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Nebraska Medical Malpractice Lawyer

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Medical malpractice law is form of tort law designed to offer a remedy to patient who suffers an injury from an act or omission by a health care provider, which deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community. Medical malpractice is professional negligence (by a health care provider) that causes an injury. Examples of medical malpractice include:

Misdiagnoses of, or failure to diagnose, a disease or medical condition;
Failure to provide appropriate treatment for a medical condition;
Unreasonable delay in treating a diagnosed medical condition;

An injured patient can bring a medical malpractice action against any responsible licensed health care provider, including doctors, counselors, psychologists and psychotherapists.

Medical malpractice law is a highly technical field of law, and malpractice lawsuits tend to be fiercely defended by well-funded defense firms. Even within the specialized practice of medical malpractice law, some lawyers have subspecialties of practice, for example focusing on surgical errors, medication errors, misdiagnoses, or birth trauma cases.

Medical malpractice lawsuits can be very expensive to pursue. Significant technical skills may be needed to prosecute a malpractice claim. This creates a risk that an inexperienced lawyer may not be sufficiently conversant with the medical issues, or might make a technical error, which causes a case to be lost or dismissed. In addition, substantial costs may need to be incurred to prepare for the malpractice prosecution. About 41 medical malpractice attorneys practice in Nebraska.

Medical malpractice actions must be commenced within two years after the act or omission, or within one year after the claimant discovers the act or omission. A wrongful death action must be brought within two years after the decedent's death.

Nebraska does not generally impose limits on the amount recoverable as compensatory damages in medical malpractice actions. The state provides an excess liability fund for the benefit of qualified health care providers. It is a fundamental rule of law in Nebraska that punitive, vindictive, or exemplary damages are not allowed.

Nebraska does not have a statute specifically dealing with expert testimony in medical malpractice cases.

Nebraska does not place a limit on the fees a medical malpractice claimant's attorney may recover for services rendered. In all cases against a health care provider for professional negligence, the court, upon motion of either party, shall review the attorneys' fees incurred by that party and allow such compensation as the court finds reasonable.

The collateral source rule in Nebraska states that a defendant cannot seek to reduce its liability by attempting to provide evidence that the plaintiff has received restitution from other sources, such as the plaintiff's own insurance. In the instance of medical malpractice cases in Nebraska, non-refundable insurance coverage is not admissible as evidence.

If you suspect you have a medical malpractice claim, talk to a lawyer who specializes in such cases. Ask the possible attorney what experience he or she has in matters of medical malpractice cases. Try to find out what the specific attorney's case winning record is. In fact, find out how many cases the law firm has won in winning damage settlements for traumatized clients. Make sure you choose someone with whom you have a good rapport, as medical malpractice cases may stretch out for extended periods of time. And if you have any questions or concerns about your case, don't hesitate to get a second opinion before procuring a lawyer's services.