Wrongful Death Due to Oregon Medical Malpractice

How Oregon Medical Malpractice Could Cause a Wrongful Death

 

A wrongful death is the ultimate personal injury that a victim of Oregon medical malpractice could sustain.  This is when a healthcare provider’s careless, reckless, or downright negligent conduct result in errors which directly cause or contribute in the untimely death of a patient.  When these errors are directly the cause of the untimely death, it is a very serious instance of Oregon medical malpractice.  Such errors could be due to a negligent act such as administering too much anesthesia.  Other errors could be due to a negligent omission, or a failure to act, such as failing to diagnose a patient’s heart attack.  In either situation, when there is Oregon medical malpractice which results in the wrongful death of a patient, a patient’s family has certain rights.

 

Under Oregon law, certain family members are entitled to commence a wrongful death action.  This includes a surviving spouse, child, or parent of a victim.  While these individuals are preferred, the list of eligible family members also includes grandparents, stepchild stepparents, and even individuals who petition the court and are found to be proper plaintiffs by a judge.

 

Damages in an Oregon Wrongful Death Case Caused by Medical Malpractice

 

When a healthcare provider has caused the wrongful death of a patient, there is one type of damages that a family could receive—compensation.  This is because a wrongful death action is not about criminally prosecuting the healthcare provider, which can be done separately through the appropriate law enforcement.  And a deceased person obviously cannot be revived.  Thus, the remedy that a family has when a loved one has been wrongfully killed is to obtain compensation.

 

This compensation is important because it serves to fill the gap of what the victim would have provided or done for his or her family, but can no longer do because of the negligence acts of the defendant(s).  Thus, the common damages which a family can obtain in an Oregon wrongful death case include the following:

 

• Lost wages and benefits that the victim would have earned but for the wrongful death, which includes up to likely retirement age;
• Compensation for pain and suffering that the victim sustained prior to the wrongful death;
• Medical bills and expenses, including ambulance bills, first responder bills, hospital bills, physician office’s bills, autopsy costs, and related expenses;
• Expenses for burial and the funeral;
• Loss of consortium, which is a claim by the family intended to compensate the family for their loss of love, affection, companionship, comfort, and other support by their deceased loved one
• Punitive damages for cases with extreme medical malpractice which is intended to punish the healthcare providers who caused the wrongful death; and
• Other related damages which may be appropriate.

 

If Your Family Has Lost a Loved one Due to Oregon Medical Malpractice, Call Our Wrongful Death Lawyer

 

When a healthcare professional’s conduct has caused serious injuries to a loved one which resulted in his or her wrongful death, please call Kuhlman Law, LLC to learn how we can help protect your rights today.  Our law office is located in Bend, Oregon, and we handle cases throughout Oregon including Portland, Eugene, Salem, Gresham, and throughout Central Oregon, Deschutes County, and more generally in Oregon.  We also have an office in Minnesota.  To receive a FREE consultation, please call our Oregon medical malpractice lawyer by dialing (541) 385-1999 or use our easy and convenient “contact us” box at the bottom of our website.  If we accept your case, we will conduct a FREE investigation to get you the answers that you deserve regarding the loss of a loved one.