Select Your Injury Type

(check all that apply)

Birth Injuries

Brain Injuries

Broken Bones

Burns

Hearing Loss

Vision Loss

Paralysis

Sexual Abuse

Back Injuries

Surgery

Neck Injuries

Other

Name

Email

Phone

Address

City

State

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington DC West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Zip

Date of birth

010203040506070809101112 01020304050607080910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 1941 1940 1939 1938 1937 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 1925 1924 1923 1922 1921 1920 1919 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 1909 1908 1907 1906 1905 1904 1903

Cause

Truck Accident Car Accident Dangerous Drug Medical Device Maritime Accident Railroad Accident Bad Faith Insurance Governmental Liability Slip Trip & Fall Lawyer Negligence Healthcare Negligence Wrongful Death Cruise Ship Injury Recreational Boating Dog Bite Motorcycle Accident Other

Injury date

010203040506070809101112 2023 2022 2021

Injured party

me spouse child relative friend

Est. medical bills

Is this injury work related?

yes no

Have you already filed a Personal Injury lawsuit for this injury?

yes no

Was the injury someone else's fault who can be held financially responsible?

yes no

Do you have an attorney?

yes no

I agree to the Terms & Conditions

By submitting your request, you grant permission for one of our premier partners to contact you using the phone number or email address that you have provided so we may assist you with your request. You agree that the matched advocate or law firm may use an automatic telephone dialing system even if the number you provided is a wireless phone number.

Please complete the math problem to prove you are not a robot: =

New Orleans Medical Malpractice Attorneys & New Orleans Medical Negligence Attorneys

What injuries are considered Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice, also referred to as "med mal," "healthcare liability," "doctor malpractice," "hospital malpractice," or "hospital negligence," happens when a healthcare professional, such as a doctor, nurse, or surgeon makes a careless (negligent) or reckless error, which results in harm to you, the patient. This can be particularly traumatizing because society relies on and trusts our healthcare system, especially our doctors, to provide excellent medical care and to act with special care to protect us.

However, a 2004 study found that in an estimated 9 out of 10 medical malpractice trials, the alleged harm involved either a permanent injury (57%) or a wrongful death claim (33%). Malpractice can happen in many situations from the obvious but rare case of a surgeon dropping a scalpel into a body during surgery and forgetting to take it out to a situation where a physician is not paying full attention during an examination and makes a faulty diagnosis which leads to improper treatment. Medical malpractice can occur in hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes, and anywhere else where there are medical professionals. People in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, and Southeastern Louisiana are injured every day due to negligent errors and sometimes even recklessness in hospitals and other medical facilities across the New Orleans area.

Areas of medical malpractice include but are not limited to:

• Doctor error
• Hospital error
• Surgical error
• Birth injuries
• Infant brain damage
• Medication error
• Failure to diagnose
• Misdiagnosis
• Nursing errors
• Nursing home errors

Southeastern Louisiana & Orleans Parish Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Why do you need a New Orleans, LA Medical Malpractice Lawyer?

No one thinks their doctor will commit malpractice. The truth is that most Southeastern Louisiana doctors are excellent physicians and work extremely hard to bring their patients relief. Also, just because a procedure is not successful or a disease cannot be cured, this does not always mean there was malpractice. This is why experts are necessary to determine if malpractice was involved.

New Orleans Medical Malpractice lawyers almost always hire experts to help review all of the evidence, medical records, x-rays, MRIs and other medical documents. Sometimes, a New Orleans Medical Malpractice attorney will also refer their clients to doctors for examinations so they can understand both the severity and cause of the injury. Because hospitals and doctors have big insurance companies fighting for them, you will need an experienced New Orleans Medical Malpractice Attorney fighting for you.

If the case goes to trial, an experienced New Orleans Medical Malpractice Lawyer will make sure that the right experts testify on your behalf. Only a New Orleans lawyer knows which experts a jury will believe. An Orleans Parish Malpractice lawyer will make sure that your case is presented in the best way to prove to a court of law and a jury that you deserve compensation for your injury.

If you or a family member was hurt by a doctor or other medical professional, call a New Orleans Medical Malpractice Attorney to make sure your claim is handled the right way. New Orleans medical malpractice law firms are experienced in dealing with healthcare defense lawyers and can help you make sure that justice is served.

Louisiana Medical Malpractice Laws

Every state has different laws concerning medical malpractice. In Louisiana, the most important laws are those requiring you to file your claim within one (1) year of the injury and limiting damages to $500,000 plus future medical expenses.

Here is a brief summary of some of the Louisiana Medical Malpractice laws that a New Orleans Medical Malpractice Attorney can help you understand:

• Prescriptive Period: There is a one (1) year prescriptive period from the date of injury, unless the injury cannot be discovered until later. If this is the case, a lawsuit must be filed within a year from when the discovery should have happened, but in no case can this be more than three years after the original act causing the injury.
• Pre-Judgment Interest: The law allows for interest to start running on the day the suit is filed.
• Expert Witnesses & Standards for Judging the Reasonableness of the Medical Professional's Conduct: Specific requirements determine a person's qualification as an expert witness as to whether the physician or professional charged departed from accepted medical industry standards.
• Damage Caps:
  • Louisiana law limits judgments against doctors insured by the state to $100,000, but more than one doctor can be sued for a total of up to $500,000 plus future expenses. There is also a state fund to help patients recover up to $500,000 while limiting the amount doctors have to pay. There is no cap on damages when a doctor chooses not to participate in this program.
• Governmental Immunity: Different rules may apply to governmental immunity for malpractice claims. Contact a New Orleans medical malpractice attorney for further legal advice.
• Medical Review Panel: One of the most important parts of Louisiana Medical Malpractice law is the statutorily required Medical Review Panel. Before any Louisiana Med Mal case goes to court, it must first go through a panel of three doctors and a lawyer. The doctors on the panel are usually specialists, and the injured person picks one of the doctors. The panel decides, over the course of up to 180 days, whether or not the doctor breached his standard of care. While the cost paid to the panel is only $100 per defendant, costs can be higher because the panel looks at evidence. This means that the discovery process that can make a trial time-consuming and expensive is often a part of the panel process. The panel's decision is used as evidence if the case goes to trial, but their decision does NOT guarantee the outcome of the case. The panel is required to hold specialists to the same standard of care that is expected nationally. An injured party only has 90 days to file a lawsuit after the panel makes its decision - no matter  what their decision is. Doctors are generally slow to find that other doctors breached the standard of care through negligence or malpractice. This is one of the reasons why less than 5% of doctors are found to have breached their duty by the panel. Because it is very hard to know what the panel will decide, and very hard to know if a jury will listen, you should contact a Louisiana Medical Malpractice lawyer today to help you evaluate your claim. More information about the Medical Review Panels can be found at their official website. Call any of the Medical Review Panel medical malpractice attorneys on this page for a free initial case evaluation.

Other Important Considerations for New Orleans and Louisiana Medical Malpractice Claims:

• Arbitration:
  • Under Louisiana law, arbitration is allowed but not required by the Medical Malpractice Act. (La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 40:1299.47(A)). Medical patients can choose to enter into binding arbitration agreements. (La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 40:1299.57)
• Periodic Payments:
  • In Louisiana, future payments are usually paid for by the Patient's Compensation Fund.
• Collateral Source Rule:
  • Louisiana follows the Collateral Source Rule, meaning that a patient's recovery cannot be reduced by benefits paid from a source other than the doctor, such as an insurance provider. 
• Comparative Negligence:
  • Louisiana uses the pure comparative negligence doctrine. In all cases except those of intentional harm, a patient's recovery is reduced by his percentage of fault. In order to determine percentage of fault, the fault anyone who had something to do with the injury is considered, even if some of those involved are not part of the lawsuit. (La. Civil Code Ann. art. 2323)
• Joint & Several Liability:
  • Joint and several liability refers to the legal practice of holding more than one defendant jointly liable for the entire amount of a plaintiff's damages. Because Louisiana does not apply joint and several liability, each party is only liable for the percentage of the damage that they caused in a medical malpractice case. 
• Vicarious Liability:
  • In Louisiana, a hospital can be liable for the actions of its agents, such as its doctors or nurses, due to the agency relationship. Agency is demonstrated by control. The main factors Louisiana courts use to decide if an agency relationship exists between the doctor and the hospital are: (1) whether the medical facility controlled and supervised the professional medical judgment of the doctor, (2) whether the hospital handled the billing, (3) whether the facility provided and maintained the equipment used by the doctor or nurse, (4) whether the hospital paid for the doctor's malpractice insurance, and (5) the terms of the contract between the doctor and his or her employer.

If a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional has caused injury to you or a family member, you might be entitled to recover monetary damages. Call one of the New Orleans medical malpractice attorneys listed above for a consultation regarding your claim before Louisiana's one (1) year prescriptive period ends and you lose your legal rights!

New Orleans Med Mal Attorneys bring suits in many different courts depending on the circumstances. The following are just some of the many courts in the New Orleans area.

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
500 Poydras Street, Room C-151
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 589-7600

Orleans Parish Civil District Court - Division "G"
421 Loyola Avenue, Room 411
New Orleans, LA 70112
(504) 592-9333

Orleans Parish Civil District Court - Division "H" - Section 12
421 Loyola Avenue, Room 304
New Orleans, LA 70112
(504) 592-9336

Orleans Parish Civil District Court - Division "I" - Section 14
421 Loyola Avenue, Room 405
New Orleans, LA 70112
(504) 592-9226
 

Medical Malpractice Attorneys Serve New Orleans and Surrounding Cities

Serving clients throughout Southeast Louisiana, including Algiers, Alma, Bridge City, Chalmette, Destrehan, Elmwood, Gretna, Harahan, Harvey, Kenner, Lulin, Maraux, Marrero, Metairie, Mt. Airy, New Orleans, River Ridge, South Kenner, Siydell, St. Benedict, St. James, St. Rose, Terrytown, Westwego, and other communities in Jefferson Parish, Orleans Parish, St. Bernard Parish, and the French Quarter.

When you need someone in your corner, an Orleans Parish personal injury lawyer will be there for you. Call now to speak with an experienced New Orleans medical malpractice attorney today.