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As a Memphis, Tennessee medical malpractice lawyer with the ability to also investigate claims in Mississippi and Arkansas, we wanted to provide this information to the public.
Mississippi Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
In one of the recent Mississippi medical malpractice lawsuits, a jury awarded $5 million claim to a plaintiff in Coahoma County after finding the defendant guilty of medical negligence. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant was negligent, careless, and reckless in performing his duty, as he discharged her at a time when she should have been moved to Memphis for an MRI to remove her herniated disc. According to the plaintiff, negligence on the part of the doctor caused her extreme pain, and she suffered from quadriplegia three days later. The plaintiff had to be airlifted to Memphis later, and she had to bear all the cost, which caused her immense financial strain.
Health care providers have a moral and legal responsibility to provide requisite standard of care and treatment for improvement of health of their patients. However, if the doctors fail to fulfill their duty of providing utmost care for their patients, causing them physical injury or emotional pain, they can be held liable for physical, economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.
Under Mississippi Code section 11-1-60, Mississippi caps non-economic damages up to $500,000, limiting the amount that a plaintiff can receive after the jury finds the defendant liable for medical negligence. Non-economic damages are meant to compensate the plaintiff for the stress, anxiety, pain and suffering and other negative effects of the negligence, including loss of enjoyment in life, disfigurement, scarring, on the part of the defendant. There is no such cap on economic damages, which include reimbursement of lost income, lost wages, payment of past medical bills, compensation for the plaintiff’s inability to earn a living due to any injury or suffering from the malpractice, and payment for future medical care. This may also include any other verifiable losses that can be associated with the malpractice in Mississippi.
Statutes of Limitations in Mississippi
In Mississippi, there is a time frame on taking action in a medical malpractice case, which must be filed within two years of the act or alleged omission. This may also include death claims. The Mississippi laws have special provisions for cases that involve foreign objects or fraudulent concealment. The law allows minors or mentally disabled extra time for action depending on their status on the date of the cause of the negligence discovery.
The state of Mississippi follows the doctrine of pure comparative negligence, which means that the plaintiff’s contributory negligence proportionally reduces recovery. However, this does not apply to any such acts where the defendant is blamed for wrongful intent.
Vicarious Liability
In Mississippi, hospitals are not held liable for the negligence on the part of independent contractor doctors. Vicarious liability applies in cases where a medical facility is found to be holding itself as providing the service that the plaintiff seeks, without bothering about the physician’s identity. If a medical facility is held vicariously liable, it is legally entitled to receiving compensation from the negligent doctor.
In Mississippi, expert medical testimony is crucial to proving negligence or malpractice, excluding cases in which even a layman is able to understand the negligence as a matter of practical experience.
The state of Mississippi does not require arbitration agreements for resolving medical malpractice claims. However, it is increasingly becoming a growing trend in the state, with the Mississippi Supreme Court enforcing arbitration agreements with regard to the services provided by health care providers in two cases.
More on Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is negligent conduct by a health care provider that causes injury or death to a patient. It is more appropriately called “medical negligence” because the use of the word “malpractice” often connotes incompetence or a lack of professionalism. An otherwise competent health care provider may negligently injure another, just like an otherwise driver can negligently change lanes and hit another vehicle. The fact that a person is negligent does not mean that he or she is incompetent; it only means that at the time of that event, he or she did not act in keeping with the standard of conduct society expects.
There are a number of types of claims for medical malpractice in Tennessee, Mississippi or Arkansas Misdiagnosis of cancer, Failure to diagnose heart conditions, Surgical errors, Orthopedic malpractice, Emergency room errors, Anesthesia and pharmaceutical malpractice, Failure to Transfer a Patient to Another Facility, Early Discharge, Birth injuries, Children’s injuries, Spinal cord injuries, Nursing home injuries, Plastic surgery injuries, Lasik surgery, Prescription errors and Reactions to prescription drugs.
If you or a loved one in Tennessee, Mississippi or Arkansas believes you are the victim of medical malpractice and have sustained an injury to yourself or your child, infant, parent or loved one, please contact us today.
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