Houston Car Accident Lawyer - Joel A. Gordon

Medical malpractice is generally defined as a healthcare provider’s failure to meet the accepted standard of care, resulting in harm to the patient. In simpler terms, it means a medical professional did something that a competent provider would not have done (or failed to do something important that they should have done), and that mistake caused an injury. Examples could include a surgeon operating on the wrong area, a doctor misdiagnosing a serious illness as something minor, or a pharmacist giving out the wrong medication. Keep in mind that not every bad outcome is malpractice. There has to be clear negligence that directly led to the harm. An experienced attorney can review your situation to determine if what happened to you likely qualifies as medical malpractice.

In Texas, the general statute of limitations for a medical malpractice claim is two years. In most cases, you have two years from the date the malpractice occurred (for example, the date of the surgery or treatment that caused harm) to file your lawsuit. If the injury was not immediately obvious, the clock might start on the date you discovered (or should have discovered) the injury. However, Texas also has a statute of repose for medical malpractice. This law says that no matter what, you cannot file a malpractice lawsuit more than ten years after the negligent act occurred, even if you didn’t find out about the problem until later. There are a few exceptions and special circumstances (such as cases involving young children or instances of fraud) that might extend the deadline, but these are limited. Because the deadlines can be complex, it’s crucial to consult a lawyer as soon as possible. If you miss the window to file, you will likely lose your chance to seek compensation.

Yes. If a hospital’s negligence contributed to your injury, you can include the hospital as a defendant in a Texas medical malpractice lawsuit. Hospitals are responsible for the care provided by their employees, such as nurses, technicians, and other support staff. For example, if a nurse employed by the hospital gives a patient the wrong medication or fails to follow proper procedures and an injury results, the hospital could be liable. Hospitals can also be directly negligent in ways like hiring unqualified personnel, not properly training their staff, or having unsafe policies and conditions that lead to patient harm (such as poor sanitation causing infections).

It is important to note that doctors working at a hospital are often not direct employees but independent contractors. If a doctor’s negligence caused the harm, the hospital might not be automatically liable for that doctor’s actions. In those cases, your lawsuit would typically be against the doctor (and perhaps their medical practice or clinic) rather than the hospital, unless the hospital itself did something wrong – such as failing to vet the doctor’s credentials or provide necessary supervision. Every situation is different, and sometimes both the individual provider and the hospital share fault. Our legal team will investigate your case to determine exactly who is responsible and ensure that all liable parties, whether it’s the hospital, an individual doctor, or both, are held accountable.