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What Is a Wrongful Death Case?

snyder-wenner · Oct 31, 2019 ·

We often hear the term “wrongful death,” but what does it really mean? This blog will explain what a wrongful death is and why it may lead to a medical malpractice lawsuit.

A 2016 study from Johns Hopkins University found that more than 250,000 people die each year from medical malpractice (or medical error). Other studies have found that number is actually more than 400,000 people. Either number makes medical malpractice the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States. Each of these deaths is considered a “wrongful death” because it was preventable. Under Arizona law, a wrongful death case is when the surviving family (parents, spouse, and/or birth children) file a lawsuit to hold the doctor, nurse, hospital, urgent care center, etc. accountable for their loved one’s death. In other words, a wrongful death case is one type of medical malpractice case. It can also be a products liability case (when a dangerous product kills someone), a personal injury case (deadly car accident, truck crash, etc.), or any other type of negligent harm that resulted in a person’s death.

To prove a wrongful death case arising from medical malpractice, the plaintiff (family) must prove that the healthcare provider was negligent (did something wrong), that the negligence was a cause of the death, and the damages caused by the death. Without all three links in the chain, a case cannot be filed. As the lawyer, it is our job to prove each part of the case. First, we have an expert in the same field as the healthcare provider review the records. He or she tells us if the defendant did anything wrong (was below the standard of care). We then either use the same expert or a doctor in a different specialty to say whether the negligence was a cause of the person’s death. There can be many causes, but the negligence just has to be one of them. Finally, we have to prove what the family’s loss is. Was the person working? If so, his or her lost wages for the rest of his/her working life are part of the case. Did the person work around the house (cook, clean, etc.)? That is also part of the case. Those are called “special damages” because they have a specific dollar amount connected to them. The other part is “general damages,” which is the family members’ loss of love, companionship, enjoyment of life, etc. caused by the person’s death. Each family member has his or her own claim for general damages. We spend hours with each family member to see how the death has impacted his or her life. Once all three links are proven, we file the wrongful death lawsuit.

Wrongful death cases are important because they hold doctors, hospitals, urgent care centers, and all other healthcare providers accountable for their conduct. WIthout this check and balance, there would be no repercussions for negligence, and healthcare providers would be free to act however they wanted. Snyder & Wenner has over 85 combined years of experience representing families in medical malpractice and wrongful death cases. Contact us today by clicking here or by using the form below for a free consultation.

World Patient Safety Day – September 17, 2019

snyder-wenner · Sep 16, 2019 ·

As medical malpractice attorneys, we take our job very seriously to protect patient safety. Every case we take, every settlement and verdict we obtain, is to take one step closer to protecting members in our Phoenix community from medical negligence. The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is tasked with protecting international public health.

On September 17, 2019, the WHO is holding its first-ever World Patient Safety Day. Their global campaign is intended to “create awareness of patient safety and urge people to show their commitment to making healthcare safer.” According to their data, this campaign is needed due to the following, very troubling facts:

Adverse events due to unsafe care is likely one of the 10 leading causes of death and disability in the world.
In high-income countries (like the United States), estimates show that 1 out of every 10 patients is injured while receiving hospital care. Of these injuries, approximately 50% are preventable
134 million adverse events occur each year in hospitals, resulting in 2.6 million deaths each year.
Throughout the world, as many as 4 in 10 patients are injured in primary and outpatient health care. Of those injuries, approximately 80% are preventable
15% of hospital expenses are directly caused by treating patient safety failures

There is no question that medical malpractice incidents are on the rise. The only ways to combat this epidemic is to raise awareness on the issue and to hold the hospitals and doctors accountable for their errors. While many people may not agree with medical malpractice lawsuits, they are the only check and balance we have on this very dangerous system. Without lawsuits, hospitals and healthcare systems would run amok, and the number of wrongful deaths and catastrophic injuries would be even higher.

Medical Malpractice: Why Is It So Dangerous?

snyder-wenner · Sep 6, 2019 ·

By now most people know the statistic: Medical malpractice is the 3rd leading cause of death in our country. In fact, medical malpractice is responsible for the deaths of over 250,000 people per year. That is an enormous, concerning number, and it does not even include the hundreds of thousands of other people who suffer serious, life-changing injuries due to medical errors. This blog post is intended to discuss medical malpractice, what it is, why it is important, and what can be done to save peoples’ lives.

What Is It?

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider (doctor, nurse, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, technician, etc.) falls below the standard of care and causes an injury to someone. The standard of care is what a reasonable and prudent doctor, nurse, etc. would do in the same situation. In other words, it’s the rule that healthcare providers must follow. For example, the standard of care in driving is to follow the speed limit. If you drive 10 miles per hour over the speed limit and hit someone, you have fallen below the standard of care and caused an injury, so you are liable (responsible) to the injured person. The same is true in the healthcare field. And, just like if you hurt someone with your car, a doctor/nurse/etc. has malpractice insurance to pay for the injuries they cause.

Why Does It Happen So Much?

Now that we know what medical malpractice is, the next question is why does it occur so often? First, it is important to understand that medical malpractice cases do not claim that the doctor or nurse INTENTIONALLY injured or killed someone. Their job is to help people in need, and their intent is not to cause harm. That said, it is not simple a “stuff happens” situation, either. The most important fact about medical malpractice cases is that the negligence (or wrong acts) are always preventable if the healthcare provider simply takes the time he or she needs to properly assess the situation. Often times their employer, the hospital, is the cause of the problem because the hospital has created a system that is financially motivated, and which puts its doctors and nurses in a position to fail. This happens in hospitals every day throughout Arizona because their goal is to maximize insurance payouts and not to give each, individual patient the time he or she needs. With urgent care centers popping up throughout Phoenix and the rest of Arizona, this problem is magnified exponentially. Urgent care centers are not equipped to handle life-threatening emergencies like heart attacks, strokes, and other serious conditions, but they often do not properly train the nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants on how to accurately diagnose these emergent conditions. The urgent care business model is “treat ’em, and street ’em,” meaning diagnose the patient as quickly as possible and get them out the door so the healthcare provider can move on to the next patient.

Snyder & Wenner — Arizona’s Premier Medical Malpractice Law Firm

For the last 36 years, Snyder & Wenner has been at the forefront of holding doctors, hospitals, urgent care centers, nurse practitioners, physicians’ assistants, and all other healthcare providers responsible for their negligent conduct. Our goal is very simple: To help our clients and their families by ensuring that medical providers are accountable for their conduct. Not only does this help our clients with the financial support they need to treat their life-changing injuries (or the death of a loved one), but it also helps to keep the rest of our community safe. When medical providers know that there are consequences for their conduct, they will take more time and rethink their choices. It is a crucial check and balance system, and medical malpractice lawsuits, unfortunately, seem to be the only way to stop the crisis from growing each and every years. With this goal in mind, we only take the most serious injury and wrongful death cases in Phoenix and throughout Arizona. We are proud of the work we have done to protect our community here in the greater Phoenix area, and we look forward to 36 more years of protecting our community, one case at a time.

Urgent Care Malpractice: A Rising Epidemic

snyder-wenner · Apr 24, 2019 ·

As sick and injured people take fewer and fewer trips to the hospital emergency room, urgent care clinics in Arizona are becoming more heavily trafficked. In fact, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in September 2018 found that “emergency department visits from 2008 to 2015 for low-acuity conditions dropped by 36%, while visits to non-emergent care facilities, such as urgent care centers or calls in to telemedicine services, grew by 140%.” That is an astounding number, but should not be surprising to anyone who has driven around Phoenix or Tucson lately. It seems that every strip center now has an urgent care clinic. The problem with this “convenience” is that the care provided at urgent care clinics is notoriously poor.

Postpartum Hemorrhage Rates Rising

snyder-wenner · Apr 11, 2019 ·

Each year, thousands of women suffer life-changing injuries or die during childbirth because hospitals and healthcare providers fail to take basic safety measures to prevent postpartum hemorrhage. Postpartum hemorrhage is a very serious medical condition when the woman suffers extensive bleeding following the birth of her baby. The hemorrhage can occur immediately after delivery, or in the hours or days following. Whenever it occurs, it is an emergency that must be recognized and treated by the healthcare team. If they fail to diagnose the postpartum hemorrhage, the woman may suffer permanent, devastating injuries, or she may die.