the wrongful death of a family member, Brown & Crouppen can help you fight back. Our St. Louis medical malpractice lawyers have decades of experience taking on tough insurance companies and hospitals in the Midwest. We’ve won millions for our clients, and we’re ready to help you win your medical malpractice case, too.
We offer a free consultation and work on contingency. There’s no cost to hire our law firm unless we win your case – end of story. Contact our St. Louis, Missouri law office to set up a time for a free consultation and learn more.