Medical Malpractice

Dewsnup King Olsen Worel Havas is a well-acknowledged leader in handling serious and catastrophic medical malpractice claims. Several of the firm's lawyers concentrate their practice in this complex field. By assisting victims of medical malpractice, including nursing home abuse, the attorneys give a strong voice to people who may otherwise be silenced by the lawyers of hospitals and assisted living facilities.

Medical malpractice lawyers require extensive knowledge of medical terms, standards of care, and medical procedures. Medical malpractice lawyers also need access to appropriate medical expertise for case evaluations and expert trial witnesses. Medical malpractice is one of the most complex and costly areas of personal injury law, requiring years of practice and large financial resources to take on the vast resources and experienced defense attorneys of the health industry. The medical malpractice lawyers have built an extensive foundation of combined experience in the field, enabling us to bring in medical contacts and resources from around the country, and to obtain expert medical witnesses from the nation's top medical institutions and centers.

The American Association for Justice summarizes the findings from key peer-reviewed sources on the extent of medical malpractice and medical errors:

  • Some 440,000 patients die every year from preventable medical errors. [Journal of Patient Safety]
  • Preventable medical errors cost our country tens of billions of dollars a year. [Institute of Medicine]
  • One in three patients who are admitted to the hospital will experience a medical error. [Health Affairs]
  • Studies of wrong site, wrong surgery, wrong patient procedures show that “never events” are happening at an alarming rate of up to 40 times per week in U.S. hospitals. [Archives of Surgery]
  • Medical negligence lawsuits amount to just one-half of one percent of all health care costs. [Congressional Budget Office]
  • Medical negligence cases represent well under 2 percent of all civil cases. [National Center for State Courts]
  • Researchers at Harvard University found that 97 percent of cases were meritorious, concluding, “Portraits of a malpractice system that is stricken with frivolous litigation are overblown.” [New England Journal of Medicine]

Our Salt Lake City based medical malpractice attorneys have successfully litigated to jury verdict or settlement hundreds of medical malpractice cases. Our lawyers have experience with cases involving:

  • Birth injuries
  • Surgical mistakes
  • Delayed and improper diagnosis
  • Medication administration mistakes
  • Failure to refer
  • Anesthesia complications
  • Negligent injury to or destruction of tissue or organs
  • Failures to remove medical devices, tools and sponges
  • Nursing home abuse – including negligent nursing home or assisted living care
  • Negligent home health care

The medical malpractice lawyers at Dewsnup King Olsen Worel Havas only accept cases where the injuries and impacts from the medical malpractice are serious and where we are willing to pursue cases to and through trial, if necessary.

Medical malpractice cases, like other personal injury cases, are handled on a contingent fee basis, so there is no attorney's fee unless we obtain a settlement or judgment for the client. We often advance the costs of the case for discovery, expert fees, and other expenses, as these can be substantial and we understand that our clients may not be able afford them.