When doctors, hospitals and pharmacists fail to perform at the level of professional responsibility expected and required, the result is often a catastrophic injury or a premature death for the victim.

At Marsh, Rickard & Bryan, we believe medical professionals should be held financially accountable for the pain, suffering and loss directly caused by their negligence. Over the years, we have successfully helped Alabama families obtain maximum compensation for medical malpractice cases involving:

In one unusual case, Marsh, Rickard & Bryan, challenged the way a local hospital was handling the remains of miscarried fetuses.

The Facts About Medical Malpractice

At Marsh, Rickard & Bryan, we believe juries serve a very important social function. Their verdicts tell a community that certain types of practices will not be tolerated. According to the Rand Institute for Civil Justice, “The jury’s decision in any particular case indicates the potential costs of engaging in behavior similar to the defendant’s.” The New England Journal of Medicine reported in the late 1970s that replacing the tort system in medical malpractice cases “might well abolish the deterrent signal or distort clinical decision making.” Researchers found that tort cases that assess damages against the negligent doctor send signals to other doctors that discourage future carelessness and reduce future damages.

Our lawyers strive to protect the patient’s right to be treated with the appropriate standard of care. Contact our firm to put our experienced team to work for you.

The Myths About Medical Malpractice

There is a lot of information about medical malpractice lawsuits out there that is just flat wrong. For example, we often hear that the costs of defending these lawsuits and compensating victims are responsible for driving up health care costs. Right now, Americans are spending about $2.5 trillion a year on health care. The percentage of that overall amount that is spent on defending malpractice claims and compensating victims is just 0.3 percent.

The most startling statistic may be just how few medical malpractice suits are actually filed each year. Most experts agree that the number has held steady at about 85,000 a year for many years. That seems like a lot until you compare it to the number of avoidable deaths occurring in our hospitals every year.

For example, one reputable study by the Institute of Medicine at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences found that avoidable medical errors – just in hospitals alone – killed as many as 98,000 people annually. That was more than automobile and workplace accidents combined. They also estimated that another 300,000 people were injured each year by avoidable medical errors. By 2011, a study in HealthAffairs estimated the number of avoidable deaths was probably closer to 1 million.

We strive to protect the patient’s right to be treated with the appropriate standard of care. Contact our firm to put our experienced team to work for you.