The most detrimental mistake you can make in your personal injury case is doing nothing. This sounds overly simplistic but the truth is a lot of people make this mistake. Inaction – that is, not taking action – can mean the difference between no money and hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions. It can also mean the difference between life and death. Read on to learn about the detrimental mistakes of inaction a person can make in their personal injury lawsuit.
FAILURE TO FOLLOW UP WITH A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER
When someone is injured, they often try to self-diagnose and self-treat. Their leg might be broken, but they just take fistfuls of ibuprofen and put the leg up on a chair. They might be doubled over in abdominal pain, but they just drink ginger ale and lie down. Or sometimes the person will be taken to the hospital following their injury and the doctor prescribes them some sort of treatment plan, which includes following up with the healthcare provider in a certain number of days and weeks. And the person feels exhausted and decides they don’t want to go back to the doctor. So, they never get the critical follow-up care they need.
FAILURE TO GET AND MAINTAIN THE CARE YOU NEED
In addition to seeing a healthcare provider after your injury and following up with them, per their instructions, it’s important to maintain your health. This may be monthly or yearly visits to your family medicine doctor or a specialist. This may be consistent exercises that are part of a physical therapy routine. This may be taking a daily medication. This may be regular visits to a mental health counselor. Whatever it is, you need to do it to keep yourself as healthy as possible. Your health and wellness are paramount – treat them like the priority they are.
FAILURE TO CONTACT A PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY
While it’s imperative to seek out medical experts and get the care you need, it’s also imperative to seek out an experienced personal injury attorney in Philadelphia. This Philadelphia personal injury lawyer will guide you through getting the best healthcare you can to help you heal. They will also bring a lawsuit on your behalf. Your personal injury attorney in Philadelphia will investigate all the facts and evidence that led to your injury and will pursue the highest possible compensation for you.
GIVING UP ON YOURSELF
You may receive a devastating diagnosis. Whether it’s late-stage cancer or paralysis of a limb, it is common to feel overwhelmed when envisioning the difficult road ahead and just want to give up. This is a common reaction to terrible, life-altering news. And after you’ve let yourself grieve the loss of the life you once knew, it’s imperative to shift into a new mindset. Imagine the day you tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it inspires someone else; it becomes their survival guide. Investigate ways to bring joy into your new life. Find activities that you can do well and take pleasure in. Pursue community service – statistics show that engaging in some sort of community service improves self-worth, increases confidence and hope, and decreases stress. And, again, make your health – both your physical health and mental health – a priority.
Don’t allow hopelessness and inaction to thwart your ability to thrive. As soon as you can after your injury, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at VSCP Law so they can help you get the care you need and successfully represent you in your lawsuit against the defendants.
Your brain is the processing center for your body. It controls what you think, how you feel, your ability to remember things, the way you move, the way you talk, and how you learn. It also controls your bodily functions, such as the beating of your heart and the digestion of the food you eat. Damage to the brain means damage to one of the most complex and impactful organs in your body. This is why injuries to your brain can be catastrophic and life-altering.
The two main categories of brain injuries are traumatic brain injuries and acquired brain injuries (also called non-traumatic brain injuries).
Traumatic brain injuries are alterations to the brain caused by an external force (a ‘blow’ to the head). Examples of causes of traumatic brain injuries include physical assault, trip and falls, sports injuries, firearms, and motor vehicle accidents.
Whereas traumatic brain injuries occur from an external force, acquired brain injuries occur internally. Examples of causes of acquired brain injuries include stroke, tumor, heart attack, aneurysm, and infectious disease.
Often, brain injuries are the result of someone’s negligence. For instance, an emergency room doctor delays treatment for a stroke, resulting in permanent brain damage. Or an obstetrician makes a mistake during childbirth, resulting in hypoxia (or inadequate oxygen to the brain) and the child develops cerebral palsy. Outside of the medical arena, maybe an improperly installed light fixture in a supermarket falls onto a customer’s head. Or someone’s car is struck by another’s car and a passenger strikes their head on the dashboard.
If you have suffered a brain injury as the result of someone’s actions or inactions, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit. But you shouldn’t just contact any personal injury attorney. You need to find a traumatic brain injury lawyer, one with the requisite experience needed to win your case.
A Philadelphia brain injury attorney can walk you through the next steps. They will help you get the healthcare you need to maximize your recovery. Brain trauma attorneys know which critical care you need and how to access it.
Your brain injury attorney in Philadelphia knows what evidence-gathering actions must be taken early in the process such as ordering medical records and, in the case of traumatic brain injury: reviewing police reports as well as collecting witness statements, photographs, and videos. The presence or absence of these crucial forms of evidence could determine whether your lawsuit is successful or not. And remember: Much of the critical evidence is in the possession of the defendant and if those items aren’t requested early in the process, the defendant could destroy them.
Your traumatic brain injury lawyer in Philadelphia knows how to navigate the complicated rules and procedures in Philadelphia to ensure that your lawsuit is not time-barred or restricted in any compromising way.
Your brain injury lawsuit will require expert review and analysis. Your Philadelphia brain injury lawyer has access to the best experts in the country. They will ensure that the most appropriate and qualified experts review your case. And they will ensure that those experts write a detailed and comprehensive report to bolster your claim in court.
If you or a loved one suffered a brain injury, contact the experienced brain injury lawyers at VSCP Law.
People often confuse medical errors and medical malpractice. Medical errors are mistakes that take place in the context of medicine. Doctors, like other professionals, occasionally make mistakes. Those mistakes or medical errors rise to the level of medical malpractice when their actions fail to adhere to the standard of care. The standard of care for a doctor is what a reasonably skilled doctor within the same area of medicine would have provided to a patient under the same circumstances. With those distinctions in mind, below are the most common medical malpractice errors in Philadelphia.
MISDIAGNOSIS AND DELAYED DIAGNOSIS
Misdiagnosis
Healthcare providers often misdiagnose patients, which could lead to serious injury or death. An example is when doctors misdiagnose women who are having heart attacks. Because women experiencing heart attacks have symptoms that differ from men’s heart attack symptoms, doctors fail to recognize that a heart attack is indeed what the woman is suffering from. While men may often experience chest pain or numbness in their left arms when having a heart attack, women may experience nausea, stomach pain, or dizziness. Poorly informed doctors misdiagnose women with menstrual cramps or indigestion rather than treating them urgently for the heart attacks they’re experiencing.
Delayed Diagnosis
There are many medical conditions that require prompt intervention by healthcare professionals. For example, a stroke is when blood supply to the brain is interrupted or reduced. This is an urgent medical issue and requires a timely diagnosis. When the healthcare professional recognizes the signs of stroke and acts quickly, they can help restore blood flow to the brain. Failure to do so will lead to oxygen deprivation in the brain, which can lead to brain damage, disability, and even death. If a healthcare professional delays diagnosis of stroke and/or fails to act urgently, thereby delaying or withholding lifesaving treatment and disability-preventing treatment, they could be held liable for medical malpractice.
Misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses can result in serious injury or death and, in those cases, the patient or their loved ones should consult a Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney immediately.
SURGICAL ERRORS
Surgeons are responsible for doing exactly what they stipulate to and nothing more and nothing less. Perhaps they damage a nerve, operate on the wrong body part, leave a piece of surgical equipment (eg, gauze or scalpel) inside the body cavity, or they damage an organ. All of these mistakes support a medical malpractice action, as does any negligence by the anesthesiologist in the administration of the anesthesia. Your surgical mistake attorney in Philadelphia can evaluate the actions and inactions of the surgical team who rendered you care and determine whether they committed medical malpractice.
PRESCRIPTION DRUG ERRORS
While prescription drugs can promote healing, ease pain, calm nerves, balance out blood levels, lower dangerous cholesterol, regulate heart functions, etc., they can also cause serious harm and even death, if not prescribed appropriately. Prescription drug errors include prescribing the wrong medication, prescribing the wrong dosage of medication, failure to warn a patient of serious side effects, and not taking into account the patient’s medical history and current drug use. Talk to a Philadelphia prescription error attorney if this happened to you or a loved one.
FAILURE TO PROPERLY TREAT
A doctor commits medical negligence when they fail to provide the appropriate treatment to their patient. Perhaps the doctor ignores certain symptoms and orders the wrong kind of surgery for the patient. Perhaps the doctor misreads an x-ray. In all of these cases, the healthcare provider failed to properly treat their patient. Contact your hospital medical malpractice attorney in Scranton if you suspect your doctor committed medical negligence during their treatment of you.
BIRTH INJURIES
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about seven in 1,000 children will suffer from a birth injury. A birth injury refers to damage caused to a baby shortly before, during, or after their birth. Birth injuries can result in permanent damage to the baby that will last into childhood and adulthood. Common birth injuries include bone fracture, cerebral palsy, brachial plexus, vacuum extraction complications, brain damage, and encephalopathy. Your birth injury lawyer in Philadelphia can help evaluate whether your child’s birth injuries are related to a healthcare provider’s negligence or medical malpractice.
The above are the most common medical malpractice errors in Philadelphia, Scranton, and other cities in Pennsylvania. If you believe you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to the negligence of a healthcare provider, contact the medical malpractice attorneys at VSCP Law – www.vscplaw.com
A term that you may hear in the context of personal injury cases is “catastrophic loss.” And you may wonder how a catastrophic loss case differs from any other personal injury case. A catastrophic loss case involves the death of a person — or a person with a very serious, life-altering, and permanent injury. It might include permanent disfigurement and/or disability.
In the event of a catastrophic loss, you shouldn’t just hire any personal injury attorney in Philadelphia. Your legal journey in these cases can be transformed upon hiring the right personal injury lawyer with adequate experience trying catastrophic loss cases.
If, for instance, your loved one was killed in a car accident, you shouldn’t simply hire an accident attorney. You should hire a motor vehicle accident attorney who has handled catastrophic loss accident cases. Read on to learn more about why your case can be successful and your legal journey transformed upon hiring the right personal injury lawyer with catastrophic loss experience.
In every personal injury case, time is of the essence. If your Philadelphia personal injury lawyer does not act efficiently and swiftly, you could lose the opportunity to file a lawsuit at all! You need to hire an experienced attorney who appreciates the time-sensitive nature of your personal injury claim.
Pennsylvania law allows you two years from when you knew or should have known that your injury was the result of the defendants’ negligence. In the case of a deceased party, Pennsylvania law allows you two years from the official death date to file a wrongful death personal injury lawsuit. There are some additional exceptional rules that only experienced personal injury lawyers know, which is why it’s crucial to hire one to investigate your case.
An experienced personal injury attorney knows what actions must be taken early in the process such as ordering medical records; reviewing police reports; and collecting witness statements, photographs, and videos. The presence or absence of these crucial forms of evidence could determine whether your lawsuit is successful or not.
If you were injured in a slip and fall, your premises liability attorney might collect building records, weather history, janitorial schedules, etc. If you were injured in a car accident, your accident attorney might gather auto mechanic invoices, cell phone records, and the defendants’ driving records.
And remember: Much of the critical evidence is in the possession of the defendant and if those items aren’t requested early in the process, the defendant could destroy them.
Thus, you need a Philadelphia personal injury attorney to preserve any and all necessary evidence.
An experienced personal injury attorney will have tried at least dozens of catastrophic loss cases in an actual courtroom. With each case, the Philadelphia personal injury attorney becomes more and more capable because they learn something new every time. And not only do you want an attorney who has tried many personal injury cases, but you want an attorney who has tried many negligence cases successfully. So, it’s not just experience, per se, that matters – success rate is important as well.
In many cases, a personal injury lawsuit is complicated and requires expert review and analysis. Your personal injury lawyer in Philadelphia has access to the best experts in the country. They will ensure that the most appropriate and qualified experts review your case. And they will ensure that those experts write a detailed and comprehensive report to bolster your claim in court.
To find an experienced personal injury attorney in Philadelphia to represent you in your catastrophic loss case, contact the attorneys at VSCP Law.
When your child has been injured before, during, or immediately following their birth, their injuries could be serious and, in many cases, permanent. In other words, your child may suffer from those injuries for the rest of their life. A birth injury lawyer in Philadelphia could help you sue the defendants. Many people wonder whether they need to specifically hire a birth injury attorney in Philadelphia. Why not just go to a general practice lawyer or any other lawyer that you may already have a relationship with?
To start, you wouldn’t hire a math teacher to help your child learn how to play the piano. Just as there are specialists in education, so, too, are there specialists in law. Thus, for a birth injury lawsuit in Philadelphia, you should hire a Philadelphia birth injury lawyer. And not just anyone. You need to hire an experienced Philadelphia birth injury attorney. Here’s why.
In every birth injury case, time is of the essence. If your Philadelphia birth injury lawyer does not act efficiently and swiftly, critical information could be permanently lost or worse: You could lose the opportunity to file a lawsuit at all! You need to hire an experienced attorney who appreciates the time-sensitive nature of your birth injury claim.
Pennsylvania law allows you two years from when you knew or should have known that your child’s injury was the result of the defendants’ medical mistake.
In some exceptional cases, the plaintiff can show that the defendants “fraudulently concealed” their negligence (for instance, if they persuaded the plaintiff that their child’s injury was not caused by their actions or inactions). In the case of fraudulent concealment, the plaintiff is granted two years from the time they discovered (or should have discovered) that the defendants’ actions or omissions could likely have caused their child’s injury.
An experienced birth trauma attorney knows what actions must be taken early in the process such as ordering medical records including hospital intake forms, nurses’ logs, doctors’ notes, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) records, lab results, diagnostic orders and test results, etc.
Other examples of evidence that needs to be gathered in a timely fashion include witness statements, photographs and videos, and physical objects that are related to the birth injury claim such as prescription bottles and medical devices.
The presence or absence of these crucial forms of evidence could dictate whether your lawsuit is successful or not.
Despite aggressive advertising to the contrary, many attorneys do not actually have experience working on Philadelphia birth trauma cases. Many law firms list “birth injuries” on their websites because they want people to come to them with such cases, but they don’t actually have any significant experience trying these types of complicated cases.
An experienced Philadelphia neonatal injury attorney will have tried at least dozens of cases in an actual courtroom. With each case, the birth trauma lawyer becomes more and more capable because they learn something new every time. And not only do you want an attorney who has tried many birth injury cases, but you want an attorney who has tried many birth injury cases successfully. So it’s not just experience, per se, that matters – success rate is important as well.
An experienced birth injury attorney evaluates the case with knowledge of all possible causes of action and claims for damages. For example, here <hyperlink to categories of compensation in birth injury case> are the various forms of compensation you can collect in a Philadelphia birth injury case. Also, there are special statutes in Pennsylvania that apply to certain cases. An experienced Philadelphia birth injury attorney knows which statutes apply to your case and how to craft your claim in the way that puts you in the best position to win.
If you believe your child suffered injuries as the result of a birth injury in Pennsylvania, contact the experienced birth injury lawyers at VSCP Law.
If a doctor’s medical mistake caused your injury, you may have a strong Philadelphia medical malpractice claim. What does your medical malpractice lawyer in Philadelphia need to do to win your lawsuit?
Your hospital malpractice lawyer will review medical records, health summaries, hospital notes, lab results, and all other necessary paperwork to fully understand the actions (and sometimes inactions) of the health care staff who may have been responsible for the medical mistake. Whether a medical malpractice case is a winning one can depend heavily (and sometimes exclusively) on the evidence. Remember: a lot of the evidence you will need for your medical negligence case is in the possession of the defendants. In many cases, the defendants won’t initially give you every piece of evidence you are entitled to. Your medical negligence lawyer will ask for what you need to win the case and if the defendants fail to produce it, your attorney will file a motion with the court to compel the defendants to produce it.
Pennsylvania medical malpractice law can be complex. There are several important statutes that must be followed in order to successfully file your lawsuit. For instance, under Pennsylvania’s Statute of Limitations law, you have two years to file a lawsuit, starting from when you knew or should have known that your injury was the result of the defendants’ medical mistake. In the case of a deceased party, Pennsylvania law allows you two years from the official death date to file a wrongful death medical malpractice lawsuit. If you miss this crucial deadline, you may lose the right to file a lawsuit.
An important exception to the Pennsylvania statute of limitations is in cases of “fraudulent concealment.” This statute provides that if a plaintiff is persuaded or lulled by the defendant medical care providers that the cause of their injury was not actionable in court because they did nothing wrong and/or concealed relevant facts from the plaintiff, the plaintiff may argue that they have two years from the date of when they knew or should have known their injury was caused by the defendants to file a case. The potential exception means that the plaintiff may have two years from the time they discovered (or should have discovered) that the defendant’s actions or omissions could likely have caused their injury.
As mentioned above, it’s complicated. Your medical malpractice attorney will have to figure out the best timing for filing the Complaint. In addition to the question of when to file the lawsuit, your attorney needs to figure out where to do so. Your medical malpractice attorney should spend considerable effort figuring out the best venue for your case. Several factors go into this analysis, including location of medical treatment, the location of defendants’ offices and practices, and whether the county is typically supportive of medical malpractice plaintiffs.
Not only do you need a medical expert to help prove that medical negligence occurred in your case – you need a medical expert who practices the same field of medicine as the healthcare professional who harmed you. For instance, if your injuries occurred during orthopedic surgery, your medical malpractice attorney will likely discuss the case with an expert who is an orthopedic surgeon. Your experienced Philadelphia hospital malpractice lawyer has a vast database of the top experts across the country, hailing from various disciplines and practices. Hiring the right expert for your case is an important element in the anatomy of a winning medical negligence lawsuit.
Assuming the expert described above agrees that a medical error took place and caused your injuries, the expert will prepare a Certificate of Merit. Your Philadelphia medical negligence attorney will file a Complaint along with the Certificate of Merit in the court.
Your medical malpractice lawyer in Philadelphia understands how to maximize the value of
your hospital malpractice lawsuit. They will work with you to establish the extent of your damages and to make sure that the Complaint that they file contains all possible causes of actions and claims for damages.
The above strategies are essential to a successful medical malpractice lawsuit in Philadelphia. An experienced medical malpractice attorney will help you file (and win!) your medical malpractice lawsuit. Find one at VSCP Law.
Understanding Wrongful Death Claims in Philadelphia: A Complete Guide 2024 (reg website)
If your loved one died as the result of someone’s wrongful conduct, you may be able to sue that person in a wrongful death lawsuit in Philadelphia. A successful wrongful death lawsuit may conclude with a wrongful death settlement or a favorable jury verdict. But how do you get from the beginning stages of the wrongful death litigation to the resolution?
SET UP AN ESTATE
It is essential to know who represents the estate prior to filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
If your loved one died without a will, the court may appoint a personal representative called an “administrator.” An administrator of an estate may be a surviving spouse, other family member, or family friend. The administrator collects all the assets of the decedent, pays creditors, and distributes remaining assets to heirs or other beneficiaries.
If your loved one died with a will, the person appointed in the will as the “executor” has similar responsibilities to the administrator in that they must collect assets, make sure all debts and taxes are paid, and then distribute the remaining assets to the beneficiaries in accordance with law and the will.
The other important function of an administrator or an executor is the ability to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
PURSUE AND PRESERVE CRITICAL EVIDENCE
How do you know what actions must be taken early in the process of your lawsuit with regard to critical evidence? Your wrongful death lawyer has handled countless cases and knows exactly what you need to do. One of the first essential steps is to order an autopsy on your deceased loved one if one is necessary. And when ordering the autopsy, an experienced wrongful death attorney knows whether to order toxicology along with the autopsy. Toxicology includes a search for chemicals or drugs in the blood, saliva, and urine. Obviously, this autopsy must be done prior to the burial or cremation so your wrongful death attorney will act swiftly to ensure that all necessary actions are taken before the decedent is buried.
Other examples of evidence that needs to be gathered in a timely fashion include police reports, witness statements, photographs and videos, death certificate, and physical objects that are related to the wrongful death. It is imperative that you help your lawyer gather these necessary pieces of information to the extent that you can. The presence or absence of this evidence will determine whether your wrongful death claim is successful or not.
HIRE THE RIGHT (AND BEST) EXPERTS
Your wrongful death case is likely complicated. It will require expert review and analysis. In a medical malpractice wrongful death case, for instance, your attorney will have to find a doctor that is trained in the same practice of medicine in which the defendant doctor practices. In other words, if your loved one died as the result of a medical error by a cardiac surgeon, your wrongful death lawyer will find you an expert in the field of cardiac surgery. Your experienced wrongful death attorney has access to experts across the country and they will ensure that the most qualified experts review your case and write a detailed expert report to bolster your claim in court.
FILE THE COMPLAINT, INCLUDING ALL NECESSARY CLAIMS
A wrongful death attorney evaluates the case with knowledge of all possible causes of action and claims for wrongful death damages. They know how to work with bereaved families to help them achieve a fair outcome for their wrongful death claim.
Your wrongful death lawyer will work with you to establish the extent of your damages and to make sure that the Complaint that they file contains all possible causes of actions and claims for damages so as to maximize the amount of compensation you receive in your wrongful death settlement.
THE COMPLAINT MUST BE FILED IN A TIMELY MANNER
Every state has its own wrongful death statute of limitations (which is the time period in which you have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit). Under the Pennsylvania wrongful death statute, for instance, you have two years after the official death date to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Two years may seem like a long time, but your wrongful death attorney will need ample time to investigate the circumstances surrounding your loved one’s death. They will need to order records such as medical records or employment records. They will need to talk with various individuals who were involved in or had substantial knowledge about the circumstances leading up to your loved one’s death. They will need to fully understand whether someone or multiple people are at fault for your loved one’s death. Thus, in order to comply with the wrongful death statute of limitations, you should contact a wrongful death lawyer in Philadelphia as soon as possible after your loved one dies.
DISCOVERY AND TRIAL
After the Complaint is filed, there is a sometimes lengthy process called “discovery,” where the lawyers on both sides gather and exchange evidence. This is the period in which depositions (recordings of sworn testimony) are taken. After the discovery period has concluded, your wrongful death attorney prepares to go to trial.
The trial may take anywhere from one to four weeks, depending on how complicated the case is. Some trials can last longer than that. Sometimes, the case settles before or during trial. If the case doesn’t settle before the jury returns with their verdict, then it’s the verdict that determines the outcome of your wrongful death trial.
An experienced wrongful death attorney in Philadelphia can walk you through all the important steps. Find one now at VSCP Law.
Wrongful Death Attorney: Finding the Best Legal Representation
The success of your wrongful death lawsuit depends in large part on your wrongful death attorney. Wrongful death litigation is not for the faint of heart. It’s not for a lawyer who has little or no experience in handling a wrongful death claim. Indeed, it is only through a highly-experienced wrongful death lawyer that you will obtain the best compensation for negligence and wrongful death, whether that’s through a high jury verdict after a wrongful death trial or an agreed-upon amount as the result of a wrongful death settlement. Either way, it’s the seasoned wrongful death attorney who will help you in your wrongful death case.
But how can one find an experienced lawyer for their wrongful death case? What should one look for in their search for the best legal representation?
A seasoned wrongful death attorney will take on many essential roles in their advocacy for wrongful death victims. Here is just a sampling of the many roles your wrongful death lawyer takes on for you.
EVIDENCE GATHERER and INVESTIGATOR
In order to determine whether you have a valid wrongful death claim, your wrongful death lawyer must investigate the circumstances before, during, and after your loved one died. How do they best investigate the event? By gathering as much evidence as possible to prove your case. Examples of such evidence include: autopsy, toxicology lab reports, police reports, witness statements, photographs and videos, death certificate, and physical objects that are related to the wrongful death. The attorney also has to talk to you, other family members, and any possible witnesses. They often have to hire experts to help them investigate your claim.
Let’s say your loved one died in a fatal vehicle accident in Philadelphia. Your wrongful death lawyer in Philadelphia might go to the site of the accident – often with an expert – and document the physical conditions of the road, the surrounding streets, the traffic lights, etc. All of these environmental conditions could help determine liability in the accident. Your Philadelphia wrongful death attorney might also scour police reports, eyewitness accounts, emergency response team notes, and any related medical records. Wrongful death attorneys in Philadelphia will ensure that they understand all circumstances leading up to the fatal injury, and the circumstances that followed the fatal injury. This thorough investigation will ensure that there are no surprises at trial and they can build the strongest wrongful death case on behalf of your deceased loved one.
ANALYST
Once the attorney has collected a sufficient amount of evidence, they then have the difficult task of piecing all of these items together to establish that the defendants did something that they shouldn’t have done or that they did not do something that they should have done. They also need to establish that the defendants’ actions or failure to act caused your loved one’s death. The quality of this professional-level analysis is what leads to a successful (or unsuccessful!) outcome for your wrongful death case. An experienced wrongful death attorney is the best legal representative for you because they understand the factual and legal issues of a wrongful death case and will help you get the best compensation for the case.
CONSULTANT
Throughout your wrongful death lawsuit, you will need to make significant decisions that will affect the outcome of your case. The decisions might be related to who would be the best administrator or executive of your loved one’s estate; which family photos, videos, or personal items of your deceased loved one would be the best to show the jury; whether you should accept the first settlement offer from the defendants or stay the course and go to trial. Your wrongful death attorney can guide you and advise you so you can make the best possible decision at every turn.
REPRESENTATIVE
Insurance companies, hospitals, defendants’ lawyers – these are just some of the parties your wrongful death attorney will speak to on your behalf. Your attorney will represent your interests in these various important conversations that occur during the course of your lawsuit.
ADVOCATE
Your wrongful death attorney will be your zealous advocate throughout the case. During depositions, hearings, and trial; while filing motions; or while talking with defendants’ lawyers on the phone – before, during, and after your lawsuit, your attorney has your back. They will advocate for you so that you win the case and collect the greatest possible amount of wrongful death damages.
TEAMMATE
Your lawyer is on your side. They want to help you achieve justice and get compensated to the full extent of the law. They will help you and support you and encourage you. They will be accountable to you. And they will expect you to help out when you can (for instance, when they ask for information, you give it to them). Together, you and your wrongful death attorney can look forward to a successful outcome of your case.
LAWYER
This role may seem obvious, but it should not be overlooked because it’s one of the main reasons you sought help from a wrongful death attorney. Lawsuits cannot take place without specialized knowledge of the various laws in Pennsylvania, including the statute of limitations, the laws of intestacy, negligence, evidentiary rules, procedural requirements, and the wrongful death statute. That your attorney has a Juris Doctor degree is what separates them from literally anyone who doesn’t – your attorney is legally qualified to represent you in a court of law.
You could literally lose your right to file a lawsuit in the first place by failing to adhere to the Pennsylvania statute of limitations. Under the law, your Pennsylvania wrongful death attorney will have to file the lawsuit no later than two years from the date of death.
Two years may seem like a long time, but your wrongful death lawyers in Pennsylvania will need ample time to investigate the circumstances surrounding your loved one’s death. They will need to order records such as emergency room records or employment records. They will need to interview various individuals who were involved in or had substantial knowledge about the circumstances leading up to your loved one’s death. They will need to fully understand whether someone or multiple people are at fault for your loved one’s death. Thus, in order to comply with the wrongful death statute of limitations, you should contact a Pennsylvania wrongful death attorney as soon as possible after your loved one dies.
An important exception to the Pennsylvania wrongful death statute is in cases of “fraudulent concealment.” This part of the statute can occur in the medical malpractice context. It provides that if a plaintiff is fraudulently persuaded or lulled by the defendant medical care providers that the cause of their loved one’s death was not actionable in court because they did nothing wrong and/or concealed relevant facts from the plaintiff, the plaintiff might argue that they have more than two years from the date of death. The plaintiff could have as much as two years from the time they discovered (or should have discovered) that the defendant’s actions or omissions could likely have caused their loved one’s death.
The following example may help illustrate why acting swiftly in the event of a loved one’s death is essential.
Let’s say that someone was in a fatal motor vehicle accident on January 1, 2024. Under the law, technically, the loved ones of the decedent could file the wrongful death claim by January 1,
And it’s not just the fact that attorneys need time to investigate the cause of the accident. It’s also that certain pieces of evidence need to be preserved as soon as possible. Examples of this kind of time-sensitive evidence includes: the vehicles that the decedent and the defendant were driving; photos and videos of the accident, which may be in the possession of eye witnesses, local businesses, or highway cameras; police reports; eye witness statements; and emergency room records.
Thus, if someone was killed in a fatal accident on a certain date, the family should not wait a significant amount of time after that to proceed. They should contact a wrongful death lawyer as soon as possible so that the lawyer can begin the arduous tasks of collecting and preserving time-sensitive evidence as well as analyzing all of the evidence.
Find the best legal representative to take on your wrongful death case and do it now. To consult with a wrongful death attorney who will be your evidence gatherer, investigator, analyst, consultant, representative, and teammate — and who will zealously advocate for you – contact the attorneys at VSCP Law.
Medical Malpractice Lawyers: A Guide for Parents
A good parent spends considerable time and effort trying to make sure their child grows and develops academically, emotionally, mentally, and physically. A good parent will go to great lengths to protect their child from harm – in the earlier years, making sure they hold your hand when crossing the street to the later years, teaching them about the dangers of getting in the car with a drunk driver. And throughout childhood – from infancy to late adolescence – a good parent takes their child to the doctor for regular wellness visits and for the occasional sick visit. These are all ways a parent can help keep their child from harm. If you are a parent, you likely can think of other actions you take to ensure your child’s safety and wellbeing.
But what happens when a visit to the doctor ends up harming your child? What happens when your child’s doctor – or other healthcare professional – makes a mistake that ends up causing serious harm to your child?
It is unimaginably difficult when your child suffers an injury at the hands of medical professionals. A parent had placed their trust in the medical professionals to care for and help the child and, instead, the child suffered an injury because of a medical mistake. A good professional to contact in this scenario is a medical malpractice lawyer (also referred to as a “medical negligence lawyer”). This lawyer can answer questions that you have, ease concerns, and guide you every step of the way. With a medical negligence lawyer’s assistance, you can be relieved of certain burdens so you can focus your attention on the care and wellbeing of your child. The following is a list of some of the steps a medical malpractice firm takes to help you with your birth injury case.
GUIDING YOU IN ATTAINING THE PROPER CARE FOR YOUR CHILD
When your child suffers a serious injury, it’s common for you to be so overwhelmed that you don’t know what to do next. You don’t know how to deal with this massive injury that is afflicting your child. You don’t know whom to talk to, how to navigate various hospital systems, and how to obtain the appropriate medical care for your child. A medical negligence attorney can help by connecting you with the proper healthcare professionals who can provide thorough medical evaluations, early intervention, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other critical care.
PRESERVING YOUR RIGHTS TO FILE A CLAIM
In Pennsylvania, you can file a medical malpractice claim up to two years after the child turns 18 (i.e., up until their 20th birthday). But you should never wait that long to consult a law firm. If your child suffered a medical negligence injury, you need to contact a medical malpractice patient’s rights advocates as soon as possible to preserve your claims.
While your child’s case doesn’t expire until your child turns 20, your case expires two years after you knew or should have known that your child’s injury was someone’s fault.
Let’s say your four-year old child needed to have their enlarged tonsils removed and you took them to a hospital in Philadelphia for the procedure. The anesthesiologist in charge of your child’s sedation gave your child too much anesthesia and, as a result of the excessive anesthesia, your child suffered a seizure that led to brain damage. You should contact a Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer immediately so you can understand how to preserve your Philadelphia medical malpractice claim. Legally, your child has until they’re 20 years old to file a medical malpractice case in Philadelphia against the Philadelphia hospital and medical team. But your case – as the parent of the harmed child – expires only two years after you knew or should have known that the anesthesiologist’s medical mistake caused your child’s brain damage.
Medical malpractice attorneys in Pennsylvania know the medical malpractice statute of limitations and contacting them as soon as possible ensures that you don’t lose your right to file your medical negligence lawsuit.
COLLECTING CRUCIAL EVIDENCE
Another way medical malpractice lawyers can help you is by collecting evidence that could be crucial to your medical injury lawsuit. Perhaps your baby was injured during labor at a Philadelphia hospital. A birth injury lawyer in Philadelphia would be the one to turn to. They can help you understand which several documents are necessary to prove your case. The medical terms may seem complicated and the medical records may be hard to understand. That’s why you need an experienced medical malpractice patients’ rights advocate to help you. They will review and digest all the necessary information that is essential to your child’s birth injury or medical negligence lawsuit. They will build a case that proves that the healthcare professionals’ actions or omissions caused your child’s injuries. This evidence will also help establish the extent of your child’s injuries, detailing every related issue, whether it’s physical or emotional.
NAVIGATING COMPLEX SYSTEMS
An experienced medical negligence law firm is obviously equipped to handle the complicated legal system with its various statutes, discovery schedules, motion practice, brief-writing, and depositions. They can also help navigate other complex systems that may arise. Whether it’s a large hospital system that refuses to give you medical records, for example, or the need to find a lifecare planner to help you figure out the costs of caring for your child over their lifetime, medical malpractice lawyers can help navigate these complicated systems.
OBTAINING MONEY DAMAGES
It goes without saying that no amount of money will take away the pain your child and your family feel after a medical mistake caused their injury. But, under our system of laws, an injured child and their aggrieved parent can collect compensation for the child’s injuries. Sometimes those injuries are related to temporary or permanent disabilities or incapacities in a broad range of contexts: emotional, developmental, behavioral, mental, and physical. And the parent can suffer too – in particular, emotional distress and, of course, the exorbitant costs of caring for the child in their post-injury condition. How could anyone possibly quantify all of the suffering of a child and parent? It’s not easy, but at least when you hire an experienced medical malpractice team, you can rest assured that you will get the most compensation possible for your case.
Bearing witness to your child’s suffering is extremely difficult for a parent. Let experienced medical malpractice attorneys ease some of your burden so you can shift your focus to loving and caring for your child. Find your medical malpractice support team at VSCP Law.
You may have heard of the statute of limitations law. And what you may have heard is that the moment you suffer an injury that is the result of someone else’s actions or omissions, the proverbial clock starts ticking to file your lawsuit. That can be true, but it is not always true. There are cases where the clock doesn’t start ticking the moment you are injured. Sometimes, the clock doesn’t start ticking until the moment you knew or should have known that your injury was the result of someone else’s negligence. This nuance is important because if you fail to file your lawsuit within the correct legal deadline, then you lose your right to file a lawsuit altogether.
You may think the legal time period of two years (or, 24 months) seems fairly straightforward, but, in fact, there is nothing straightforward about the statute of limitations in Pennsylvania, as demonstrated above. And, to make matters even more complicated, sometimes a plaintiff doesn’t have to file a lawsuit within two years. If the plaintiff is a minor, for example, they may have more than two years to file a lawsuit. But even though in some cases, a plaintiff can file a lawsuit beyond the two-year deadline, it doesn’t mean they necessarily should. Indeed, knowing when to file your lawsuit in Pennsylvania is essential to protect your legal rights. Your best course of action is to contact an experienced Pennsylvania personal injury or medical malpractice lawyer so that you maintain your right to file a lawsuit.
Read on to learn more about certain clarifications and exceptions to the Pennsylvania statute of limitations laws.
The discovery rule is an exception to the standard statute of limitations. Under the discovery rule, the two-year clock starts ticking as soon as the plaintiff is aware or should have been aware that their injury was the cause of the defendant’s negligence. The following example in the context of medical negligence may help illustrate how the discovery rule would work. Let’s say you were coughing and had chest pain. You went to Doctor A and had x-rays taken of your lungs on June 2, 2023. That same day, Doctor A failed to properly read those x-rays, which showed lung cancer. Doctor A, mistakenly missing the cancer, diagnoses you with pneumonia and sends you home with a prescription for antibiotics. Six months later, on December 2, 2023, you go to a different doctor – Doctor B – with the same complaints of coughing and chest pain. You tell Doctor B that you had been feeling lousy since the summer and Doctor A had taken x-rays. Doctor B looks at your medical chart and examines your June x-ray films. Doctor B reads the x-rays correctly and notes that you have lung cancer. The six-month delay in treatment for your lung cancer is the basis for a medical malpractice lawsuit against Doctor A. But when does the medical malpractice statute of limitations begin to toll? On June 2, 2023, when Doctor A made the mistake? Or on December 2, 2023, when Doctor B discovered the error and told you about it? Under the discovery rule of the Pennsylvania statute of limitations for medical malpractice, the clock doesn’t start ticking until December 2, 2023.
Another exception to the medical malpractice statute of limitations in Pennsylvania is in cases of “fraudulent concealment.” This exception provides that if a plaintiff is fraudulently persuaded or lulled by the defendant medical care providers that the cause of their injury was not actionable in court because they did nothing wrong and/or concealed relevant facts from the plaintiff, the plaintiff might argue that they have more than two years from the date of the injury. The plaintiff could have as much as two years from the time they discovered (or should have discovered) that the defendant’s actions or omissions could likely have caused their injury. In order for this exception to apply, the plaintiff need not prove that the fraudulent concealment was intentional or purposely deceitful. The plaintiff just needs to prove that the defendants persuaded the plaintiff that the cause of their injury was not actionable.
Children who are injured in Pennsylvania are treated differently from adults who are injured. Children have more time to file a lawsuit than the strict two-year timetable for adults. In Pennsylvania, the child can file a lawsuit up to two years after the child turns 18 (i.e., up until their 20th birthday). But you should never wait that long to consult a law firm. If your child suffered a medical negligence injury, for example, you’d need to contact a medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible to preserve your claims.
And while your child’s case doesn’t expire until your child turns 20, your case expires two years after you knew or should have known that your child’s injury was someone’s fault.
Let’s say your 12-year old child was a passenger in a vehicle that was forcefully side-swiped by a speeding vehicle. The impact of the speeding vehicle caused the child to be crushed and the child’s leg broke in multiple places. Technically, and under the law, the child has eight years — until she turns 20 years old – to file a lawsuit against the driver of the speeding vehicle. But it is unwise to wait that long to contact an attorney.
First, the parent of the child does not have eight years to file their claim. That’s right: a parent has a claim, too. It may seem counterintuitive that a parent can have a claim for damages when their child is injured, but think about the costs to a parent in the case of a child’s injuries. The parent typically expends considerable money in medical costs to care for the child’s injuries, rehabilitation and physical therapy, pharmaceutical costs, etc. The parent also might have lost time away from their job to care for their injured child so there is a possible wage loss claim. And then there is the emotional distress a parent endures having to bear witness to their child’s suffering. All of those possible avenues for compensation are gone if the parent fails to file the lawsuit within the two-year statute of limitations. In the case of the 12-year old, the parent would have until the child turns 14 years to file their lawsuit.
Another reason it is unwise to wait to contact an attorney is that your lawyer has an arduous task ahead of collecting, preserving, and analyzing countless records, reports, documents, photographs, videos, eyewitness statements, police records, driving records, workplace records, etc. All of this evidence needs to be gathered, secured, and reviewed carefully by your attorney so they can draft a Complaint that sets forth each and every possible cause of action and claim for damages for you and your child.
Thus, the best thing to do after an injury – whether it’s a medical malpractice injury, personal injury, etc. – is to promptly contact an experienced lawyer. The above-illustrated exceptions may apply in your case and, legally-speaking, the clock may not start ticking exactly on the date of your injury. But, make no mistake: time is of the essence. Your attorney needs time to collect, preserve, and analyze evidence. In cases of medical malpractice, your attorney needs to find a medical expert who is specialized in the same type of medicine as the doctor who caused your injury. And once the attorney finds that expert, the expert needs to draft a special document called a Certificate of Merit. Then, your attorney needs to draft a detailed Complaint with all possible causes of actions and claims for damages. All of this takes time so it is wise to contact an experienced personal injury or medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible to discuss your possible lawsuit. Start the conversation today with an attorney at VSCP Law.
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