Wrongful Death from Medical Malpractice in Texas
Wrongful death from medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider’s negligence causes patient deaths. Families trust doctors, nurses, and hospitals to provide competent care, but medical errors kill hundreds of thousands of Americans annually. Wrongful death from medical malpractice allows surviving families to hold negligent healthcare providers accountable when their failures prove fatal.
Wrongful death from medical malpractice involves complex medical and legal issues that distinguish these cases from other wrongful death claims. Proving that healthcare providers deviated from accepted standards of care requires expert testimony. Texas has enacted specific procedural requirements and damage caps for medical malpractice claims that affect how these cases proceed.
Studies suggest medical errors rank among the leading causes of death in the United States. Surgical mistakes, diagnostic failures, medication errors, and hospital-acquired infections kill patients who sought treatment expecting help, not harm. Wrongful death from medical malpractice provides recourse for families devastated by these preventable tragedies. Our Austin Personal Injury Lawyers will help you and your family, call today!
Elements of Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death
Wrongful death from medical malpractice requires proving specific elements that establish the healthcare provider’s responsibility for the death.
A provider-patient relationship existed, creating a duty of care. Healthcare providers owe duties to patients they undertake to treat. The relationship establishes what standard of care applies.
The provider breached the applicable standard of care. Medical malpractice occurs when providers fail to meet the level of care that reasonably competent providers in the same field would provide under similar circumstances.
The breach caused the patient’s death. Causation in medical cases requires proving that proper care would have prevented the death. This often requires expert testimony about what different treatment would have achieved.
The death caused damage to the surviving family members. Families must prove compensable losses resulting from the death.
Common Types of Fatal Medical Errors
Wrongful death from medical malpractice arises from various types of healthcare provider negligence. Several error categories cause the most deaths.
Surgical errors, including wrong-site surgery, retained surgical instruments, anesthesia mistakes, and post-operative complications, kill patients during and after procedures. Surgeons who fail to follow safety protocols cause preventable deaths.
Diagnostic failures occur when providers fail to diagnose conditions that prove fatal without treatment. Missed cancer diagnoses, undetected infections, and overlooked cardiac conditions allow treatable diseases to become deadly.
Medication errors involving wrong drugs, incorrect dosages, dangerous interactions, and administration mistakes kill hospitalized patients. Pharmacy and nursing failures contribute to these deaths.
Hospital-acquired infections from inadequate sanitation, improper catheter care, and failure to follow infection control protocols kill thousands annually. Hospitals that ignore infection prevention cause preventable deaths.
Birth injuries from delayed C-sections, improper monitoring, and delivery complications cause infant deaths and maternal mortality. Obstetric negligence devastates families expecting new life.
Texas Medical Malpractice Requirements
Wrongful death from medical malpractice in Texas must comply with specific statutory requirements that affect how claims proceed.
Expert reports must be served within 120 days of filing suit. The report must identify the applicable standard of care, explain how the provider breached it, and establish causation. Failure to provide compliant expert reports results in dismissal.
Qualified experts must practice in the same field as the defendant provider. Experts must have active clinical experience relevant to the claims. Texas courts strictly enforce expert qualification requirements.
Damage caps limit non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. Texas caps non-economic damages at $250,000 per claimant against physicians and $250,000 against healthcare institutions, with a maximum of $500,000 against all healthcare institutions combined.
Shorter statutes of limitations may apply to medical malpractice claims depending on when the negligence was or should have been discovered.
Damages in Fatal Malpractice Cases
Wrongful death from medical malpractice allows recovery of damages within the constraints Texas law imposes.
Economic damages, including lost financial support, medical expenses incurred before death, and funeral costs, face no statutory cap.
Non-economic damages for mental anguish, loss of companionship, and grief face the damage caps described above. These caps significantly limit recovery in many cases.
Punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence of malice or gross negligence. Medical malpractice cases rarely support punitive awards.
Get Help with Your Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Claim
The wrongful death attorneys at Shaw Cowart handle medical malpractice death cases throughout Texas. We work with qualified medical experts to establish breaches of care and fight for maximum compensation within Texas law. If medical negligence killed your loved one, contact Shaw Cowart today for a free consultation.
Here are all the other areas where we represent Injured Accident Victims
Cedar Park
George Town
Hutto
Kyle
Leander
Pflugerville
Round Rock
San Marcos