Redmond Medical Malpractice Lawyer

When you go to a doctor or hospital, you’re placing your trust in professionals who are supposed to help you heal. You expect careful, competent care. So when a medical mistake leaves you worse off than before, it’s natural to feel betrayed and unsure of what went wrong.

Under Washington law, patients have the right to seek accountability when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care. Simply put, if a medical professional acted in a way that a reasonably skilled provider would not have, and that error caused harm, you may have a valid claim for medical malpractice.

You might wonder if what happened was an unavoidable complication or something that should never have occurred in the first place.

If you have questions about the care you or a loved one received, Narwal Injury Law can help you understand what happened and what your options are. Call (425) 474-2714 for a free, confidential consultation with an experienced Redmond medical malpractice lawyer.

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Redmond Medical Malpractice Guide

• Why Choose Narwal Injury Law for Your Redmond Medical Malpractice Claim?
• What Compensation Is Available in a Washington Medical Malpractice Case?
• What Legally Qualifies as Medical Malpractice in Washington?
• Where Do Medical Errors Occur in the Redmond Area?
• Common Types of Medical Negligence
• Dealing with Medical Institutions and Their Insurers
• Actions to Take at Home to Strengthen Your Claim
• You Deserve Answers. We Can Help You Find Them.

Why Choose Narwal Injury Law for Your Redmond Medical Malpractice Claim?

Gurjot Narwal, Redmond Medical Malpractice Lawyer

At Narwal Injury Law, we see the person, not just the case file, and we dedicate ourselves to telling your story with the dignity it deserves.

Our founding attorney, Gurj Narwal, brings a unique perspective to your case. For over a decade, he defended government agencies in injury claims. This experience gave him an insider’s view of how defendants and their insurance companies build cases and the strategies they use.

Today, he applies that knowledge exclusively for the benefit of injured individuals like you. He anticipates the other side’s moves because he used to make them.

Our commitment to you includes:

• A Direct, Personalized Approach: You will work directly with our legal team. We believe in clear, compassionate communication, ensuring you are informed and supported throughout the process.
• No Win, No Fee Guarantee: We handle medical malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay no attorney’s fees unless we successfully recover compensation for you. This removes the financial risk from seeking justice.
• Free and Confidential Case Review: We offer a no-obligation consultation to discuss your case. This is a safe space to ask questions and understand your legal options without any pressure.
• Serving Our Diverse Community: Gurj Narwal is fluent in both Punjabi and Hindi, allowing us to provide clear communication and dedicated service to a broader range of clients in the Redmond community.

We prepare every case as if it is going to trial. This meticulous preparation frequently convinces insurance companies to offer a fair settlement, as they know we are ready and willing to present the strongest possible case in court.

What Compensation Is Available in a Washington Medical Malpractice Case?

While no amount of money can reverse the harm you have experienced, a medical malpractice claim aims to provide financial stability to cover the losses caused by substandard care. In Washington, there is no cap on economic or non-economic damages in these cases.

The compensation we pursue on your behalf is generally divided into two categories.

Economic Damages

These are the tangible, calculable financial losses that have resulted from your injury. Our role is to meticulously document every expense to ensure the full scope of your financial hardship is accounted for.

• Medical Bills: This includes costs for corrective surgeries, hospital stays, doctor’s visits, prescription medications, and medical equipment.
• Future Medical Needs: We work with medical and financial planners to project the costs of long-term care, physical therapy, rehabilitation, and any other ongoing treatment you require.
• Lost Wages: Compensation for the income you have lost while unable to work.
• Diminished Earning Capacity: If your injury prevents you from returning to your previous job or affects your ability to earn a living in the future, we will pursue damages for this loss.

Non-Economic Damages

These damages are meant to compensate for the intangible, personal losses that have rewritten aspects of your life. Though harder to quantify, they are just as real.

• Pain and Suffering: For the physical pain and emotional distress caused by the injury and its treatment.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life: This addresses the impact on your ability to participate in hobbies, activities, and daily routines that once brought you joy.
• Loss of Consortium: For the negative impact the injury has had on your relationship with your spouse.

What Legally Qualifies as Medical Malpractice in Washington?

A negative medical outcome does not mean malpractice occurred. The practice of medicine carries inherent risks, and not every result is perfect. For a situation to be legally considered medical malpractice under Washington law (RCW 7.70), we must prove four specific elements.

The Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Claim

1. Duty of Care: First, we must show that a professional relationship existed between you and the healthcare provider. When a doctor agrees to treat you, they accept a legal “duty” to provide care that meets the accepted standard.
2. Breach of the Standard of Care: This is the core of a malpractice claim. We must prove that the provider failed to act as a reasonably prudent provider in their specialty would have under the same or similar circumstances. To establish this, we work with medical professionals in the same field to review your case.
3. Causation: It is not enough to show that a provider made a mistake. We must also directly link that mistake to your injury. The provider’s failure to meet the standard of care must be the direct cause of the harm you suffered. The defense will sometimes argue that the injury was caused by an underlying condition or another factor. Our work is to build a clear, evidence-based connection between the negligence and the outcome.
4. Damages: Finally, we must demonstrate that the injury resulted in actual harm—whether physical, emotional, or financial. This refers to the economic and non-economic losses discussed earlier, such as medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.

The Critical Role of the Medical Expert Witness

In a Washington medical malpractice case, the second element—breach of the standard of care—cannot be established without the testimony of a qualified medical expert. You or your lawyer cannot simply state that you feel your doctor made a mistake. The law requires another expert in the same field to review your records and testify that, in their professional opinion, your provider’s conduct fell below the accepted standard.

This expert helps the judge and jury understand complicated medical information. They explain what a competent doctor should have done and how your doctor’s actions deviated from that standard. Finding a credible and persuasive expert is one of the most important steps in building a successful claim, and it’s a task your legal team will handle.

The Washington Statute of Limitations

It’s important to act in a timely manner. In Washington, under RCW 4.16.350, you generally have three years from the date of the negligent act to file a lawsuit. However, if you didn’t discover the injury right away, the law gives you one year from the date you discovered it (or reasonably should have discovered it). These deadlines may be complicated, so it’s best to discuss your case with an experienced Redmond medical malpractice lawyer as soon as you suspect a problem.

Where Do Medical Errors Occur in the Redmond Area?

In the Redmond area, residents receive care from a number of respected facilities, including the Swedish Redmond Campus, EvergreenHealth, and Kaiser Permanente Redmond Medical Center, among other specialty and primary care practices. While these institutions provide excellent services, medical errors are a reality in healthcare systems everywhere.

Statewide data reveals that medical malpractice claims most frequently arise from incidents at general and acute care hospitals, followed by medical group practices. The most common allegations leading to these claims include:

• Improper Performance: A significant portion of claims involve errors made during a procedure or treatment.
• Failure to Diagnose: This includes misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis that allows a condition to worsen.
• Surgical Errors: Incidents occurring in the operating room are a leading source of claims, from wrong-site surgery to objects left behind.

It’s not just physicians who may be responsible. Negligence can stem from the actions of nurses, pharmacists, radiologists, and even administrative staff whose errors in charting or communication lead to patient harm. Our team investigates every aspect of your care to identify where the standard of care was breached.

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Common Types of Medical Negligence

While a medical error can take countless forms, certain types of negligence appear more frequently in claims. Understanding them can help you contextualize what you have experienced.

• Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis: This occurs when a provider fails to identify a patient’s illness correctly or in a timely manner. A reasonably skilled doctor should have been able to make the correct diagnosis, and the failure to do so led to a worse outcome, such as a cancer that metastasized or a heart condition that went untreated.
• Surgical Errors: These mistakes are some of the most serious, and they are almost always preventable. Examples include operating on the wrong body part, performing the wrong procedure, leaving a surgical instrument inside the patient, or causing nerve damage through carelessness.
• Medication Errors: A mistake with a prescription can cause severe harm. This could mean prescribing the wrong drug, calculating the incorrect dosage, or failing to check for dangerous drug interactions with other medications the patient is taking. Pharmacists can also be held liable for dispensing the wrong medication.
• Anesthesia Errors: Anesthesiologists have a duty to carefully review a patient’s medical history and monitor their vital signs during a procedure. Giving too much or too little anesthesia, or failing to respond to a patient in distress, can lead to brain injury or death.
• Birth Injuries: Some injuries that occur during labor and delivery are the result of a medical provider’s mistake. This includes failing to respond to fetal distress, misusing forceps or a vacuum extractor, or delaying a necessary C-section, which can cause conditions like cerebral palsy or nerve damage.

Dealing with Medical Institutions and Their Insurers

After a medical error, you will likely be dealing with the healthcare facility’s risk management department and its malpractice insurance company. These entities have a different set of priorities than you do. They are businesses, which means they must balance paying fair claims with protecting their financial interests.

Their investigation is focused on minimizing financial liability. They will conduct a thorough review of your case, looking for any evidence to argue that the standard of care was met or that your own actions or a past medical condition somehow contributed to the outcome.

What to Watch Out For

During this time, you might be asked to provide a recorded statement or sign medical authorizations that are broader than necessary.

• Don’t Provide a Recorded Statement: You are not obligated to give a statement to the provider’s insurance company. These conversations are typically designed to find information that can be used to weaken your claim.
• Do Be Cautious with Authorizations: Only sign documents after your attorney has reviewed them. You want to provide relevant medical records, but overly broad authorizations may give them access to your entire medical history, which they might try to use out of context.
• Don’t Accept a Quick Offer: Some insurers may make an early offer before the true, long-term extent of your injuries is known. An initial settlement might seem tempting, but it could be far less than you need for future medical care and other losses.

Our role is to step in and manage all communication with these entities on your behalf. We ensure your rights are protected, that they only receive the information they are legally entitled to, and that any settlement negotiations are based on a full and complete understanding of your long-term needs.

Actions to Take at Home to Strengthen Your Claim

While your legal team handles the procedural work of your case, there are several things you can do from home to help document the impact of the injury on your life. This information provides valuable evidence to support your claim for damages.

• Follow Your Treatment Plan: Diligently follow the advice of your current medical providers. This shows you are doing everything possible to mitigate your injuries and is important for your health and your case.
• Keep a Pain and Symptom Journal: On a regular basis, write down your pain levels, symptoms, and how your injuries affect your daily activities. Note things you can no longer do or things that are now difficult. This provides a detailed, personal account of your suffering.
• Organize All Documents: Keep a file of all bills, receipts, and correspondence related to your medical care, even co-pays and prescription receipts. These are necessary for calculating your economic damages.
• Avoid Social Media: Refrain from posting about your injury, your activities, or your case on social media platforms. Insurance companies will search these profiles for photos or comments they can take out of context to argue that your injuries are not as severe as you claim.

You Deserve Answers. We Can Help You Find Them.

Maybe you think this was just a fluke, a piece of bad luck. But the standard of care exists precisely to prevent that kind of “bad luck” from harming patients.

You don’t need to have all the answers. If you have a nagging suspicion something isn’t right, don’t ignore it. Our job is to figure out the facts of your case to see if negligence occurred.

Let us provide the clarity you need. The next step is a simple, no-pressure conversation. Contact our team of Redmond personal injury lawyers for a free, confidential case evaluation. Call Narwal Injury Law today at (425) 474-2714.

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