Going to a hospital in your time of need in Las Cruces should not result in an even more severe medical condition or wrongful death due to substandard patient care. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens to many unsuspecting patients each year.
If you or a loved one has been hurt because of hospital negligence in the Doña Ana County area, our Las Cruces medical malpractice lawyers at The Fine Law Firm can help you recover. We are a premier personal injury law firm in New Mexico with over 50 years of experience handling medical malpractice cases. Contact us today to set up your free consultation.
What Sets Us Apart in Las Cruces?
- We’ve been representing clients in hospital malpractice cases in New Mexico since 1975. Our Las Cruces personal injury lawyers have over 100 years of combined legal experience. We have the knowledge you need to handle a complex or challenging claim.
- Our law firm boasts a 99 percent settlement success rate. Our litigators are willing to go to court for our hospital negligence clients, which lets insurers know we’re serious. Preparing cases as if for trial increases the odds of achieving fair settlements.
- The Fine Law Firm operates on a contingency fee basis for all hospital negligence and medical malpractice cases. This means we only charge our clients a fee if we win the case and secure them financial compensation.
The Importance of Hiring an Attorney for Your Hospital Negligence Case in Las Cruces
A hospital negligence claim can be difficult to prove in New Mexico. Any type of medical malpractice case requires clear evidence that the health care provider fell short of the standard of care. This typically requires detailed medical evidence and testimony from relevant experts to show proof of substandard care.
If you get hurt due to negligence at a Las Cruces hospital, contacting an attorney gives you a strong advocate during the legal process. Your lawyer will search for all potential sources of financial compensation. Then, the attorney will take on the liable party/ies in or out of the courtroom in pursuit of justice and fair compensation on your behalf.
About Hospital Negligence in Las Cruces
Hospital negligence refers to a health care facility failing to provide the appropriate level of care to a patient, resulting in preventable injury or harm. What is appropriate is based on the accepted standards of care for the medical industry and what a “reasonable and prudent” health care provider would have done in the same or similar circumstances.
Hospitals in Las Cruces such as MountainView Regional Medical Center, Memorial Medical Center, Three Crosses Regional Hospital, Mesilla Valley Hospital and Fresenius Medical Care have a legal standard of care they owe to patients. If a hospital or one of its medical providers (or other staff members) falls short of this standard, it is negligence.
Common Examples of Negligence in a Hospital or Emergency Room
Most of the time, hospitals in Las Cruces have dedicated medical staff working hard to take care of patients and provide proper treatments. Sometimes, however, standards slip below what is expected due to issues such as understaffing, budget cuts and poor management.
A negligent hospital or emergency room could be the setting of various examples of medical malpractice:
- Misdiagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failure to diagnose
- Failure to treat
- Medication errors
- Surgical mistakes
- Wrong-site or wrong-patient surgeries
- Retained foreign objects
- Patient mix-ups
- Anesthesia or intubation errors
- Birth injuries
- Failure to obtain informed consent
- Unsanitary premises, leading to infections
- Understaffing and staff fatigue
- Poor patient follow-up care
These issues pose significant health risks to patients. The consequences of hospital negligence can include physical injuries, illnesses, infections (including life-threatening sepsis), worsened health outcomes, exacerbated medical conditions and even wrongful death.
Elements of Proof for a Hospital Negligence Claim
To prove a hospital negligence claim in Las Cruces, you or your attorney must provide evidence of certain legal elements. You must prove that your injuries as a patient were avoidable with due care, and that the hospital’s neglect to provide proper patient care is to blame for your harm.
The four elements of a medical malpractice claim in New Mexico are:
- Duty of care, or a legal responsibility to treat patients according to medical industry standards.
- Breach of duty, meaning an act or omission that would not have occurred at a properly functioning hospital.
- Causation, which is a causal link between the hospital’s negligence and the patient’s harm.
- Damages or real losses suffered by the patient because of the hospital’s negligence.
You must provide evidence showing that a doctor-patient relationship existed at the time of your injury, and that the hospital or doctor failed to fulfill its legal responsibilities to you according to this professional relationship.
New Mexico’s Hospital Negligence Laws
The burden of proof that must be met to win a hospital negligence claim in Las Cruces is a “preponderance of the evidence.” This is enough evidence to show that something is more likely to be true than not, or true with a certainty of over 50 percent.
A lawyer from The Fine Law Firm can make it easier for you to meet your burden of proof by gathering and presenting strong evidence to support your hospital negligence claim. We can thoroughly investigate the medical center, collect medical records, hire relevant experts, interview witnesses and take other steps to get evidence to build your case.
Statute of Limitations
Hospital negligence claims fall under the practice area of medical malpractice, which comes with its own set of laws in New Mexico. Claims must be filed within three years of the date that the act of malpractice occurred under the state’s statute of limitations. If the injured patient is a minor (under the age of 18), the deadline is extended to one year from the time that the victim turns 18.
Contact The Fine Law Firm for a Free Case Evaluation in Las Cruces
When negligence is present in a health care setting, the outcome can be disastrous for the patients involved. If a hospital in Las Cruces failed in its duty of care to you, resulting in serious injury or harm, you have legal rights. The attorneys at The Fine Law Firm can help you protect them with personalized legal services.
Let our medical malpractice lawyers go up against a hospital or emergency room on your behalf in pursuit of justice and the compensation you deserve. Call us at (505) 889-3463 or send us a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible for your free consultation.