Legal•Info

Alaska Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Call (888) 471-5989 to speak with a personal injury attorney.

One of the most frequent causes of wrongful death in Alaska is medical malpractice. Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of people die each year because of medical malpractice, and millions more are injured each year due to negligence in the hospital. A large percentage of medical mistakes are at the hands of the doctors themselves, not nurses or other health care professionals. If you are among one of the millions of patients that have been injured due to medical mistakes, or have had a family member die due to medical mistakes or negligence, it is important for you to hire a lawyer or attorney who specializes in medical malpractice to defend your case.

Medical malpractice can be defined as negligence committed by a health care professional, which results in physical and/or economic harm to a patient. When we go to the hospital, we expect to receive the best care possible, and when that trust and care is compromised at the expense of the patient, there may be just cause for a medical malpractice suit. A medical malpractice lawyer or attorney will have the ability to determine if you are a victim of medical malpractice by examining several factors that must be present to prove medical malpractice. These elements of proof include duty of care, breach of duty, injury, and proximate cause. It is important to know that the burden of proof is on the plaintiff (patient) and their lawyer or attorney in the malpractice lawsuit; because of this, medical malpractice lawsuits can be hard to win.

While the elements of proof are similar for every state, the prescribed standard of medical care varies, as well as the way in which damages are awarded, and the amount of time you have to file your claim. The statute of limitations for Alaska allows the plaintiff up to two years after the injury is discovered to file a malpractice claim. Additionally, the state of Alaska has adopted the doctrine of pure comparative negligence. A claimant's fault does not bar recovery, but his damages are reduced in proportion to the percentage of fault attributed to him.

When liability is established by the lawyer or the court, he or she will most likely hire one or more doctors as expert witnesses to testify on the issue at hand. There will most likely be one expert hired before the suit is filed, and additional experts may be hired before the case proceeds to trial and during the trial itself. Both sides must provide expert witnesses to try and prove their case. Each state also has special rules for who can be an expert witness and what the requirement is for their participation in a trial. In Alaska, expert witnesses must be trained and certified in the defendant's specialty, and must be certified by a board recognized in the state of Alaska.

An Alaska medical malpractice lawyer or attorney will be well versed in state healthcare and medical malpractice laws, and will use these state laws to help you recover damages. There are many different ways in which a patient can be seriously injured as a result of medical malpractice, including surgical malpractice, medication errors, bacterial infections, diagnosis error, wrong site surgery, emergency room errors, and nursing home neglect. You may be approached by the hospital or medical facility to settle out of court; this may seem appealing, but it can also allow them to take advantage of your situation. Medical malpractice law is a highly specialized field, so it is in your best interest to consult attorneys and lawyers whose main focus is medical malpractice and personal injury law.