Hospitals are where we go for healing and emergency treatment. However, in some cases, hospitals can commit errors that make things worse for patients, not better. If you were injured due to hospital negligence, you may have the right to pursue compensation from the facility. The Las Cruces hospital malpractice lawyers at Coates & Johnson can help you seek accountability.
Our firm focuses exclusively on medical malpractice cases and has more than 60 years of experience handling complex negligence claims. We’re here to help you take on large hospitals and powerful insurers and get justice.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation to learn more about your legal options.
Why Choose Coates & Johnson to Handle My Hospital Negligence Claim in Las Cruces?
You deserve a law firm with the experience and resources necessary to investigate hospital negligence cases and pursue accountability against institutions tasked with healing patients, not hurting them.
Patients throughout Las Cruces and across New Mexico trust Coates & Johnson because:
- Our practice focuses exclusively on representing victims of medical malpractice in New Mexico.
- We are selective in the cases we take on. If we take your case, we believe you have a valid claim.
- One of our attorneys is also a physician, rounding out a team of lawyers that has dedicated their careers to fighting for injured patients.
- We have handled thousands of medical malpractice claims against almost every type of hospital and healthcare imaginable.
- Every client works directly with our attorneys and partners throughout the case.
Contact us today to speak with a Las Cruces medical malpractice attorney about your rights and options. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning we only charge attorney fees if we recover compensation for you through a settlement or verdict.
Do I Need an Attorney for a Hospital Negligence Case?
When you sue for hospital negligence, you are putting yourself at the very center of the healthcare system. Hospitals and healthcare systems often have extensive legal resources and insurance coverage designed to defend against malpractice claims. You deserve representation that can match these resources and show that the hospital or its staff injured you due to failures to meet accepted medical standards.
An experienced medical malpractice attorney can help by:
- Reviewing hospital records and treatment documentation to understand how the error occurred
- Consulting medical experts to evaluate whether hospital staff violated accepted standards of care
- Investigating delays in diagnosis or treatment that worsened a patient’s condition
- Identifying all healthcare providers involved in the patient’s hospital care
- Evaluating the full impact of the injury, including long-term medical and financial consequences
- Ensuring compliance with filing deadlines and procedural requirements that apply to malpractice claims in New Mexico
- Managing negotiations with insurance companies that attempt to minimize claims
- Preparing the case for litigation if a fair settlement cannot be reached
Patients like you deserve their own advocates to handle all aspects of their malpractice claim. Contact us today to learn more about how our attorneys can help.
What is Hospital Negligence?
When medical providers fail to meet accepted medical standards and injure patients, it is called medical negligence. Hospitals must coordinate care among many different medical professionals and departments, increasing the risk of such negligence.
Common examples of hospital negligence may include:
- Failure to properly monitor patients during treatment or recovery
- Medication errors involving incorrect drugs or dosages
- Infections caused by poor sanitation or improper sterilization practices
- Delayed diagnosis or failure to recognize serious medical conditions
- Surgical mistakes or errors during hospital procedures
- Failure to properly communicate critical patient information between staff members
- Inadequate staffing or supervision that leads to preventable medical errors
- Failure to follow hospital safety protocols designed to protect patients
Determining whether these mistakes constitute medical negligence requires testimony from experts who can explain what the negligent provider should have done and how their error contributed to a patient’s injury.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Hospital Negligence and What Damages Can Be Recovered?
Hospital negligence cases often involve several individuals and organizations responsible for a patient’s care. Depending on the circumstances, more than one party may share responsibility for your injury.
Potentially liable parties may include:
- Hospitals or healthcare systems are responsible for patient care and supervision
- Physicians and surgeons practicing within the hospital
- Nurses and other hospital staff members
- Physician groups or contracted medical providers
- Radiologists, laboratory personnel, or consulting specialists involved in diagnosis or treatment
Importantly, you can include each party that contributed to your injury/illness as a defendant in your medical malpractice case. This increases the amount of compensation and insurance coverage available.
How Much Money is My Hospital Negligence Claim Worth?
Patients may be entitled to seek compensation from these parties for both the financial and personal losses related to hospital negligence. Economic damages cover your monetary losses related to the incident. Non-economic damages cover the personal, nonmonetary losses that do not come with a price tag.
Damages in a medical malpractice claim often include money for:
- Medical expenses related to the injury
- Future medical care and rehabilitation needs
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Permanent disability
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium for affected family members
Wrongful death cases also provide an opportunity to recover money for a loved one’s funeral expenses and the lost support and loss of companionship felt by the surviving family.
An experienced wrongful death attorney in Las Cruces can help you track and calculate your damages, including those you will likely experience in the future.
Contact a Las Cruces Hospital Negligence Lawyer
You don’t have to accept negligence from a hospital. You can stand up and demand accountability for the harm you experienced. Coates & Johnson can help you seek compensation that addresses the range of losses you’ve suffered. We have decades of experience helping injured patients like you.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with a Las Cruces hospital negligence lawyer for help understanding your rights.