Medical Malpractice

Your Rights

Medical malpractice/nursing home negligence cases in Louisiana generally fall into two categories: claims involving private health care providers and those involving state facilities.  Claims against private hospitals, physicians, nurses, nursing homes and other health care providers are generally governed by the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act while claims against state hospitals, their physicians and staff are controlled by the Malpractice Liability for State Services Act.  These two statutes provide a complex set of rules for the handling of these cases and present many "traps" for the unwary or inexperienced litigator and his client.  It is therefore critically important for a patient who believes he has been injured as a result of negligent medical care, or for the family of a patient who may have died as a result of medical malpractice, to obtain legal counsel from attorneys who are especially equipped by training and experience to handle this most complicated and professionally sensitive area of law.

These two statutes provide extraordinary protection to the medical community that no other segment of society is granted by Louisiana or federal law.  Health care providers are not fully responsible for the harm that they cause through their own negligent misconduct and the quality of their care is generally judged by other physicians rather than by the public as a whole.

First, health care providers are granted limited liability for the harm, injury or damage that their negligent care may cause. A healthcare provider and his insurer are responsible for no more than $500,000.00 plus medical bills for injuries caused by medical malpractice.

Second, a defendant health care provider is entitled to have any claim filed against him reviewed by a medical review panel comprised of three physicians before a lawsuit may be filed in district court. This panel of medical peers reviews the claim and renders an opinion that may be offered into evidence at any trial of the case.

Third, the standard of conduct of the health care provider is judged by other members of the health care industry rather than by the public.  This means that a physician or other health care provider generally cannot be held responsible for his actions unless other physicians are willing to testify against the defendant.

Fourth, medical malpractice claims must be brought within one year of the date that the patient or his family "discovered" the possible medical malpractice and in no event more than three years from the date that the malpractice actually occurred.  This statute means that a patient or patient's family has only one year from the time that they might reasonably suspect or learn that substandard care may have occurred in which to file a claim under Louisiana law, and it further puts an outside limit of three years for the filing of a claim even in those circumstances where the malpractice of the health care provider was unknown or even undiscoverable by the patient or his family.  In cases involving the death of a patient, there may, under certain circumstances, be an additional year from the date of the patient's death in which to file a claim.

Both the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act and the Malpractice Liability for State Services Act include extremely complicated procedures for the manner in which medical malpractice claims are to be filed, investigated and prosecuted with stringent time limits being applicable to different stages of the proceedings.  Therefore, it is extremely important that a patient or his family select an attorney to represent them who has the requisite skill, knowledge and experience to handle this very specialized area of law.

Nelson & Hammons has regularly investigated and/or prosecuted hundreds of medical malpractice/nursing home negligence cases yearly for over twenty years and has established a methodology for thoroughly and effectively doing so.

Nelson & Hammons is committed to the ethical practice of law and to ideals of professionalism in the handling of medical malpractice and professional negligence cases.  We have a primary obligation to the patient and his family to thoroughly investigate any potential claims and to objectively and candidly assess both the legal and medical issues that may be pertinent to a particular matter.  While many cases present medico-legal issues that are extremely complex and thus require additional investigation and sometimes litigation, many inexperienced attorneys file claims against health care providers that are not warranted.  Nelson & Hammons has committed itself to handling those claims that should be pursued and doing a sound and thorough job of investigating matters to determine the medical and legal facts that must be considered in deciding whether to pursue a particular claim or lawsuit.  In doing so, Nelson & Hammons has committed itself to a just and impartial evaluation of each client's case and routinely obtains both independent nursing and physician evaluations of individual cases to assist with a determination of whether a particular matter is indeed meritorious.

This emphasis on medical analysis has also provided Nelson & Hammons with particular insight in the severity of injuries involved in other areas of personal injury litigation such as car wrecks, products liability claims, slip and fall cases, slander and liable actions and other such matters.  We regularly handle serious personal injury cases involving other areas of personal injury litigation and believe that our expertise developed in the handling of medical malpractice litigation gives us a unique perspective and ability to effectively assess and present losses, injuries and other damages suffered by victims of car wrecks, products liability, slip and falls and the like.

At Nelson & Hammons, we recognize that a particular client has the option to retain many different attorneys.  We make a genuine effort to fulfill our ethical and professional duties to our clients, to the legal community and to the public at large in an ethical and professional manner, and we are committed to doing our best to treat each of our clients as we would want to be treated if we were the client rather than the lawyer.  We would appreciate the opportunity to represent you, and we take the challenge of each case seriously.  If we can be of service, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.