Medical Malpractice Attorney in STL

When a doctor or another health care professional commits a negligent act or omission that results in injury or harm to a patient, this constitutes medical malpractice. Medical malpractice laws and regulations vary by state; medical malpractice claims are common enough that doctors and some other medical professionals are required to carry medical malpractice insurance to cover the cost of any lawsuits.

If you believe that you or a loved one were the victim medical malpractice, it’s important to contact an experienced St. Louis Medical Malpractice Attorney right away. In most cases, you only have two years from the date of the allegedly negligent act to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Missouri. At The Dixon Injury Firm, our St. Louis personal injury lawyers are prepared to pool our resources, time, and skill to assist you with your claim. Our St. Louis medical malpractice lawyers have successfully fought for countless victims of medical negligence, recovering more than $50 million in total for our clients. We have what it takes to fight for you and the justice you deserve.

To learn more, give our St. Louis medical malpractice lawyers a call at (314) 208-2808 or CONTACT us online to schedule a free initial consultation.

Understanding the Legal Definition of Medical Malpractice

Malpractice claims arise against licensed professionals—typically doctors, lawyers, and architects—responsible for providing complex services. Medical malpractice claims assert that licensed medical professionals or facilities carelessly rendered medical care and caused the patient new or worsening injuries/illnesses.

Professionals subject to medical malpractice liability in St. Louis include:

  • Physicians (M.D. or O.D.)
  • Psychiatrists
  • Chiropractors
  • Podiatrists
  • Dentists
  • Physicians Assistants (P.A.)
  • Nurse Practitioners (N.P.)
  • Registered Nurses
  • Physical Therapists
  • EMTs
  • Nursing Homes
  • Hospitals
  • Pharmacists
  • Optometrists

Hospitals, nursing homes, and private physicians groups could incur direct liability for malpractice, such as infections from insufficient health safety standards, but most are vicariously liable for employee mistakes. Many medical neglect cases involve high-risk specialties, including OBGYNs and anesthesiologists, but the law holds all of the above-licensed professionals to higher standards of care.

Types of Medical Malpractice Claims

Medical malpractice lawyers represent those who have suffered harm due to the negligence of a doctor or another medical professional.

Some common types of medical malpractice claims include:

  • Birth Injuries: Birth injuries occur when a child is harmed during pregnancy, labor, or delivery because of a medical professional’s failure to provide an acceptable standard of care. For example, if a baby ends up with cerebral palsy or brain damage because a doctor or nurse failed to properly monitor the infant for signs of fetal distress during birth, this is an example of a birth injury.
  • Prescription Drug Errors: There are many different types of medication errors, such as a prescription being written for the wrong patient, a patient receiving the wrong medication or wrong dosage of the correct medication, or a prescription that is improperly or incorrectly filled by a pharmacy.
  • Misdiagnosis/Delayed Diagnosis: When a physician fails to diagnose a serious condition, such as heart disease or cancer, within a timely manner, this can be an example of malpractice. Diagnosis errors, including misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis, are some of the most common types of medical malpractice claims.
  • Failure to Treat: If a physician, doctor, nurse, or another medical professional fails to properly treat a patient’s condition, whether as a result of a missed or delayed diagnosis or due to other additional factors, this is often considered malpractice and could be grounds for a medical malpractice claim.
  • Surgical Errors: When a mistake is made during surgery or when a surgery is performed that is later deemed unnecessary, this is malpractice. Surgical errors also involve objects that are left behind inside the body after surgery, surgery that is performed on the wrong patient or wrong location, anesthesia errors, and more.
  • Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect – Physical, sexual, and psychological abuse of patients may qualify for claims for both medical malpractice and assault damages. Unfortunately, this level of abuse frequently occurs in St. Louis nursing homes. Vulnerable patients often need specialized nursing and medical care but are commonly ignored by nursing home staff. Neglected long-term care patients commonly report dehydration, bedsores, liquid burns, broken hips, welts, STDs, and psychological damage.

This isn’t an all-inclusive list of the grounds for medical malpractice cases. If a physician or another health care professional’s negligent behavior resulted in you being injured or otherwise harmed, this could constitute medical malpractice and you could be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Frequent Injuries and Illnesses Resulting From Medical Mistakes

Studies indicate that about one out of three medical malpractice cases involve an incorrect or missed diagnosis. Unfortunately, almost two-thirds of diagnostic errors lead to patient fatalities or disabling conditions. Diagnosing patients is both an art and science. Doctors should perform physical examinations while looking at all available evidence, including patient histories, family history, blood work, reported symptoms, and advanced tests. When physicians cannot make an accurate diagnosis, they should refer claimants to specialists.

Many medical malpractice claims arise simply because doctors do not spend sufficient time with patients or review their medical reports. The most common missed conditions are cancer, strokes, and heart attacks. Missing these critical diagnoses frequently means the difference between early intervention, like bypass surgery to prevent heart attacks or surgery to remove cancer, and life-threatening illnesses.

Next to misdiagnosis cases, many claimants suffer from physical injuries during surgical procedures.

The most common conditions associated with surgical/procedural malpractice include:

  • Infections
  • Nerve damage
  • Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
  • Kidney failure
  • Spinal cord and spine damage
  • Foreign object infections from leaving surgical tools in patients
  • Anemia due to excessive blood loss

Prescription drug mistakes frequently involve kidney failure, liver toxicity, and irreversible brain trauma. Claimants with strong cases of medical neglect, like pharmacists providing the wrong medication or dosage instructions, but without associated life-threatening trauma might recover quick settlements from malpractice insurers. However, victims suffering from disabling trauma due to medical malpractice often receive insurance pushback requiring dedicated legal representation. These claimants might recover substantial damages from malpractice insurance companies with an attorney’s help.

Standard of Proof Applicable to St. Louis Medical Malpractice Cases

Obtaining damages for medical malpractice requires claimants to show that the medical professional acted below the standard of care in his field and caused an injury or illness. This means injured claimants cannot recover damages if the doctor reached the same (although incorrect) diagnosis as the majority of his colleagues would have under the same circumstances.

To recover medical neglect damages, Missouri claimants must generally show that:

  • The medical professional owed them a duty of care, such as because they were patients of the doctor/facility.
  • The doctor breached the generally accepted standard of care when treating (or failing to treat) his patient.
  • The breach caused a new or worsening injury/illness.
  • The patient suffered actual damages, which may include additional medical expenses or emotional suffering, due to this new or worsening condition.

Most medical malpractice claims hinge on the second factor—whether the doctor breached the standard of care applicable to his/her field.

Proving this almost always requires expert medical testimony from similarly situated professionals. This means another licensed professional with the same experience providing care in the same field and general location. For example, family medicine doctors cannot generally testify about the medical standards applicable to emergency bypass surgery performed at Barnes-Jewish.

Similarly, top-rated diagnosticians from the Mayo Clinic cannot set the standard of care for a pediatrician who missed a rare childhood genetic disorder at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Doctors who perform advanced medical procedures in Europe also cannot set the standard of care for St. Louis physicians without access to the same technology. The legal system measures medical professionals against one another – specifically, did the error result from the treating doctor’s carelessness, or would most responsible doctors have treated the patient similarly?

Timeframe for Filing Medical Malpractice Insurance Claims and Litigation

Calculating the statute of limitations in St. Louis medical malpractice cases frequently involves complicated tolling provisions and exceptions. Generally, injured claimants must file medical malpractice litigation—not just insurance claims—within two years of the negligent act (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.105). However, sometimes it takes years to uncover the malpractice after receiving the correct diagnosis. This is especially true in birth injury cases when parents begin noticing signs of cognitive brain trauma. As such, certain factors extend the medical malpractice statute of limitations in Missouri.

Understanding the Discovery Rule

Most exceptions to the statute of limitations involve the discovery rule. This legal principle holds that claimants have two years from the date of discovering the injury or illness to file litigation. In Missouri, foreign object claimants may file litigation two years from the date of discovery (or the date they should have reasonably discovered) that foreign objects were left in their bodies (§516.105(1)).

Patients also have two years to file litigation after discovering their doctors did not inform them of critical test results resulting in worsening conditions (§516.105(2)). Claimants with cases not falling into the above two exceptions should discuss their options with a St. Louis personal injury lawyer at The Dixon Injury Firm.

Exceptions for Child Victims of Medical Malpractice and the Statute of Repose

Minors (under the age of 18) have until their 20th birthday to file medical malpractice claims for childhood medical mistakes, including birth injuries, if their parents did not previously litigate (§516.105(3)). This is the only exception to the ten-year statute of repose (absolute time limitation) applicable to St. Louis medical malpractice claims.

Provided the statute of repose hasn’t expired, certain common law exceptions might also extend the statute of limitations in medical malpractice cases. This may include giving cognitively disabled claimants additional time to file medical negligence claims if doctors caused the disability. Patients might also extend the statute of limitations if doctors deliberately destroyed evidence of their mistakes – by changing medical records, for example—as this amounts to fraud.

Damages Available in St. Louis Medical Malpractice Cases

To reduce medical malpractice insurance premiums, Missouri law limits financial damages in medical neglect cases. This often raises confusion about injured patient’s financial recovery rights. Experienced St. Louis medical malpractice lawyers can help injured patients and their families calculate the maximum available damages in their cases.

Economic Damages – Successful claimants may still recover all direct economic damages resulting from their injuries/illnesses, which commonly include:

  • Doctors and specialists bills
  • Medications and medical equipment
  • Home nursing care
  • Household help
  • Medical transportation
  • Corrective surgeries
  • Lost wages and career advancement opportunities
  • Lost employment benefits, such as health insurance premium payments and retirement contributions

The state does not limit the value of direct economic damage awards. Provided claimants produce proof of actual damages, which may include future anticipated losses calculated by economic experts, they might demand compensation for all these financial losses.

Non-Economic (Pain and Suffering) Damages – Missouri statutorily limits the amount of non-economic (pain and suffering) damages available in medical malpractice cases. Non-economic damages include compensation for physical pain, emotional suffering, lost enjoyment of life, frustration, and inconvenience.

As of 2021, malpractice claimants with non-catastrophic injuries may not recover more than $442,574 in non-economic damages regardless of the number of defendants. Claimants with catastrophic injuries, including the families of claimants wrongfully killed by negligent doctors, may recover up to $774,504 in pain and suffering awards. Catastrophic injuries are defined by § 538.205 and include loss of two or more limbs, traumatic brain injuries resulting in permanent cognitive disabilities preventing independent living, paralysis (quadriplegia or paraplegia), failure of a major organ system, and legal blindness.

Punitive Damages – Though not available in most medical malpractice cases, the state does allow claimants to demand punitive awards in cases of egregious medical malpractice or intentional injuries. Examples of cases supporting punitive damage awards may include doctors operating on claimants while intoxicated or intentionally maiming patients during surgery. Intentional abuse and neglect cases, such as USA gymnastic claims, might also support punitive damages claimants against licensed medical professionals.

Time Limits for Filing Medical Malpractice Claims in Missouri

The time allowed under Missouri law to file a medical malpractice lawsuit is limited. Generally, a medical malpractice case must be filed within two years of the date of occurrence.

If the medical negligence claim involves a foreign object that was left in the body, the suit must be filed within two years of when the object was discovered.

If a loved one dies as a result of medical malpractice, Missouri law requires that the wrongful death lawsuit be filed within three years of death.

Within 90 days of filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in Missouri, the plaintiff must file an expert affidavit stating that a written opinion has been obtained from a legally qualified health care provider regarding the defendant’s negligence. The expert must conclude that the defendant failed to use such care as a reasonably prudent and careful healthcare provider would have under similar circumstances, and that such failure to use such reasonable care directly caused or directly contributed to the damages claimed in the petition (RSMo. Section 538.225 [2009]).

What Is Physician Neglect?

Physician neglect is when a medical professional fails to uphold the accepted standard of medical care or performs in a way that differs from accepted medical standards. If a physician is negligent, it can lead to a wide range of problems, from worsened symptoms for undiagnosed conditions to the spread of untreated illness and serious side effects and complications related to medication errors, surgical mistakes, and other negligent acts.

While poor results after seeking medical help doesn’t always constitute physician neglect, doctors can make mistakes that cause patients to experience harmful side effects, which can be considered medical malpractice.

Some of the most common types of physician neglect are:

  • A physician failing to diagnose a disease or a condition that required immediate medical attention; if your doctor didn’t meet medical care standards, you could have a claim.
  • Improper treatment—if your doctor misdiagnosed you and allowed for treatment that you didn’t need, this could cause serious side effects.
  • If your doctor prescribed the wrong medication for your illness, he or she has violated the medical standard of care and committed physician neglect.
  • If you are pregnant, and your physician fails to treat any conditions that could endanger you or the fetus, you might have a medical malpractice case.

If you or someone you care about is a victim of physician neglect, it is critical to know your rights as a patient and understand that you could be entitled to damages because of your experience. To prove physician neglect, you should consult a physician neglect lawyer. Your lawyer can help prove that there is an existing doctor-patient relationship and that there was some sort of agreement for the physician to treat you. Your attorney can then argue that your doctor didn’t act in accordance with the state’s medical care standard. This is typically done by showing what your doctor should have done to treat you by examining other doctors from the community, thereby proving that the physician violated clinical practice guidelines. Your attorney will need to prove that your doctor caused your condition to worsen, or that you were otherwise harmed while being treated under their care.

Lastly, your attorney can help prove details of the harm or damages you’ve sustained. This includes loss of wages, as well as bills from additional medical treatment or other expenses that arose due to the physician neglect.

St. Louis Medical Malpractice FAQs

Every day, patients trust doctors to correctly diagnose and treat their health conditions. Most healthcare professionals do this admirably, but some St. Louis doctors don’t treat patients with the level of care they deserve. If you suffered a new or worsening medical condition due to potential malpractice, call The Dixon Injury Firm to schedule a free case analysis. During their initial consultation, most prospective clients ask us the following common questions about St. Louis medical malpractice claims.

Q. Are medical malpractice claims just negligence claims against doctors?

A. No. Medical malpractice is a distinct civil cause of action (tort) governed by detailed state laws. Although medical malpractice claims do involve carelessness leading to injuries, different standards apply in medical neglect cases. To recover damages, injured patients must show that their healthcare providers failed to follow reasonably prudent and accepted medical standards resulting in new or worsening injuries. Further, only licensed medical professionals and entities are subject to malpractice litigation.

This includes:

  • Doctors
  • Physician Assistants
  • Registered Nurses or Nurse Practitioners
  • Chiropractors
  • Dentists
  • EMTs
  • Clinical Psychiatrists
  • Hospitals
  • Nursing Homes
  • Pharmacists

Claimants might recover both medical malpractice and negligence damages in appropriate cases. However, it’s harder to prove medical malpractice because patients must show that their medical providers caused their conditions and that similar doctors would not have made the same mistake. Proving these claims requires assistance from medical experts.

Q. Is nursing home neglect considered medical malpractice in St. Louis?

A. Yes, in most cases. Missouri medical malpractice laws state that registered nurses, physical therapists, long-term care homes, and nursing homes are subject to medical malpractice liability. This generally includes common bedsore, broken hip, and neglect claims arising in St. Louis nursing homes. Unfortunately, vulnerable patients have suffered from extreme physical, sexual, and psychological abuse in long-term care facilities. Doctors and nurses have also left patients suffering from extreme pain by mistaking their cries for disillusionment.

Nursing home abuse cases often involving multiple tort claims, including:

  • Medical malpractice
  • Abuse
  • Assault
  • Battery (physical and sexual)
  • Negligence (general)
  • Negligence (premises liability)
  • Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
  • Fraud

Medical malpractice and personal injury attorneys have the resources to handle nursing home abuse and neglect cases in St. Louis.

Q. What are some common examples of St. Louis medical malpractice cases?

A. The majority of medical negligence claims involve incorrect diagnoses, birth errors, surgical mistakes, anesthesia dosage and administration errors, and prescription drug mistakes.

  • Examples of Misdiagnosis Cases. The most commonly misdiagnosed conditions include cancer, strokes, and heart attacks. However, it’s also difficult to catch conditions such as Lupus, fibromyalgia, viral meningitis, infections, and rare genetic disorders. Most doctors subject to malpractice liability failed to sufficiently review patient medical histories, ask questions, order tests, or physically examine the patient. These mistakes often occur in busy practices that encourage doctors to spend less time with each patient to increase billable services.
  • Examples of Prenatal and Birth Errors. Birth errors most commonly involve doctors missing genetic conditions on ultrasounds, ignoring signs of preeclampsia or gestational diabetes, failing to perform timely C-sections, and cutting off the child’s oxygen supply during birth. Oxygen deprivation in the birthing canal, generally due to umbilical cord knots or compression, often causes permanent cognitive disabilities, including cerebral palsy.
  • Examples of Surgical Errors. Surgical malpractice can involve foreign object injuries, which occur when surgeons leave surgical tools, sponges, and towels in the patient after closing the surgical incision. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.105 even addresses foreign-object claims directly. Other surgical negligence cases have involved operating on the wrong patient or body part. As hospital procedures improve, most serious surgical malpractice cases involve unsanitary conditions causing post-operating internal infections and surgeons impaired by drugs or alcohol.
  • Examples of Anesthesia and Prescription Drug Mistakes. Malpractice cases—as opposed to product liability claims against drug manufactures—involve wrongfully prescribed medications and dosage mistakes. Powerful pain medications and anesthesia can cause permanent brain damage or death if administered improperly. Patients may even wake up during surgery. Most prescription drug errors involve mixing dangerous medications, which often occur when doctors and pharmacists don’t review the claimant’s medical history.

Q. How long do I have to bring medical malpractice litigation in Missouri?

A. The Missouri statute of limitations for medical malpractice is two years (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.105). Unless an exception applies, claimants have two years from the date the medical neglect occurred to sue responsible parties. Insurance negotiations do not pause the limitations period, and the statute of limitations covers all claims related to the malpractice.

A few exceptions apply to this time limit if claimants don’t discover the injury or incorrect diagnosis until years after the negligent event. Claimants have two years from the date they discovered or should have discovered doctors left foreign objects in their bodies after surgery to file a case. Patients also have two years from the date they discovered doctors withheld or failed to report critical test results, such as failing to inform the claimant of blood work indicating cancer.

Certain additional factors, including coma resulting from anesthesia mistakes or fraudulent alteration of medical records, might also extend the two-year limitations period. Minor patients (under the age of 18) or infants injured due to birth errors have until their 20th birthday to file medical malpractice claims; although, parents may file litigation sooner. In all non-childhood injury cases, patients have a maximum of ten years to file their malpractice claims.

Q. Can I bring malpractice claims against doctors and nurses who caused my child’s birth injuries?

A. Yes. Parents may generally file medical malpractice litigation on behalf of minor children injured during the birthing process. These settlements may provide essential funds to improve the child’s quality of life and pay for needed rehabilitation and specialized education. Because the full extent of certain brain injuries might not manifest until children reach school age, parents typically have until the child turns 18 to file litigation. Young adults injured as children also have until the age of 20 to file a medical negligence claim. Liable defendants might include the OBGYN, his/her practice, nurses, and the hospital or birthing center.

It’s important to speak with a St. Louis medical malpractice lawyer once you suspect potential malpractice. Settling claims with insurers requires waiving all future litigation rights arising from the negligent event. As such, settling birth injury cases before children develop might result in insubstantial settlements. However, it’s also necessary to preserve essential evidence of potential labor and delivery malpractice. Doctors and hospitals may lawfully destroy older medical records, which may completely hinder delayed litigation. Experienced medical malpractice attorneys know how to balance your need to preserve evidence with the realistic delays associated with birth injury claims.

Q. What’s the average medical malpractice settlement in St. Louis?

A. Viable medical malpractice claims generally involve higher-than-average personal injury settlements, generally due to high malpractice insurance limits and multiple defendants. Many medical negligence claims settle for between $100,000–$400,000, but some cases might command multi-million dollar awards. Overall, the value of your medical malpractice case depends on your direct financial losses. Experienced St. Louis medical malpractice lawyers might help prospective clients understand the real value of their claims.

Q. What kind of damages can I recover from negligent doctors?

A. Generally, successful medical malpractice plaintiffs may demand reimbursement or all direct economic losses, including:

  • Lost salary and income
  • Lost business profits
  • Lost employment benefits, such as paid vacation, health insurance, or 401K contributions
  • Rehabilitation
  • Nursing care
  • Daily household help
  • Medical expenses
  • Funeral costs (wrongful death claims)

Demands may include past expenses, such as initial diagnostic tests, and future anticipated expenses related to the malpractice.

Missouri statutorily limits the special damages you can recover in medical malpractice cases but does not eliminate claimants’ rights to demand pain and suffering awards.

In traditional personal injury cases, claimants may demand non-economic compensation, including:

  • Physical pain and discomfort
  • Emotional anguish and suffering
  • Loss of consortium and companionship (spousal claims)
  • Lost enjoyment of life
  • Frustration
  • Inconvenience

Medical malpractice claimants may also demand compensation for their suffering, but there’s a cap. Claimants with non-catastrophic injuries can only recover up to $442,574 in non-economic damages in their cases (statutory $400,000 plus inflation adjustment). Claimants with catastrophic injuries, including those wrongfully killed by negligent medical professionals, may demand up to $774,504 in pain and suffering awards ($700,000 statutory limit plus inflation adjustment).

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 538.205 narrowly defines catastrophic injuries as the loss of two or more limbs, paraplegia or quadriplegia, severe traumatic brain injuries, or legal blindness. All other injuries generally qualify as non-catastrophic, even if claimants are disabled.

Punitive damages, though rare, are potentially recovering directly from severely negligent doctors. These cases must shock the conscious and generally involve intentional infliction of injuries, sexually abusing patients during examinations, or extreme disregard for life and health like Dr. Death.

Q. How long does it take to recover St. Louis medical malpractice settlements?

A. Most medical malpractice cases settle with liable insurers after claimants submit their final demands. These lump-sum settlements combine both economic and non-economic damages but will not include punitive awards. Because analyzing medical malpractice claims requires requesting thousands of pages of medical records and retaining experts to analyze those records, it often takes years to settle medical negligence cases. It can take over a year to obtain all medical records, find experts, and obtain admissible expert witness reports. COVID-19 further delayed many medical professionals’ ability to defend lawsuits. Most viable healthcare malpractice claims settle within two or three years.

Q. How do I file wrongful death claims against negligent doctors?

A. If you believe negligent healthcare professionals caused or contributed to a loved one’s death, an attorney might help you file wrongful death lawsuits. Eligible family members have three years from the date of death to file malpractice litigation. One year longer than the general medical malpractice statute of limitations. However, the death must be related to the underlying malpractice.

Families may only bring one wrongful death lawsuit, and certain relatives have litigation priority. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.080 states that the surviving spouse, children, grandchildren, or parents have first rights to file wrongful death claims. If no one in the category exists, the victim’s siblings, nephews, nieces, or great-nephews/nieces may file the claim. If the claimant had no immediate family, the court may appoint a plaintiff ad litem.

Plaintiffs ad litem must have some cognizable claim for damages stemming from the victim’s wrongful death, like paying for funeral expenses or lost financial support. Most plaintiffs ad litem are beneficiaries under the deceased claimant’s will, such as stepchildren or life partners, or next-of-kind via intestacy laws (aunts, uncles, or cousins).

Q. How much is a medical malpractice lawyer going to cost me?

A. Most St. Louis medical malpractice attorneys generally offer contingency fee agreements to eligible clients. Contingency fees mean that your attorney doesn’t receive payment unless he recovers compensation for you. Personal injury firms might even front all necessary litigation, medical records, and expert witness expenses. This keeps money in your pocket during the claims process.

Provided your lawyer recovers compensation, either through insurance settlements or following jury verdicts, he takes a percentage of the overall recovery as his fee (rates differ based on litigation complexity).

Consider the following example:

  • Initial Offered Settlement from Insurer: $100,000
  • Settlement from Medical Malpractice Insurer after Legal Representation: $750,000
  • Attorney’s Fee: 33 percent of $750,000 = $250,000
  • Remaining Balance = $500,000
  • Reimbursement for Costs & Expenses = $15,000
  • Remaining Balance = $485,000
  • Repayment of Healthcare, Litigation, or Expert Witness Liens = $50,000
  • Remaining Balance & Client Recovery = $435,000

Reputable medical malpractice lawyers are upfront with clients about their fee structures, including the difference between your final settlement and take-home award.

Q. Why do I need a med mal lawyer if it’s going to cost me so much?

A. Healthcare providers and entities often maintain high-value malpractice insurance policies vigorously protected by experienced defense lawyers and adjusters. Further, state law requires every medical malpractice complaint to be reviewed, certified, and signed by a competent doctor. Claimants and families without experienced medical malpractice counsel rarely recover more than nominal damages, and they frequently waive their remaining financial rights in the process.

Lawyers must request hundreds, if not thousands, of pages of medical records and hire experienced experts to review your claims. Most claimants cannot successfully recover medical malpractice damages without dedicated injury attorneys and doctors on their side. Even after attorneys’ fees, represented clients generally take home substantially higher settlements than unrepresented litigants.

Chris Dixon STL Personal Injury Lawyer
Chris Dixon, STL Medical Malpractice Injury Lawyer

How a Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help

Medical malpractice cases are complex. They usually revolve around highly complex medical issues and require a solid understanding of medical terminology and procedures. In addition, the requirements for proving negligent behavior and the method of calculating damages are complicated and are best left to a qualified medical malpractice lawyer. An attorney will be experienced in working with expert witnesses and has other resources on hand to assist in building a strong case on your behalf.

At The Dixon Injury Firm, our St. Louis personal injury lawyers have helped thousands of injury victims fight for fair reimbursement for their harms and losses. Our founding attorney, Christopher Dixon, is recognized as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers Association and provides aggressive legal representation for the injured.

The Dixon Injury Firm
9666 Olive Blvd #202,
St. Louis, MO 63132
Phone:(314) 208-2808

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