If you or a loved one suffered an injury at the hands of a New Mexico medical practitioner—or if an existing condition worsened—you may have a valid medical malpractice claim.
Talking to an experienced attorney from Poulos & Coates, LLP, can be invaluable as you consider the next steps in pursuing legal action.
We are the only New Mexico legal firm that focuses exclusively on medical malpractice.
We have more than 70 years of experience, and we even have a doctor and nurse on staff to help evaluate your claim.
We have recovered in excess of $300 million for our clients, and we have the experience and resources to get the job done for you.
Call or contact us today to schedule your no-cost consultation and case analysis. You never pay any legal fees until we recover compensation for you.
Who Can Commit Medical Malpractice in New Mexico?
Anyone who is duly authorized to provide medical treatment may commit medical malpractice in New Mexico. Some of the most common types of clinicians involved in legal claims of malpractice include the following:
- Physicians,
- Physician assistants,
- Nurse practitioners,
- Nurses (RN/LPN),
- Surgeons,
- Anesthesiologists,
- Radiologists,
- Medical testing technicians, and
- Pharmacists.
Some claims can be made against a healthcare facility or medical practice, such as a hospital, residential care center, urgent care center, surgery center, pharmacy, or testing lab. Mental health practitioners, dentists, and oral surgeons may also commit malpractice.
Other potential defendants against whom you could pursue a claim include hospital management companies, drug manufacturers, and pathology labs.
What Are the Most Common Types of Medical Malpractice in New Mexico?
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, published a list of the most common categories of serious and preventable medical malpractice events, which are as follows:
- Surgical or procedural events,
- Product or device events,
- Environmental events,
- Radiologic events,
- Care management events,
- Patient protection events, and
- Criminal events.
Surgical events include performing the wrong procedure on a patient, operating on the wrong body part, operating on the wrong patient, and leaving a foreign object in the body. Care management events include medication errors such as giving the wrong drug, giving the wrong dose, or dosing the wrong patient.
This category also includes patient injury or death from a fall while under care as well as childbirth-related errors.
Another common type of medical malpractice that can cause significant harm involves missed or delayed diagnoses and misdiagnosis. These errors can be especially grave when cancer, infection, or vascular events are involved.
Although these are examples of some of the most common malpractice claims in New Mexico, you or a loved one can become a victim of this serious type of personal injury from virtually any type of event if the doctor or practitioner failed to provide an appropriate standard of care.
What Is the Value of My Medical Malpractice Claim?
Every personal injury victim is unique, which makes it virtually impossible to estimate any type of average New Mexico medical malpractice claim value.
However, depending on your injuries and other factors, you may be entitled to compensation for some or all of the following:
- Medical treatment and care,
- Hospital stays and surgery,
- Physician and surgeon services,
- Prescription medications,
- Medical devices,
- Lost wages and benefits,
- Pain and suffering, and
- Emotional trauma.
Depending on how your injuries will affect you in the future, you may also be entitled to pursue compensation for the following.
- Future medical care and treatment,
- Future income and benefits losses,
- Diminished quality of life, and
- Diminished earning capacity.
If you suffered any permanent damage, scarring, disfigurement, or disability, your attorney may be able to pursue compensation for those damages as well.
How Do You Know Whether You Were a Victim of Medical Malpractice?
This is one of the most common questions that New Mexico medical malpractice lawyers hear from potential clients. This question also speaks to several of the factors that make medical malpractice a highly complex area of personal injury law.
Just because a doctor, nurse, or another medical professional makes a mistake, it does not automatically constitute malpractice, even if you suffer significant harm as a result.
Medical professionals have a legal obligation to provide their patients with an acceptable level of care.
If a clinician fails to provide the same level of care that another clinician would (specifically, another clinician from the same area who has the same type of education, background, and experience) under similar conditions, then the provider in question may have breached their duty of care.
It can be difficult for you to determine whether your doctor violated the standard of care for medical malpractice.
Talking to an experienced attorney is the best way to learn more about your options of filing a lawsuit or pursuing a settlement with the insurance company.
How Will a Medical Malpractice Attorney Prove My Case?
To build the most persuasive case possible, medical malpractice lawyers must gather evidence to demonstrate that the doctor violated their duty of care and that as a result, the victim suffered physical, emotional, or financial damages.
The types of records and information commonly used to build a malpractice case include the following.
- Medical records,
- Witness statements,
- Photographs,
- Medical literature from texts or journals,
- Malpractice claims history, and
- Medical expert testimony.
Despite how difficult it can be to prove these types of cases, an experienced malpractice attorney has the knowledge and resources to build your case and negotiate a settlement with the insurance company.
Your lawyer will also identify and document your damages to help ensure you get the financial compensation you deserve.
Contact Poulos & Coates now at 575-523-4444 (toll-free: 1-888-478-5424) to learn more or to speak directly with one of our medical malpractice lawyers in New Mexico.