Medical Malpractice in Santa Fe:

Our lawyers have extensive knowledge of and experience with medical negligence claims. If you have been injured due to the negligence of a healthcare provider, we will evaluate your case to determine whether we may be able to assist you in making a claim. Remember, under New Mexico law there is a time limit to file a lawsuit, so do not delay in seeking a legal opinion.

What is a medical malpractice lawsuit?

Medical malpractice is when a patient is harmed by a medical professional by failing to provide proper health care and treatment.  The legal definition of medical malpractice demands that the medical provider must have been negligent.  If you have had something bad happen to you due to a serious, preventable medical error, you have the right to hold the medical professional accountable and they should pay you for the harm they caused.  Below we explain what a medical malpractice lawsuit is and describe common malpractice lawsuits in Santa Fe.  

Common types of medical malpractice in Santa Fe include:

• Failure or delay in diagnosis
• Surgical Errors
• Anesthesia Errors
• Childbirth Injuries
• Medication Errors
• Defective medical products

New Mexico Medical Malpractice Lawyers Representing Clients in Santa Fe

Anyone who seeks a diagnosis, treatment, or other type of medical care from a healthcare provider should be able to expect that the healthcare provider will not behave in a negligent manner that results in patient harm. Yet healthcare providers of many different types, from family physicians to surgeons and pharmacists, can make mistakes that result in patients sustaining serious and life-threatening injuries. If you or someone you love sought medical care from a healthcare provider and suffered an injury as a result of that healthcare provider’s negligence, you may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. The aggressive New Mexico medical malpractice lawyers at Slate Stern Law can help.

What is Medical Malpractice in Santa Fe?

Medical malpractice, which is also known as medical negligence, is a legal term that refers to any situation in which a healthcare professional’s negligent act or omission results in a patient injury. Medical malpractice claims are one specific area of personal injury law through which an injured patient can file a civil lawsuit in order to seek financial compensation for losses from the negligent healthcare provider. New Mexico medical malpractice lawsuits are governed by the New Mexico Medical Malpractice Act.

Common Types of Medical Malpractice

There are many different ways that medical malpractice can result in patient injuries, including but not limited to the following:

• Medication errors, such as prescribing the wrong amount of medicine to a patient, filling the wrong prescription or wrong amount of the drug, prescribing a drug that will have a harmful interaction with the patient’s current medications, or prescribing the wrong drug;
• Surgical errors, such as leaving a foreign object in a patient’s body after surgery like a sponge or medical tool, operating on the wrong body part (wrong-site surgery), or operating on the wrong patient;
• Anesthesia errors, which may include administering the wrong amount of anesthesia based on the patient’s characteristics or administering the incorrect anesthesia;
• Diagnostic errors, such as failing to diagnose a serious condition or misdiagnosing a condition; and
• After-treatment errors, including hospital-acquired infections or inadequate patient monitoring.

Elements of a New Mexico Medical Malpractice Claim

While you should work with a medical malpractice attorney to determine the specific elements you must prove to win your case, the following are the general elements of a medical malpractice lawsuit:

• Doctor-patient relationship established a duty of care;
• Doctor or other healthcare provider breached the duty of care by acting negligently;
• Negligence caused the patient’s injuries; and
• Injuries resulted in damages.

Liability for Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice can take many different forms, and various types of healthcare professionals can be responsible for negligent acts or omissions. The following are examples of healthcare providers who may be liable for injuries caused by medical malpractice:

• Physicians;
• Surgeons;
• Nurses;
• Hospitals;
• Laboratories;
• Lab technicians;
• Pharmacists; and
• Dentists.

Depending upon the particular facts of your case, you could be eligible to file a lawsuit against more than one party. You should speak with a Santa Fe medical malpractice attorney who can assess your case.

Statute of Limitations for a New Mexico Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

If you are harmed by a healthcare provider’s negligence, it is critical to understand that you must file your lawsuit within a specific time window or else be barred from obtaining financial compensation for your losses. This time limit on a medical malpractice claim is known as the statute of limitations. According to the New Mexico medical malpractice statute of limitations, all medical malpractice claims must be filed within three years from the date of the act of malpractice. To be clear, the clock on your medical negligence claim will begin ticking on the date the healthcare provider made a mistake or omission that resulted in your injury. From that point, you will have three years to file a lawsuit. Once that three-year clock stops ticking, your claim will become time-barred.

The only exception under the law in New Mexico law is for acts of malpractice affecting children under the age of six. In such cases, the child has until its ninth birthday to file a lawsuit regardless of the child’s age when the malpractice act or omission occurred. While some states have exceptions to the statute of limitations and toll the clock for cases in which a person did not know about an injury due to medical negligence for some time after the initial incident, New Mexico does not have this kind of exception.

Contact Our New Mexico Medical Malpractice Attorneys Today

If you or someone you love suffered injuries as a result of a healthcare provider’s negligence, it is essential to begin working with a New Mexico medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. The advocates at Slate Stern Law have years of experience representing plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases and can speak with you today about filing a claim. Contact Slate Stern Law for more information.

Additional Medical Malpractice Information