The Snapka Law Firm, Injury Lawyers

If you've been injured by medical negligence then you need to hire one of the best medical malpractice lawyers in San Antonio Texas. kathy Snapka and her team at the Snapka Law Firm have decades of experience handling medical injury and doctor error lawsuits.

Texas law allows a patient who has been harmed by medical malpractice to recover money for the harm that was done. First, if the patient was injured, he or she can recover for economic losses such as lost income, medical expenses, and other expenses that the patient has or will incur due to the malpractice. Additionally, the client can recover for the emotional harm, and suffering that he endured. These damages, known as non-economic losses, are limited to $250,000 per defendant under the law for a maximum of $750,000.

All to frequently hospitals and healthcare providers do not live up to the standard of care. They get sloppy, and careless, and quit listening to their patient. Some quite frankly just don’t care at all. Money is their concern, not the patient. In short, they not only breach the standard of care, but breach the sacred trust placed in them and cause needless injuries or death. Over 100,000 patients are killed in hospitals each year in this country due to medical malpractice. Our lawyers have tried many medical malpractice cases including multi-million dollar verdicts against doctors and a medical facilities.

How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Texas

You may ask, “Do I have a case?” We look at the answers to three basic questions.

First, did the health care provider breach a recognized standard of care? That is, did he do, or fail to do something that a reasonably prudent doctor (or other healthcare provider) should have done under the circumstances. A doctor is permitted to make mistakes in judgment because medicine is an art, not a science on many decisions they make. Further, not every bad result is due to medical malpractice. Sometimes, bad things just happen even though the doctor uses appropriate care. However, there are recognized standards of care which must be followed, just like there are when we drive our cars. If the doctor runs the “medical red light” in these situations, and violates the standard of care, then he is negligent. A doctor who is familiar with the standard of care must testify that the doctor was negligent, or the law does not permit a patient to bring a case. Examples include situations where a doctor fails to diagnose timely diagnose cancer, fails to timely recognize signs of an impending heart attack, or stroke, or a hospital fails to take proper fall precautions to protect a patient at risk of falling.

Second, if we assume the doctor did something that was legally wrong, that is to say he was negligent, did this cause the patient to suffer harm, or to die. Suppose a doctor fails to timely diagnose cancer when he should have done so. For instance, suppose a radiologist pointed out on xray that a patient had findings that showed cancer, and the doctor didn’t read the report, and didn’t tell the patient. The question still remains as to whether the timely diagnoses would have made any difference in the patient’s survival. If not, then, the doctor’s mistake made no difference, and there is no case. Thus, a medical expert must be able to prove the medical error made a difference in the outcome, or caused the patient to suffer harm as a result.

Third, even if there is a case, is it going to do the client any good in the end to take the case? Medical malpractice cases are very expensive. As mentioned, medical experts must prove the case. They charge thousands of dollars to review the records and medical literature. When they testify, they charge a lot of money because they must take time away from their practices to give their opinions. Thus, if the cost of bringing the case is so high that the client will not be able to be fairly compensated at the end of the case, then it makes no sense to take the case. While it is a noble cause to fight for the principle of the matter, few clients can afford to front the expenses and fees to fight for principle. I take cases on a contingency basis, meaning he must believe there is a good chance to win the case in order to even get the expenses he advances on the case back. Thus, he limits the cases he takes to a select few.

Surgical Events

• Wrong surgical procedure on a patient
• Surgical instrument or foreign object left in patient after surgery
• Death after surgery in a normal healthy patient
• Wrong limb or wrong patient operated on

Care Management Events

• Medication Error That Causes Death Or Serious Harm
• Transfusion of the wrong blood type
• Errors associated with labor or delivery on a low-risk pregnancy which causes death or serious injury
• Failure to identify and treat jaundice in newborns
• Bedsores and Pressure Ulcers acquired after admission to a healthcare facility which cause death or serious injury

Environmental Events

• Electric shock and burns which causes serious harm while being cared for in a healthcare facility
• Any incident in which a line designated for oxygen or other gas to be delivered to a patient contains the wrong gas or is contaminated by toxic substances

Patient Protection Events

• New born baby discharged to the wrong person
• Patient disappearance for more than four hours that causes death or serious injury

Product or Device Events

• Patient death or serious injury due to use of contaminated drugs, devices, or biologics provided by the healthcare facility
• Patient death or serious injury because a device used in patient care malfunctions in some manner, or is used in a manner that was not intended.
• Death or serious injury due to an intravascular embolism that occurs in a healthcare facility