Medical Malpractice

Finding an experienced Maine medical malpractice lawyer can be difficult. Medical malpractices cases are almost always factually and legally complex. For this reason, and due to the high cost and risk of bringing medical malpractice cases in Maine, there are relatively few lawyers in Maine who specialize in Maine medical malpractice law.

Because the Maine medical malpractice Statute of Limitations is relatively short (three years in most cases, with considerably shorter filing/notice deadlines for claims against government entities and their employees), it is very important to consult with a Maine lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice law as soon as possible after the malpractice occurred.

Medical malpractice is the failure of a doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider to provide the quality of care that is required by community standards. Bad medical results occur every day in the State and, in many cases, the results could have been avoided had proper care been provided. While there are many good doctors, nurses, and healthcare facilities, often the demands of HMOs to reduce costs result in healthcare errors.

Proving medical negligence is often a very difficult thing to do. For obvious reasons, those involved in neglectful care are rarely willing to document their errors. As a result, our firm generally hires board-certified physicians and specialists to look beyond the medical records to determine whether malpractice occurred. Very often this involves scouring through thousands of pages of medical records looking for evidence that the bad medical outcome could have been avoided through the use of established practices. Often information that is omitted from records turns out to be very useful in establishing malpractice.

Birth injuries due to malpractice are becoming an increasingly frequent occurrence. Problems often arise in the course of a pregnancy or delivery that are overlooked or ignored, resulting in catastrophic consequences.

Prescription errors are also increasing in frequency. While many times the error is detected in time, often the patient is not aware of the error and serious, sometimes catastrophic injuries occur.

We are also seeing a significant increase in the number of failure to diagnose cases in Maine. With doctors spending less and less time with patients in an effort to reduce costs and maximize their profits, obvious problems are often overlooked and/or misinterpreted. Cost cutting measures in both hospitals and doctors’ offices are frequently taken too far. As a result, necessary tests and imaging studies are omitted, causing serious, life-threatening consequences.

Our firm uses the very best experts to determine the nature and extent of our clients’ injuries. Treating physicians are generally willing to provide some information about our client’s future restrictions and the future impact of his/her injuries. However, because treating doctors often do not have the time or inclination to provide a thorough analysis of the future impact of injuries on work activities and other activities of daily living, we use the best experts in the field to provide more comprehensive analysis of these issues in order to prove our cases. We find that, by providing this type of detailed and comprehensive analysis to insurance companies, we are able to settle cases favorably without having to go to court over 98 percent of the time. Insurance companies know Attorney Thompson’s reputation in court and, in the vast majority of cases, choose to settle rather than risking an unfavorable result at trial and having to pay the high the costs associated with trial.

• Anesthesia Malpractice
• Birth Injuries
• Defective Drugs
• Delivery Mishaps
• Dental Malpractice
• Doctor and Hospital Errors
• Emergency Room Neglect and Errors
• Lab Mishaps
• Misdiagnosis of Threatening and Terminal Disease
• Negligent Sterilization Procedures
• Operating Room Negligence
• Psychiatric Malpractice
• Recalled/Defective Prosthesis
• Surgical Errors
• Wrong Diagnosis or Misdiagnosis
• Gynecologic Surgery Errors
• Hospital Negligence Leading to Patient Harm
• Failing to Diagnose or Delaying Treatment of a Medical Condition may be Malpractice
• Abdominal Compartment Syndrome
• Negligent Administration of Drugs
• Birth Injuries: Erb’s Palsy
• Extravasation of Chemotherapeutic Agents
• Failing to Diagnose Hydrocephalus