The South Carolina medical industry is responsible for keeping you, your loved ones, and the entire community as safe and healthy as possible. Many talented and passionate healthcare professionals work hard to make a positive difference—but negligence is also shockingly common.
When negligence in health care leads to physical or emotional suffering, it’s important to take action with help from a top-rated medical malpractice lawyer in Greenville. The more you know about the scope of the problem, the better you’ll understand the value of seeking legal representation in the aftermath of a negligence-related personal injury incident.
Call (864) 343-2222 to contact a Greenville personal injury lawyer and discuss your medical malpractice case.
A Smith Jordan medical malpractice lawyer in Greenville, SC is here to guide you through the claims process. We understand how overwhelming pursuing a medical malpractice claim can be. Our strong track record of success is evidence that we take cases like yours seriously and will do everything possible to win for our clients.
We have substantial experience handling medical malpractice claims and negotiating with insurance companies. With the liable parties attempting to get away with paying you less than you deserve, we will ensure you receive fair compensation for your physical, emotional, and financial losses.
Medical negligence becomes a lawsuit when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care and that failure directly causes injury, harm, or a worsening of a patient’s condition. This can include mistakes in diagnosis, surgical errors, medication errors, birth injuries, or failures to properly monitor or treat a patient. Not every bad medical outcome qualifies as malpractice, so a case typically requires proof that another competent provider in the same situation would have acted differently and avoided the harm that occurred.
Medical negligence takes many forms. Many of these—such as surgical errors—are immediately identifiable. Others may not become evident until months or years later. The following are among the most common issues that lead to medical malpractice claims.
This occurs when your healthcare provider either diagnoses you with the wrong medical condition or fails to diagnose you with a medical condition. When this happens, you could be subject to inappropriate treatment such as surgical intervention, pharmaceuticals, or other unnecessary procedures.
When your physician fails to diagnose your medical condition in a timely manner, they can be accused of malpractice for delayed diagnosis.
If your local pharmacy does not fill your prescription correctly or the healthcare provider that wrote the prescription did not write your prescription for the appropriate dose, prescription errors could cause substantial injuries or even death.
Anesthesia errors occur when anesthesiologists give them proper dosages, fail to keep patients under anesthesia, or improperly administer anesthesia during surgery.
When healthcare providers fail to treat patients despite patients coming to them for help, they can be sued for malpractice. This frequently occurs when healthcare providers do not take patient concerns seriously.
Hospitals are busy and often overwhelmed with patients. If a healthcare provider prematurely discharges you from the hospital without conducting a thorough exam or providing you with the literature and materials you need to continue treatment or protect yourself if your condition worsens, they may be held accountable.
Surgical malpractice is one of the most common types of medical malpractice. Some examples include leaving surgical tools in body cavities, operating on the wrong patient, operating on the wrong body part, and conducting unnecessary surgeries.
Birth injuries are another common cause of medical malpractice. Some of the most prevalent types of birth injuries include Erb’s palsy, shoulder dystocia, fetal asphyxiation, prolapsed uterus, preeclampsia, cerebral palsy, and cephalohematoma.
Follow-up and aftercare are just as important as the initial treatment for a patient. When nurses and physicians failed to provide this follow-up care, it is tantamount to medical malpractice when their patient suffered severe bodily injury or death.
In a medical malpractice case, compensation is intended to cover both the financial and personal impact of a healthcare provider’s negligence. This can include medical expenses for additional treatment or corrective procedures, lost income if you’re unable to work, and future loss of earning capacity if your injuries affect your long-term ability to work. You may also recover damages for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and the overall reduction in your quality of life caused by the medical error.
To prove medical malpractice in Greenville, you must show that a healthcare provider breached the accepted standard of care and that this breach directly caused your injury or worsened condition. This typically requires detailed medical records, expert testimony from qualified medical professionals, and evidence comparing what actually happened to what a reasonably competent provider would have done in the same situation. Because these cases are highly technical, medical experts play a critical role in connecting the negligence to the harm you suffered.
Some of the parties who could share fault for your medical malpractice injuries include:
Your doctor could be sued if they failed to make the right medical diagnosis, offer treatment, or provide follow-up care.
Nurses can be held accountable for prescription drug mistakes, failure to provide follow-up care, or failure to follow physicians’ instructions.
Anesthesiologists can be sued when they make any type of mistake, such as intubation errors or administering too much anesthesia.
Physician assistants can be held accountable the same way doctors can when they misdiagnose patients, provide delayed diagnoses, or make other medical mistakes.
When pharmacists do not fill prescription drugs correctly, provide patients with the wrong dosage, or do not provide patients with the information they need to inform themselves about their prescriptions, they can be held accountable for medical malpractice.
When medical devices cause severe injuries or death, the manufacturers and distributors of these devices could be sued for medical malpractice.
There is no room for error in the lab. When laboratory technicians make mistakes, it can cost patients their lives.
Hospitals are often held accountable for the actions of their physicians and other staff. If a healthcare provider is an independent contractor, it may be more challenging to sue the hospital.
Medical facilities are similar to hospitals and can be held accountable when their staff makes medical mistakes that cost patients emotionally, financially, and physically.
Our medical malpractice lawyer in Greenville will help you navigate the often complex world of medical malpractice claims. There are certain steps you can take to protect yourself and begin building a powerful case against those responsible for the injuries you sustained and the damages you endured:
When you bring a medical malpractice case, your attorney manages the legal and investigative process from start to finish so you can focus on your health and recovery.
The state sets a strict statute of limitations, mandating that medical malpractice claims be filed within three years of the date of discovery or the treatment itself for most medical providers, but within only two years for some providers. Claims cannot be filed more than six years after medical negligence takes place.
Medical malpractice cases are complex, but you don’t have to navigate them alone. If you or a loved one has been harmed by a medical mistake in Greenville or anywhere in the Upstate, taking early legal action can make a significant difference in protecting your rights and building a strong claim.
At Smith Jordan Law, we take the time to understand what happened, work with trusted medical experts, and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Call (864) 343-2222 today or fill out our online contact form to schedule your free consultation.
You may have a case if a medical provider failed to follow the accepted standard of care and that mistake caused you harm or made your condition worse. A lawyer can review your records with medical experts to help determine if negligence likely occurred.
No. A poor medical outcome alone is not enough—there must be evidence that the provider acted below the standard of care and that this directly caused your injury.
These cases require detailed medical records and expert testimony to show both negligence and causation, which makes them highly technical and heavily contested by healthcare providers and insurers.
Most medical malpractice attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing upfront and only pay legal fees if your case is successful.
Speak with Our Skilled Legal Team About Your Case
As a victim of medical malpractice, you deserve justice and financial relief. Both can be obtained when you work with the right personal injury lawyer in Greenville, SC. Attorney selection could make all the difference as you seek damages for your injuries.
An ideal resource? The team at Smith Jordan Attorneys at Law. Our medical malpractice attorneys know what it takes to produce a positive outcome — even when handling complex and highly emotional cases. We’re here to ease the burden so you can focus on recovery. Contact us online or call (864) 343-2222 to get started with a free case consultation.