Pediatric Malpractice. Pediatric Malpractice Lawyers in Cleveland

It is stressful when your child is sick and you don’t know what is wrong with them. At that point, you will probably take your child to the doctor to get answers. Families trust their child’s pediatrician to correctly treat and diagnose them. But, sometimes pediatricians fail to meet the standard of care, leaving the child with severe injuries.

Ohio Medical Malpractice Attorney for Children

Pediatricians are highly trained professionals, but they can make mistakes like anyone else. In fact, The American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Survey of Fellows found that one-third of all pediatricians will be sued during their careers.

If you believe your child’s pediatrician caused a severe or debilitating injury, contact our office for a free consultation with an experienced pediatric malpractice attorney. We have 40 years of experience and are prepared to aggressively advocate for you and your child.

Call us at (440) 333-3800 or submit an online contact form to get started with a free case evaluation. We have offices in Cleveland and Rocky River.

What is Pediatric Malpractice?

Pediatric malpractice is a type of medical malpractice that specifically affects children. This includes if a medical provider fails to treat or diagnose your child.

Other types of pediatric malpractice include:

This is not the full list of types of pediatric malpractice. You have the right to file a claim against a medical provider for causing preventable injuries to your child.

What Is The Age Range For Pediatrics?

The age ranges of pediatrics include:

Neonates: less than 1 month old
1st year: 1 month to 11 months
Child: 1 year to 9 years old
Teenager: 10 years old to 17 years old

How Long Do I Have to File a Case for My Child?

Minors have 1 year after their 18th birthday to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, no matter how old they were when the incident occurred. For instance, if a 10-year-old suffered severe injuries after surgery, they can file a claim up to 9 years after the malpractice.

However, many parents file a lawsuit against the medical providers long before their child’s 19th birthday.

It is important to note that it is crucial to file a claim within the statute of limitations because once it is up most judges will throw out the case.

Most Commonly Misdiagnosed Conditions in Pediatrics

Unfortunately, certain conditions are frequently misdiagnosed by pediatricians, which cause serious implications for the child and their family. All too often, a pediatrician’s negligence can lead to life-altering injuries or fatalities. According to a study, 12 % of malpractice claims cited altered medical records or failure to note pertinent information on those records.

Some of the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions in pediatrics include:

Meningitis
Appendicitis
Nonteratogenic anomalies/congenital anomalies of the genitals
Pneumonia
Brain damage and head injuries
Cerebral palsy
Hypoglycemia
Medication mistakes related to ordering, administering, transcribing, and dispensing.

Regardless of what went wrong, children have to endure the effects of the pediatrician’s negligence and parents have to watch helplessly. If you suspect that your child’s doctor made a mistake, our firm can help. Our Cleveland pediatric malpractice lawyers offer compassionate, personalized legal services and aggressive representation for victims and their families.

What Elements Need to be Proven in a Pediatric Malpractice Case?

Medical malpractice cases require four elements to be proven, these include:

Patient-Doctor Relationship: When a pediatrician takes care of a child, they have a duty to care for them. So, simply showing medical records of when the medical provider was caring for your child will be sufficient.
The Standard of Care was Breached: When a doctor, or medical professional, breaches the standard of care this means that they did not meet the standard of acceptable care in their field.
The Breach Caused Injuries: You need to prove that the breached standard of care caused severe injuries. A medical malpractice attorney will help you prove that the injuries wouldn’t have occurred if the doctor had been reasonably careful.
The Injuries Caused Damages: You need to be able to prove that the injuries caused mental, physical, or financial damages. This includes physical disabilities, pain and suffering, and the cost of medical treatment.

What Damages Can be Recovered?

Children who suffer from medical malpractice often have extensive injuries from the negligence.

Damages that can be recovered in pediatric malpractice cases include:

Future medical bills
Medical treatments
Loss of income potential
Pain and suffering
Mental anguish
Permanent disability
Funeral expenses for wrongful death

Types of Pediatric Malpractice Cases We Handle

With 40 years of legal experience, we are capable of handling all types of pediatric malpractice claims. We only accept select cases so we can provide each of our clients with the focused, one-on-one attention they deserve.

At The Mellino Law Firm, we handle pediatric malpractice cases involving:

Brain Injuries – Failure to monitor a patient during surgery can result in a lack of oxygen to the brain or a drop in blood pressure. Medication errors and anesthesia complications may also cause permanent brain damage.
Meningitis – Misdiagnosing meningitis gives the disease time to spread. In the most serious cases, meningitis can lead to deafness, brain injuries, or death.
Strep Infections – Without proper treatment, strep infections can cause complications such as scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, or kidney inflammation, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Bacterial Infections – As MedlinePlus states, “Any type of bacteria can cause septic shock,” which can damage the brain, heart, intestines, kidneys, and liver.
Pneumococcal Disease – According to the CDC, pneumococcal infections can cause meningitis, resulting in the death of 1 in 10 children under age of 5.

Failure to diagnose or the wrong diagnosis of an illness or infection can prolong the condition and cause further problems. Since children often can’t tell a doctor what hurts, healthcare providers must be especially attentive to possible symptoms. If you have questions about pediatric malpractice, we invite you to contact our Cleveland office today.

Contact our Cleveland Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Schedule a free and confidential consultation with our pediatric malpractice attorneys in Cleveland or Rocky River; call (440) 333-3800 or fill out our contact form today.

$28.7 Million

Birth Injury Verdict

$12.5 Million

Medical Malpractice Settlement

$4.3 Million

Delayed Diagnosis Verdict

What our clients say. I found everybody there to be extremely professional and very caring and very friendly, and I was particularly impressed by the expertise of Chris Mellino. He did excellent work and was entirely realistic about our chances. I saw him interacting with the lawyers on the other side, who were definitely not pushovers, and I was very impressed by the way he conducted himself.

Lisa L.