Each year, countless LaSalle County residents seek medical care at area doctors’ offices, urgent care facilities, community health clinics, hospital emergency rooms, and in other settings. While many patients who visit these locales receive quality care, there are a handful who don’t.
Some patients, unfortunately, end up experiencing an injury or decline in their health while being under the care of a medical provider, which leads to their admission or prolongs their stay in a hospital and sometimes claims their lives. How do we know this happens? For one, it’s because each LaSalle medical malpractice lawyer in our office is on the front every day, representing ill or injured clients or deceased patients’ surviving family members after preventable harm caused by health care providers occurs.
We want to be here for you, too, if someone has harmed you or prematurely taken your loved one’s life.
You’ve already been through a lot physically, emotionally, and financially. You probably can’t take much more. This is where Schweickert Ganassin Krzak Rundio, LLP can be of significant assistance to you. Our work begins with a free consultation where we explain your rights to you.
If you decide to have us assist with your case, we handle all the heavy work, such as securing evidence and conversing with insurers, all on a contingency basis, meaning you don’t pay us for legal representation unless we secure a settlement for you. So, if you’re looking to have some weight lifted off your shoulders where you can heal or grieve your untimely loss, call or email us to step in and help today.
How Often Does Medical Negligence Occur in Illinois?
According to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), which is associated with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, there were 1,495 Adverse Action Reports (AARs) filed in Illinois in 2023. That means almost 1,500 reported instances of health care practitioners making a mistake led to a patient suffering what were likely preventable injuries or illnesses that year.
Examples of Errors Made by Health Care Providers
The preventable mistakes doctors and other medical professionals make are quite varied and often include:
- Misdiagnosing patients, which may lead to them receiving an incorrect treatment
- Failing to diagnose a patient, which may result in delayed treatment
- Surgical errors, including anesthesia errors and wrong patient or site incidents
- Birth injuries, either to mom or baby
- Hospital-acquired infections, which may be caused by inferior cleaning protocols, for example
- Medication errors, including the wrong drug or too little or too large of a dosage issues
Of course, the examples of medical malpractice described above are far from exhaustive. So, whether one of the above instances happened to you or a close family member or something else, be sure to reach out to us at Schweickert Ganassin Krzak Rundio, LLP to discuss if you may have a pursuable medical malpractice claim.
Proving Medical Malpractice Occurred
You or your attorney must prove the following elements to have a valid claim malpractice claim in Illinois:
- That a doctor-patient relationship existed or that some other health care provider owed you a standard of care
- That a medical provider breached the standard of care they owed you
- Your health care practitioner’s negligent actions caused you harm (you to develop an illness or injury)
- You sustained damages because your medical provider engaged in negligence
- You incurred losses because of the negligent actions that the health care practitioner made
Establishing the elements of negligence necessary to pursue a claim or lawsuit against a health care provider can be challenging, which is why it can be helpful to have a LaSalle medical malpractice lawyer assist you in building your case. At Schweickert Ganassin Krzak Rundio, LLP, we offer free consultations to individuals like you. If you want to confirm whether you have a valid claim and what your legal options are, contact us for help today.
Potential Health Care Providers You Can Hold Liable for Negligence
Since our firm’s inception, we have named the following parties as defendants in medical malpractice lawsuits we’ve filed in LaSalle County Courts:
- Doctors, including emergency room physicians, surgeons, and anesthesiologists
- Nurses
- Hospitals and other medical centers
- Pharmacists
- Chiropractors
- Mental health counselors, psychologists, or psychiatrists
- Dentists
While this list is brief, hopefully, it gives you a better idea of how no medical practitioner is immune from being held liable if their actions or lack thereof cause you harm. So, no matter who negatively impacted your health, be sure to reach out to us for a free case evaluation to see if you have a viable case.
Compensation You Can Receive If You Have a Successful Lawsuit
Any financial recovery you make by filing a claim with a health care provider’s medical malpractice or insurer or by filing a civil lawsuit can go to paying any losses you’ve incurred because negligence occurred, including:
- Medical costs
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Also, if the medical negligence resulted in a loved one’s wrongful death, you may be eligible to recover compensation for funeral and burial costs as well as additional damages.
The Statute of Limitations That Applies to Medical Negligence Cases
There’s a 2-year filing timeline that generally applies to medical malpractice cases in Illinois.
As you’re likely aware, adverse outcomes such as injuries or a person’s deteriorating health caused by a health care provider’s negligence aren’t always immediately apparent. Instead, a patient like yourself or a loved one may only begin to manifest outward symptoms of distress at some later point in time.
Know that the 2-year statute of limitations applicable in your case only begins counting down once the onset of the injury or illness occurs or you discover there’s an issue.
Additional exceptions may also apply that impact whether you’re able to file beyond that 2-year window, which is why you owe it to yourself to consult with one of our medical malpractice attorneys to verify whether you’re still within the statutory timeline to file your case.
Explore Your Legal Options After Suffering Medical Malpractice in LaSalle, IL
You’ve already suffered enough; don’t wait any longer to fight for justice. Reach out to our office today for a free consultation and see how a LaSalle medical malpractice lawyer can help you. Our team at Schweickert Ganassin Krzak Rundio, LLP is ready to advise you of the legal options available for you to pursue and assist you in claiming the financial compensation you need to take back your health and life. We look forward to your call or email.
