Oklahoma Malpractice Lawyer

• More than 35 years in medical malpractice law
• Free legal consultation
• Compassionate legal advice
• Proven track record

When you need medical care, you put your health in the hands of medical professionals. But when that trust is broken due to negligence or medical error, patients are left to suffer the medical and financial consequences. If you’re left with the consequences of another party’s medical negligence, call Tim Gilpin of Gilpin Law Office at 918.583.8900 to make things right today.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Through years of research and practice, specialists, doctors, nurses and other care providers have established “standards of care” applicable to the injuries, diseases, and illnesses patients suffer. Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, hospital, nurse, or provider’s care or treatment falls below the acceptable standard or the provider fails to provide a treatment and that failure falls below the standard of care. 

Standards of care are meant to protect patients and allow caregivers to perform life-saving procedures. Those standards require physicians to advise patients of the risks and consequences associated with any treatment, any alternative treatments, or options. Additionally, medical professionals should seek informed consent from the patient or, if necessary, the patient’s family, or responsible loved one before moving forward. 

Because of these standards, most patients trust their medical professionals implicitly and anticipate few unexpected outcomes when seeking medical treatment. Yet some doctors and hospitals neglect their professional standards of care while some hospitals and clinics cut corners. When patients are injured or die as a result, this is medical malpractice. 

Types of Medical Malpractice 

Medical malpractice is more common than most people realize. In 2016, a Johns Hopkins study found that medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Some hospitals do not fully or adequately monitor the doctors and care providers hired and allow them to practice in their facility. Sometimes our clinics and hospitals fill their staff with recruits from out-of-state with less than desirable medical experience and qualifications. Some doctors, nurses and care providers are incompetent, preoccupied, or in no state to make life-altering, or life-ending decisions. No matter what, when the outcome is medical malpractice, those injured have the right to seek compensation. 

These are the more common types of medical malpractice:

Medication and prescription drug errors

Care providers and hospitals should prescribe the correct medication dosage, carefully check for allergies, provide the correct medication to the right patient, and discontinue medication when it’s no longer needed or no longer effective. Pharmacy mis-fills can also result in a medical malpractice claim. Doctors and hospital staff are obligated to be on the alert for and prevent these occurrences.

Surgical errors

Whether it’s a major surgery, routine surgery, or outpatient procedure at a same-day surgery center, all surgeries should be treated seriously by the overseeing medical center. Inadequate supervision, botched procedures, or lack of care can hurt a patient and may be grounds for a medical malpractice claim. 

Failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis

When injury results from a medical professional or physician’s failure to observe clinical signs and symptoms or refer a patient to a specialist doctor, this may constitute medical negligence due to misdiagnosis. Further, a routine diagnostic test or procedure not done, but called for under the circumstances, with injury being the result, could be grounds for a medical malpractice claim. 

Medical negligence

Clinics, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers can harbor deadly infections. Bacterial spread in medical settings is something all care providers should be alert to and plan against. Clinical practice requires routine and detailed sterilization procedural control to stop the spread of bacteria and fungus to a patient. 

Determining Medical Malpractice in Oklahoma

In a legal case, a “standard of care” is established first by consulting an independent medical expert in the same field or specialty as the treating doctor or care provider. This expert reviews the injured party’s facts and records and then helps determine whether the treatment or lack of treatment fell below the medical standard of care. A “standard of care” may require a specialist doctor to conduct or supervise a medical procedure.

Getting all the facts and records in a timely manner is crucial. The applicable Oklahoma statute of limitation on medical malpractice is only two (2) years from the date of the harm, or when the plaintiff could reasonably have known he/she was harmed by the treatment or lack of treatment. Medical malpractice cases are typically vigorously defended. An experienced malpractice attorney like Tim Gilpin should be consulted as quickly as possible so the facts and records can be discovered and preserved.

Connect with a Green Country Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you are injured, or a loved one dies, an experienced malpractice attorney is needed — one who is not afraid to take on the medical profession and its insurers. Oklahoma malpractice attorney Tim Gilpin goes the extra mile to successfully represent malpractice cases in Oklahoma and has handled cases that required specialized attention and the grit to see them through. Tim has won his clients and their families millions of dollars from malpractice cases.

These are just a few of the medical malpractice cases Tim has successfully worked on:

• Pharmacy prescription misfills
• Wrongful death due to a doctor’s personal irresponsibility
• Professional incompetence
• Client blinded by negligent doctors

We all go to the doctor or hospital expecting the best care, and we hope the people taking care of us are the good guys. Most of them are, but some physicians don’t belong anywhere near you and have no business making medical decisions that will impact the rest of your life. Don’t spend another day paying for someone else’s mistake. Contact Tim Gilpin for a free consultation at 918.583.8900 today.

No fee if no recovery.