Physician’s Assistant Malpractice

A physician’s assistant – or PA – is a medical professional that can essentially make diagnoses, develop/manage treatment plans, and prescribe medication. In some cases, PA’s can even serve as a principal healthcare provider. PA’s are required to have thousands of hours of medical training; therefore, they are generally trusted by patients and doctors alike.

What can physician’s assistants do? In general, PA’s can do all of the following:

• Conduct clinical research
• Make rounds in hospitals as well as nursing homes
• Provide assistance in surgery
• Perform medical procedures
• Take patient medical histories
• Conduct physical examinations
• Diagnose and treat illnesses
• Order and interpret medical tests
• Develop patient treatment plans
• Prescribe medication to patients
• Provide counsel on preventative care

Overall, it looks like PA’s can do almost everything that doctors can do. In fact, there is one major difference between doctors and PA’s. Doctors can practice independently while physician’s assistance always require supervision – that is, PA’s must always work with a doctor.

Unfortunately, all medical professionals can make mistakes – regardless of their educational background or their experience levels. Like doctors who are known to make dangerous mistakes, physician’s assistants can also make mistakes. Physician’s assistance can also malpractice, resulting is harm to innocent patients.

Physician’s assistance malpractice can occur throughout all medical fields, including cosmetic surgery. Were you or a member of your family harmed as a result of physician’s assistance malpractice during cosmetic procedures? If so, you should explore your legal options – as you might have grounds to pursue a medical malpractice claim.

If you are interested in learning more about your right to sue, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the medical malpractice lawyers at our firm as soon as possible. At Normandie Law Firm, our medical malpractice lawyers have many years of experience representing victims and fighting for their right to recover compensation. If a negligent PA contributed to the harm that you or a member of your family suffered during a cosmetic procedure, such as a breast augmentation, you might have grounds to sue.

To learn more about your right to sue and to discuss your claim with the experts at our firm, contact us at your earliest convenience.

The Harm That Could Occur

There are many things that can go wrong during cosmetic procedures. During breast augmentation procedures, specifically, the following could occur:

• Making an incision too deep (cutting too deep) resulting in harm to organs, nerves, or other body parts
• Making an incision that is unnecessarily long, resulting in preventable scarring
• Damaging nerves during the procedure resulting in a loss of sensation or permanent numbness in the affected area
• Leaving medical tools inside the patient’s body
• Failing to take the appropriate measures to ensure that all tools are disinfected and safe to use
• Failing to identify an infection during post-op care
• Performing the wrong procedure (e.g. doing something that was not previously agreed upon)
• Damaging the breast implant during the procedure, leaving a leaking implant inside the patient’s body

Even if the procedure goes well, things can occur immediately after the procedure during post-op recovery, for instance. What could go wrong during post-op? After surgical procedures, it is common for physician’s assistants or nurses to provide ice or cold compresses for patients. Ice and cold compresses can help with pain and inflammation. However, ice or cold compresses can be very dangerous – specifically, they can be dangerous after breast augmentation procedures.

If a surgeon or PA provides ice or a cold compress, significant damage could occur. Most specifically, it can result in the constriction of blood flow and tissue necrosis. Unfortunately, necrosis cannot be reversed. The dead tissue will need to be removed immediately.

Regardless of the harm that you or a member of your family experienced associated with PA malpractice during a breast augmentation procedure or any other type of procedure, it is important that you seek legal assistance as soon as possible to explore your right to sue.

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Who is Liable?

If you or a member of your family suffered harm associated with PA medical malpractice, you might have grounds to pursue a claim. However, you must first be able to determine liability. To establish liability for medical malpractice, you must be able to prove that a duty of care was owed. For instance, if you were under the care of a physician’s assistant, you must be able to prove that there was a medical relationship (i.e. the PA agreed to treat you and you agreed to be treated). If the medical relationship exists, then PA’s owe their patients a duty of care – specifically, a duty to ensure that they exercise the highest level of care and diligence when treating their patients. However, PA’s can make mistakes and breach their duty of care; the breach of duty could put innocent patients at risk of suffering harm.

Whenever a breach of duty directly results in harm, the PA that breached the duty of care could be liable. If the PA is employed with a doctor or hospital, the employer could be liable as well. In other words, you could sue the physician’s assistant, but you could also be eligible to sue the doctor or the hospital that employs the liable PA. For more information regarding liability in terms of medical malpractice, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm at your earliest convenience.

What Should You Do?

If you or a member of your family suffered harm due to medical malpractice, there are a number of things that you should do to prepare to sue. Consider some of the following recommendations listed below:

• Take photos of all visible injuries resulting from the incident
• Seek additional medical opinions (do not be afraid to go to multiple medical professionals)
• Gather the names of the physician’s assistant and doctor
• Speak to witnesses and gather their contact information for later reference
• Gather all relevant medical records associated with the incident
• Seek legal assistance as soon as possible

If you would like to learn more about the steps that you should do take after being the victim of medical malpractice, do not hesitate to see legal assistance as soon as possible. Our lawyers are ready to guide you every step of the way.

You Can Sue and Recover Compensation

Without a doubt, you could pursue a medical malpractice claim – you could be eligible to recover monetary compensation if your claim is successful. What could you recover? How much could you receive? Based on the details surrounding your claim, you could be eligible to recover monetary compensation for some of the following:

• Medical expenses
• Lost earnings
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of consortium
• Funeral and burial expenses
• Punitive damages
• Legal fees

The type and amount of compensation that you could be eligible to recover is strictly based on the details surrounding your claim; therefore, it is essential that you seek legal assistance immediately. A knowledgeable medical malpractice attorney will be able to evaluate the details surrounding your claim and help you better understand the compensation that you could recover.

When you allow the experts at our firm to evaluate your claim, you can trust that our lawyers will aggressively fight for your right to recover the maximum amount of compensation available for your claim. Do not hesitate to contact our firm today to learn more about your right to recover monetary compensation for the harm resulting from the PA malpractice.

File Your Claim Quickly

How long do you have to pursue your claim? All claims, including medical malpractice claims, are subject to a statute of limitations. A statute of limitations determines the total length of time that claimants have to sue. If claimants do not file their claims on time, they could lose their right to pursue their claims. What deadline applies to your medical malpractice claim?

In California, medical malpractice claims are subject to the following deadlines:

• Three years from the date of injury
• One year from the date of discovery of the injury

To ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the total length of time that you have to pursue your claim, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance immediately. Our lawyers will ensure that you file your claim within the appropriate length of time. Contact us today.

Contact Normandie Law Firm Today

At Normandie Law Firm, our lawyers have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims. You can trust our medical malpractice lawyers to evaluate your situation and provide you with the guidance that you need to reach a successful claim outcome. If you are interested in pursuing a medical malpractice claim after suffering PA cosmetic surgery malpractice resulting in a breast augmentation injury, for instance, you can trust the experts at our firm to guide you every step of the way.

At our firm, we offer free legal services, including free consultations and free second opinions during which our lawyers will be available to answer all your questions and address all your concerns. Our PA malpractice lawyers provide you with the information that you need to pursue your claim. Whether you are starting or continuing your claim, you can trust our physician’s assistance malpractice lawyers to provide you with the guidance that you need to sue.

Our firm offers a Zero-Fee guarantee, meaning that our clients will not be required to cover upfront legal fees for any of our legal services. Additionally, our firm is based on contingency; therefore, our clients will not be required to pay anything until after reaching a successful claim outcome. If you do not win, you will not have to pay anything.

Contact us today to discuss your claim with the experts at our firm.

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