ALABAMA MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

Medical Malpractice - also known as medical negligence or med mal - is when an injured patient or his relatives bring a lawsuit against a medical practitioner for those injuries. If a healthcare provider did not act within the governing standard of care for healthcare providers, he is considered medically negligent. The following actions may lead to a med mal claim in Alabama:

1. Misdiagnosis/failure to diagnose
2. Failure to provide correct treatment
3. Delay in treating a diagnosed illness
4. Birth injuries

Contact a medical malpractice attorney in Alabama if your healthcare provider has injured you.

Who Can Commit Malpractice In Alabama?

Any health care provider can commit medical negligence in Alabama. Health care providers in Alabama include hospitals, psychotherapists, counselors, psychologists, doctors, nurses or any other organization or person authorized to provide health care. Speak with an Alabama medical malpractice lawyer if you are unsure who or what is a health care provider.

Alabama Medical Malpractice Statutes of Limitation

If you have been injured because of a health care provider's actions in Alabama, your must file your claim for med mal within a particular time frame after your injury, or your claim will be barred. If you seek damages against your provider, your medical negligence action must be commenced in Alabama within:

1. Two years from the date of the injury; or
2. If not immediately discovered, within six months of the date the injury should have been or was discovered; or
3. If the injured person is a minor, the suit must be filed within four years of the injury. But, if the minor was less than four years old when he was injured, the case may be filed any time before the minor's eighth birthday.

Make sure to discuss any limitations in your case with an Alabama medical malpractice attorney. Failure to file your claim on time could be detrimental to your case.

Damages Limitations On Alabama Medical Malpractice Claims

Alabama courts do not place a cap on damages for med mal. However, you should discuss your potential recovery with an Alabama med mal lawyer.

How To File An Alabama Medical Malpractice Claim

Consult an Alabama medical malpractice attorney if a medical provider in Alabama has injured you in some way. Med mal cases can be complex and the outcomes are often based on technical factors that an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can best help you understand. A standard medical negligence case generally requires expert witnesses to be hired, depositions to be taken, and large insurance companies with numerous experienced lawyers to deal with and to protect the health care providers. In addition, there are often several defendants in a med mal case against whom suit must be filed (i.e., doctors, nurses, manufacturers whose defective medical equipment injured you). Hiring an experienced Alabama medical malpractice lawyer will ensure that costly mistakes are not made that could cost you a monetary recovery.

Alabama Code

Medical Malpractice

1. Who Can Commit Medical Malpractice In Alabama?
1. Civil Practice, Ala. Code. § 6-5-481.
2. Alabama Medical Malpractice Statutes of Limitations
1. Civil Practice, Ala. Code § 6-5-482.
3. Medical Malpractice Damage Limitations in Alabama
1. Civil Practice, Ala. Code § 6-5-544. (Please note that this statute was ruled unconstitutional by the Alabama Supreme Court in Moore v. Mobile Infirmity Ass'n, but has never been repealed).
4. Where must suit be filed?
1. Civil Practice, Ala. Code § 6-5-546.