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Who Receives the Payout in Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death Cases?

Miller Stern Baltimore
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When you go to a hospital for a diagnosis or treatment, you’re expecting to receive expert care that you can’t get from the internet or a home remedy kit. That’s often what you get, and you go on your way to recovery.

However, not everyone has a positive experience in the doctor’s office, and sometimes that means they’ve been a victim of medical malpractice. When you hear such a term, you can infer that somebody did something wrong, and the truth is that doctors can make mistakes in a variety of ways. Those mistakes lead to serious consequences, even death. If you’ve been a victim of medical malpractice, you have a legal case against the healthcare provider who attempted to assist you.

Medical malpractice and wrongful death cases can be based on birth defects, failure to diagnose a disease, misdiagnosis of a disease, infections developed while under a hospital’s care, surgical mistakes, and more. The most unfortunate outcome of those mistakes is death, and no amount of money can ever help you recover from the loss of a loved one. A medical malpractice lawsuit is often one of the best options for holding the provider accountable.

Even if you’re lucky enough that a healthcare provider’s mistakes or negligence don’t result in death, you and your family could still be on the hook for a lifetime of medical costs, hence the need to file a lawsuit to recuperate that money.

The person who collects those funds is known as the beneficiary, legally defined as someone who has or is entitled to a beneficial interest in property. In medical malpractice or wrongful death lawsuits, the beneficiary can be the person who survived the medical malpractice or the close family members (usually the spouse, children, or parents) of the deceased patient. If a patient suffered a traumatic injury that renders them incapable of living on their own, the beneficiary could also be a family member who will be entrusted with the patient’s care.

When you have a medical malpractice case, it’s important to file within the statute of limitations in your venue. This can differ depending on the state or country where you live or where the medical negligence took place. As a part of that incident, the victim must be harmed by the actions of a healthcare provider who doesn’t measure up to the medical standard of care. Your lawyer must prove the healthcare provider acted in such a way that was a proximate cause of the patient being harmed or killed. To help with this, your lawyer will need detailed information about what happened, dates of when the care was received, and information about the doctors, nurses, and hospitals involved. He or she will also need your medical records to review and give to a medical expert to certify the case. In Maryland, the case must be filed in the Health Claims Arbitration Office first, along with a Certificate of Merit and Claim Form. Then the case can proceed to Circuit Court or stay in arbitration, depending on preference.

If successful, your claim could result in the patient or the patient’s family receiving compensation for any costs related to medical care, death preparation, and pain and suffering. Hiring a lawyer to represent you and help file the lawsuit is highly recommended, so the correct processes are followed, and everything you deserve is claimed in the lawsuit.

If you believe you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, you can contact Miller Stern Lawyers for a free consultation, during which you will speak to one of the partners who will personally evaluate your case. Our experienced staff will assist in examining your case along with medical experts in the field and tell you about your options.

Miller Stern Lawyers, located in Baltimore, MD, stands ready to fight for your right to compensation. We have helped our clients recover millions of dollars in settlements and courtroom verdicts, and we can help you with your medical malpractice lawsuit or wrongful death lawsuit. Contact us at 410-LAW-FIRM (410-529-3476), or visit us online today.

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