Medical malpractice happens when a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other health care provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care and a patient is hurt as a result. These cases can involve a missed diagnosis, a medication error, a surgical mistake, or an injury during childbirth, and the harm is often serious and lasting. At Grabb & Durando, our Tucson medical malpractice lawyers help injured patients and their families find out what went wrong and pursue the compensation they deserve.
Most patients put complete trust in their doctors, and most medical care goes the way it should. When it doesn't, the result can be a longer illness, more surgeries, a permanent disability, or the loss of someone you love. Not every bad outcome is malpractice, which is why it helps to have an attorney review your medical records and consult qualified medical experts about what happened. If a provider's mistake injured you or cost the life of a family member, we can help you understand your options, including a wrongful death claim for surviving loved ones.
Malpractice can happen at any stage of care, from a routine checkup to a complex operation. Common types of claims include:
When a doctor misses or misreads the signs of a serious condition like cancer or a stroke, the delay can let the illness progress past the point where treatment would have worked.
Prescribing the wrong drug or dose, missing a dangerous interaction, or giving medication to the wrong patient can cause severe harm or even death.
Too much anesthesia can cause brain damage or death, and failing to monitor a patient's breathing and vital signs during a procedure is a common source of claims.
Mistakes during labor and delivery, such as failing to respond to fetal distress or misusing delivery tools, can cause lifelong birth injuries to a baby or serious harm to the mother.
In a busy ER, patients can be sent home too soon, misdiagnosed, or left waiting while a serious condition gets worse.
Some infections are a known risk of treatment, but others happen because staff failed to follow basic sterilization and hygiene protocols. When an infection was preventable, it may be grounds for a claim.
Surgical mistakes are among the most serious forms of malpractice, and many of them should never happen. Some of the errors we investigate include:
When a patient's identity is mixed up with someone else's, the wrong procedure can be performed, leading to unnecessary pain and delaying the care the patient actually needed.
Sponges, clamps, and other tools can be left inside a patient when staff miscount equipment, often leading to infection and another surgery.
If a line or tube is removed improperly, air can enter the bloodstream and block blood flow to vital organs. This is called an air embolism, and it can be life-threatening.
Misread charts, covered surgical site markings, and skipped safety checks can lead to surgery on the wrong side or the wrong body part.
Contaminated instruments or poor sterile technique can introduce dangerous infections during surgery, and many of these infections are preventable.
If a patient receives too little anesthesia, they may be aware during surgery while unable to move or speak, causing pain and lasting psychological trauma.
Many types of medical tubing use similar connectors, which makes it possible to attach a feeding tube to an IV line or connect a fluid to the wrong port. These misconnections are uncommon, but when they happen the results can be catastrophic, and they're more likely when nurses are overworked or covering too many patients. Safer connector designs exist, but errors still occur when hospitals don't use them or don't follow proper procedures.
A bad result on its own isn't enough to prove malpractice. In general, a claim has to show that a health care provider owed you a duty of care, that their treatment fell below what a reasonably careful provider would have done in the same situation, and that this failure caused an injury with real losses, such as medical bills, lost income, or pain and suffering.
Proving those points almost always takes medical experts who can explain what should have happened. That's why a thorough review of your medical records is the first step in any strong case.
Arizona generally gives you two years to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. In many cases, that clock starts when you discovered the injury, or reasonably should have, rather than on the date of treatment. Claims involving minors and claims against government-run facilities follow different rules, and a claim against the VA hospital in Tucson falls under federal law with its own process and deadlines.
Arizona also requires the person bringing a malpractice claim to certify early on whether expert testimony is needed and to provide a preliminary expert opinion when it is. Because of that, cases need to be reviewed by qualified medical experts before a lawsuit is filed.
Unlike many states, Arizona's constitution doesn't allow limits on the damages that can be recovered for injury or death. Compensation in a malpractice case is based on the actual harm you suffered.
Generally two years, often measured from when you discovered or should have discovered the injury. Deadlines are different for minors and government facilities, so talk to a lawyer as soon as you suspect a problem.
In almost every malpractice case, yes. Arizona law requires a preliminary expert opinion in most cases, and experts are usually needed to show what the standard of care was and how it wasn't met.
No. Arizona's constitution prohibits laws that limit damages for injury or death.
In many cases, yes. A consent form means you accepted the known risks of a procedure done correctly. It doesn't give a provider permission to be careless.
Grabb & Durando handles malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. Consultations are free.
Our goal is clear - to help our clients recover the maximum damages possible for their accident injury claim from the responsible parties.
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Medical malpractice cases are complex, and hospitals and their insurers defend them aggressively. If you or a loved one was hurt by a medical mistake, our Tucson medical malpractice attorneys will review what happened and help you decide on the right next step. Consultations are free.
