When you receive medical care in a hospital, you assume that your condition will be treated safely and correctly. Unfortunately, it’s extremely common to suffer an injury in a hospital, especially due to a faulty medical device. If you’ve been injured by a medical device in a hospital and are considering a personal injury suit, you may be confused about whether your case would fall under medical malpractice or product liability.
These two types of personal injury suits have many different requirements, and understanding them will make it easier to choose which is more applicable for your injury. Find out whether you should choose a medical malpractice or product liability suit and discover why you should hire a product liability attorney.
Your Claim
After being injured in a hospital by a medical device, you might assume that you must choose between a medical malpractice or product liability claim. Luckily, this isn’t the case. If you have a legal basis, you can bring both types of claims against the hospital. However, it’s important to gather enough evidence in order to prove your claim.
Your personal injury claim will rest on three facts. First, you will need to prove that you suffered an injury. Second, you must demonstrate that the medical device in question was either designed or manufactured with a dangerous defect. Lastly, you will need to prove that it was the defect in the medical device that caused your injury.
Filing Your Lawsuit
Other than collecting the evidence necessary to prove your claim, the most important component of your lawsuit is making sure that you file in the right timeframe. Every state will have a statute of limitations in place for filing a product liability or medical malpractice claim. If you let this window expire, you may lose your eligibility to file your lawsuit.
To make sure that your suit is filed within the statute of limitations, it’s a good idea to hire a product liability attorney for your case.
Class Action Lawsuits
Depending on the medical device involved in your case, you might be eligible to file a class action lawsuit, which is a type of personal injury claim involving multiple plaintiffs. If someone else has already filed a class action lawsuit, it may be possible for you to join the existing suit.
There are several advantages to joining a class action suit instead of filing an individual claim, including the legal costs. However, it’s important to understand that in a class action suit, the damages are split amongst all the plaintiffs. In an individual claim, you would be the only beneficiary of any awarded damages.
Talk to a Product Liability Attorney
Medical malpractice and product liability claims involving a defective medical device can be very difficult, particularly if you don’t have legal experience. Make sure that your claim is handled the right way by hiring a product liability attorney from the Law Offices of Peter N. Davis and Associates, LLC.
Our legal team has experience in multiple areas of personal injury law, including product liability and medical malpractice claims. Contact us about your injury today and learn about your eligibility for a personal injury suit.
