Bangor medical malpractice lawyer Tag Archives

A new study by researchers at Rutgers University Medical School reveals that outcomes in medical malpractice lawsuits vary significantly depending on where in the U.S. the claim is filed. Published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the study analyzed federal litigation data from 43,000 facial trauma medical malpractice cases with payouts totaling $3.8 billion for allegations pertaining to inadequate care in diagnosis, treatment or surgery.

The researchers discovered physicians have the statistical advantage in medical malpractice cases no matter where a person lives. However, the likelihood of success varied significantly by region. For example, in the South, only ten percent of these claims were successful. In the Midwest, courts affirmed 40 percent of these same claims. Researchers concluded there were a few possible explanations, including a “proclivity for Southern judges to dismiss claims.”

Although this might seem discouraging, our Bangor medical malpractice lawyers note that of those cases decided by a jury trial, plaintiffs overwhelmingly did win. Roughly 40 percent of claims analyzed were decided by a jury, with awards ranging from $14,500 to $1.8 million.

An apparent lack of communication between health care providers proved nearly fatal for a Maine man, to whom a jury recently awarded $1.785 million in a medical malpractice claim.

The patient, 71, and his wife, 63, from Millinocket, alleged harm to his health could have been prevented had health care workers acted according to professional industry standards – which is the proof burden required in these cases. The couple sought between $3 million and $3.7 million in damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, emotional distress and permanent damage to patient’s heart resulting from a months-long delay in treatment in 2010 for a strep infection. In the eight months between when the patient was first seen and when he had to undergo emergency open heart surgery, the infection caused severe damage to the valves in his heart.

The civil trial was heard in the Penobscot Judicial Center before a Superior Court justice. Continue reading

Articles Tagged with Bangor medical malpractice lawyer

Study: Success of Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Hinge Partly on Where They Happen

$1.785M Awarded in Maine Medical Malpractice Lawsuit