Notices Of Intent In Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Some types of litigation require a preliminary phase before the parties can go to court and present their respective sides of the story in front of the judge.  For example, in employment discrimination lawsuits, the plaintiff must first contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission so that it can investigate whether the plaintiff has grounds for a lawsuit.  Most divorce cases must go through mediation before they can go to trial.  When a whistleblower files a qui tam action, the government investigates the whistleblower’s claims before deciding whether to file a lawsuit against the parties that the whistleblower accuses of fraud. Likewise, before you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit, your lawyer must send the defendant a notice of intent to sue at least 90 days before filing the lawsuit in court.  This way, the defendant can make a settlement offer or request arbitration in an effort to reach a settlement, thereby avoiding costly litigation.  In practice, the notice of intent comes after months of research by your lawyer.  Therefore, you should contact a Columbia medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible after the medical error that caused your injuries, so you do not miss the legal deadline for filing a lawsuit.

Families of Two Patients Who Died After Abdominal Surgery at the Same Hospital File Notices of Intent to Sue

Two families from Dillon County, South Carolina experienced similar tragedies last year.  In both cases, the family matriarch underwent abdominal surgery and subsequently developed an infection, from which she eventually died.  Both surgeries took place at the same hospital with the same surgeon.  Both patients were born in 1947 and died in 2021, leaving behind many descendants.

The plaintiffs allege that the surgeon who performed the surgeries failed to monitor the patients’ postoperative care adequately, leading to them both developing deadly infections.  They also allege that she did not have the proper qualifications to perform those surgeries at the hospital.  News reports about the lawsuits only say that the surgeon had a Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) degree, which, like a Medical Doctor (M.D.) degree, is a prerequisite for postgraduate residency programs in surgery and other medical specialties.  The news reports do not give any additional details about what kind of surgeries the surgeon performed or the details of the hospital authorizing her to perform these surgeries.

The lawsuits also name the hospital as a defendant in the lawsuits.  In the hours and days following surgery, nurses should monitor hospitalized patients closely and alert physicians at any sign of serious complications.  The plaintiffs allege that the nurses at the hospital deviated from the standard of care when they failed to notice obvious signs of infection in the patients until the complications had become severe.

Let Us Help You Today

The personal injury lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you if you or a family member suffered an infection or other post-surgical complication because of improper postoperative care.  Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.

Source:

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