Pittsburgh Medical Malpractice Attorneys
Serving Western Pennsylvania For Over 40 Years
When a person suffers a serious injury due to medical malpractice, negligence or a mistake made by a doctor or other trusted medical professional, they have many questions. What happened and why? Could this injury have been prevented? Who is at fault? How will I pay for medical bills associated with this injury?
The Pittsburgh medical malpractice firm of Lupetin & Unatin has been dedicated to helping people answer these questions in Western Pennsylvania for over 40 years.
What Constitutes Medical Malpractice?
If you or a loved one have been seriously injured during a medical procedure, and that injury was unexpected, or is unexplainable, you should contact a medical malpractice attorney to help you understand your claim, your options, and your rights.
Medical Malpractice Cases May Include:
- Birth Injuries: Injury suffered before, during or shortly after childbirth that causes lasting harm to the child, resulting in life altering conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, Erb’s Palsy, Shoulder Dystocia, and severe nerve damage.
- Brain Injuries: Severe injury to the brain can be caused by preventable oxygen deprivation during a medical procedure or hospital stay.
- Cancer misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis: Many common cancers such as cervical cancer and breast cancer can be caught early though routine testing. When the testing is not properly evaluated and the result is a delayed diagnosis, this may be medical malpractice.
- Medication Errors: Adverse events involving medications have been reported as the number one cause of harm to patients in hospitals. Among the injuries and deaths, approximately 25% are caused by preventable medication errors.
- Delayed Diagnosis of other diseases or conditions: A delay in diagnosing infection, illness or injury can have disastrous results. If warning signs present but are not identified and treated, this may be medical malpractice.
- Surgical Accidents: Injury caused by negligence during surgery, anesthesia errors, wrong site surgery or incorrect medication dosages during a surgical procedure.
- Wrongful Death: When medical malpractice or negligence of any kind leads to death.
Common Injuries Due To Medical Malpractice Or Negligence
We have handled many different types of medical malpractice cases. The articles below provide details on just some of the issues we have seen in over 40 years of helping victims in cases of medical malpractice or negligence.
- Hospital Acquired Infections
- Bile Duct Injury During Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy
- Anesthesia Errors
- Anoxic Brain Injury While Under Hospital Care
- Failure to Prevent, Diagnose, or Treat Pulmonary Embolism
- Failure To Monitor Vital Signs
- Failure To Diagnose Illness Or Medical Condition
- Heart Attack Evaluation
- Improper Placement of NG Tubes Resulting in Injury or Death
- Failure To Rescue From Cardiac Or Respiratory Arrest
- Failure to Maintain a Patent Airway During Surgery
- Delayed Diagnosis or Misdiagnosis of Cervical Cancer
- Delayed Diagnosis or Misdiagnosis of Breast Cancer
- Delayed Diagnosis of Compartment Syndrome
- Hospital Infections – Central Line Infections
- Maternal Deaths Due To Sepsis
- Negligent Resuscitation of a Newborn Infant
- Infections in the Newborn
- Delayed Diagnosis of Newborn Heart Defects
- Failure to Diagnose or Treat Preeclampsia
- Delayed Diagnosis of Newborn Heart Defects
- Failure to use Dental Dam During Root Canal
- Failure To Monitor A Fetus During Labor
- Severe Maternal Morbidity and Death
- Delayed Diagnosis of Spinal Epidural Abscess
Cost of Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim
Our legal consultations are always free unless we recover money for you. During the course of our investigation into your medical malpractice claim, we advance any costs that we deem necessary in the proper handling of your case. If we do not recover money for you, you do not have to return any of the costs incurred associated with your case.
This is called the Contingent Fee.
Settlements & Awards
In many medical malpractice cases a settlement is reached without trial. In order to determine and agree upon the amount of a settlement, the following factors are considered:
- Establish the full extent of the injury.
- Determine the future needs of the victim, including expected medical costs and cost associated with living with the injury, such as retrofitting of the home, devices and appliances that may be required, and long-term personal care.
- Determine the maximum recovery obtained in similar cases that may have set a precedent.
- Calculate how much the victim would have reasonably made in wages over the course of their lifetime or in the case of homemakers, their contribution to the needs of their family. For more information on the value of a homemaker, click here.
- Attorney fees will ideally be recovered for such sums as are awarded for pain and suffering. This is much easier to do by settlement than by verdict.
Time Limits on Filing Medical Malpractice Claims
The law limits the amount of time you have in which to file a medical malpractice case in Pennsylvania.
- Statute of Limitations: You typically have two years from the date of injury to file a medical malpractice case in Pennsylvania.
- Minors Tolling Statute: In a case where the victim is a child (under 18), the statute of limitations does not apply until the child reaches 18. This means that a claim must be filed before the child turns 20.
- Discovery Rule: If the injury is not discovered immediately the discovery rule may extend the amount of time in which you can file your claim.
Have you or somebody you love been seriously injured while under medical or hospital care? Do you have unanswered questions? We’re here to help you get answers.
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Lupetin & Unatin, LLC
The Pittsburgh medical malpractice attorneys at the law office of Lupetin & Unatin, LLC focus on cases in the following cities and counties in Western and Central Pennsylvania: Altoona, Allegheny, Beaver, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Ebensburg, Erie, Indiana, Johnstown, Mercer, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland.