As a society, we put our trust in medical professionals. They, in turn, under oath, pledge to provide the highest standard of care to their patients. However, errors committed by doctors and other healthcare providers can cause severe, life-changing injuries and conditions that require ongoing, costly medical care, and in certain circumstances even death. The complex nature of medical malpractice claims can be difficult to understand, especially when you or a loved one is suffering from the after-effects of physical or emotional pain.
This is why you should contact the Feidler Law Firm. Our firm has successfully litigated many medical malpractice cases and yeilded large settlements. We have the litigation experience to navigate your case and get you the compensation you or your loved one deserves and hold those responsible for your pain and suffering accountable.
Medical malpractice attorneys specialize in helping their clients collect and organize all necessary medical records, witness accounts, and other evidence needed to present a winning case.
In South Carolina, the patient alleging medical malpractice must generally prove four elements or legal requirements to make out a successful claim of medical malpractice.
As a prerequisite to filing any medical malpractice lawsuit in South Carlina, the injured patient must first put the medical provider on notice of the medical malpractice lawsuit. This is in accordance with South Carolina Code Section 15-79-125, which requires that an injured party with the court a Notice of Intent to File Suit.
The Notice of Intent to File Suit must:
The Notice of Intent to File Suit, responses to standard interrogatories, and expert affidavit must be filed with the court and served on all the potential defendants. This filing in effect pauses the statute of limitations, meaning the time limit to file the medical malpractice lawsuit will not run out.
An additional step that must be taken once the proper paperwork is served on all the potential defendants is pre-suit mediation. Within 90 days—and no later than 120 days—after the Notice of Intent to File Suit and the expert affidavit are served on the potential defendants, the parties are required to participate in a mediation conference and make an effort to resolve the dispute before a medical malpractice lawsuit needs to be filed. However, it is rare for a medical malpractice lawsuit to settle prior to filing. If the parties are unable to resolve the medical malpractice lawsuit at pre-suit mediation, an impasse is called by the mediator and the plaintiff can then file the Summons and Complaint and serve the same on the defendants.
These steps are critical to filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in South Carolina. That is why it is important to contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney at the Feidler Law Firm for a free consultation if you believe you have a potential medical malpractice claim.
A misdiagnosis can have devastating effects on a patient. They may suffer debilitating pain, lasting physical impairments, and even death due to a lack of appropriate treatment. They may also endure severe side effects from receiving treatment for the wrong condition. A delayed diagnosis can have similar outcomes, particularly as the condition progresses. Whether a patient is misdiagnosed or their condition is diagnosed too late, they’ll need to demonstrate negligence on the part of their doctor.
Some examples are as follows:
Postoperative care refers to the monitoring and subsequent care that a patient receives following surgery.
Medical professionals are responsible for monitoring their patients for complications that might arise from surgery, preventing and treating infections, monitoring vital signs, providing detailed instructions for post-surgical care, and correctly prescribing medicine to aid in the healing process.
If a doctor fails to properly monitor a patient or identify symptoms after surgery, they may be liable for malpractice.
Some of the common infections, illnesses, and other conditions that arise from postoperative negligence include:
There are multiple types of anesthesia with distinct purposes:
Each type of anesthesia carries the risk of complications. One of the most common and serious complications is anesthesia awareness, also known as intraoperative awareness. This occurs when a patient regains consciousness during surgery. If anesthesia is used incorrectly and a patient is injured as a result, the negligent medical professional may be liable for the resulting damages.
Some examples of negligence by an anesthesiologist include:
If your surgery or the surgery of your family member went wrong, you probably have questions about whether the doctor and hospital staff did everything they were supposed to do. Unfortunately, hospitals and doctors rarely admit mistakes.
Some examples of surgical errors that are ground for a medical malpractice suit are as follows:
Medication errors result from the use of improper medications, allergic reactions, overdoses, failure to recognize contraindications, or combining medications improperly. Medication errors may be made the doctor, the pharmacist, or the nurse giving the medication.
Here are some pertinent questions to determine whethere or not you have a case:
Answers to these and other relevant questions become important if you think your doctor may have committed malpractice. Like other personal injury claims, the case will either be settled or go to trial, usually before a jury.
One of the things we’ll discuss when we first meet you is how and how often you want us to contact you. If you have a case, we’ll probably be working together for quite a while. Some people want to hear every detail, while others only want us to let them know if something really important happens. Some people like phone calls, while others prefer emails, so they can have a record of the conversation. We try hard to accommodate each client’s preferences.
This is a natural question that’s very difficult to answer. The value of a case depends on the circumstances of the injury or death, how it affected the people involved, as well as a large number of other factors.
While we can talk to you about the factors that will affect the value of your particular case, we can’t give you an exact number—and neither can anyone else.
You may read about cases that sound similar to yours, but may be worth much less or much more than your case because of these individual factors. As your case moves through different stages, we’ll be able to give you better estimates about the value of your case, and what to expect from a settlement or trial.
Most clients don’t want to go to court. Although it’s hard to predict early on whether a case will settle or go to trial, most cases settle.
Our philosophy is to prepare every case thoroughly, as if it will be tried because that’s how we believe we can get you the best settlement. If your case is one of the few that doesn’t settle before trial, we’ll make sure you’re carefully prepared on what will happen and what to expect at trial. You’ll also have plenty of advance notice, so you that can make necessary arrangements with work, child care, as well as with your other responsibilities.
Determining who is liable for a medical error in any given medical malpractice scenario can be challenging, because multiple health care professionals from various entities may have provided care around the time of the medical error. In the majority of cases, medical negligence claims are brought against:
Unfortunately, the amount you can recover for non-economic damages is limited under South Carolina Code Section 13-32-220, which states that noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases are capped at $350,000 when the claim is against a single health care provider. The cap on noneconomic damages is raised to $1.05 million when the award is against multiple health care providers.
Thankfully, no such cap exists for economic damages, meaning the full amount awarded for lost pay or healthcare expenses can be recovered. South Carolina does not require that a physician carry medical malpractice liability insurance, nor does South Carolina have a minimum carrying requirement. While most hospitals require doctors to carry insurance, some do not.
The Feidler Law Firm believes that everyone deserves high-quality legal representation, no matter their financial status. Therefore, we operate on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay us only when we win your case. Our fee would come in the form of a percentage of the settlement or verdict amount we obtain. If there is no recovery, there will be no attorneys’ fees.
You’re not alone. The Feidler Law Firm is here to help. Submit your information through our web form, or call The Feidler Law Firm at 843-790-9015 for a FREE consultation to discuss your case.
Attorney Advertising: Attorney Stefan Feidler is responsible for the content of this website. Principal office: 22 Strawberry Ln., Charleston, SC 29403. Prior results are not indicative of future outcomes. No Legal Advice Intended. This website includes general information about legal issues and developments in the law. Such materials are for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal developments. These informational materials are not intended, and must not be taken, as legal advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. You need to contact a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction for advice on specific legal issues.