$1,000,000.00 – Client child with malignant bone cancer was misdiagnosed by surgeon and no treatment was rendered in a timely fashion.

$ 500,000.00 – Stroke patient was misdiagnosed by Emergency Room physician and discharged from the hospital without proper care.

$ 500,000.00 – Patient with an aortic dissection was not timely treated resulting in death to Client.

View More Recent Personal Injury Settlements

Dedicated to the Client
We offer a free consultation and evaluation of your case. Simply complete a free consultation form online or call us at 843-842-7300. We'd be happy to meet with you and help you make an informed decision regarding your accident and injury claim.

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General Overview of Medical Malpractice

Medical Malpractice is the failure of medical professionals to provide adequate treatment to patients resulting in a personal injury or substantial loss of income.  If you’ve been injured in South Carolina, and you believe you were a victim of medical malpractice, you need to consult an experienced medical malpractice attorney.

Examples of medical malpractice include:

• Failure to diagnose, or misdiagnosis of a disease or medical condition
• Failure to provide appropriate treatment for a medical condition
• Unreasonable delay in treating a diagnosed medical condition

Medical malpractice actions can be brought by the injured patient against any responsible licensed health care provider including:

• Doctors
• Counselors
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists.

Consider hiring an attorney that specializes in medical malpractice on Hilton Head Island:
Medical malpractice cases are seldom simple in nature. Medical malpractice is a doctor or health care professional’s failure to employ the degree of care and skill that a physician or surgeon of equal medical specialty would utilize under comparable circumstances. The lawyers at Kiker Law Firm encompass expert comprehension of medical issues and which medical laws are necessary to help a claim arrive at the courts in a speedy, precise, and most complete way possible. Working with the hospital system and medical law system, a medical malpractice lawyer from Kiker Law Firm will work to discern what your rights, privileges and legal options are. While you recuperate from your medical mistake or injury, the lawyers at Kiker Law Firm will advocate and defend your legal rights.

While there are several categories of medical malpractice claims, a claimant must generally prove the following:

• The health care provider owed a duty to the patient
• The health care provider breached that duty
• The patient suffered an injury
• The patient's injury was a proximate cause of the health care provider's breach

What do I do if I believe I have been a Victim of Medical Malpractice? 
The first step in determining if you should pursue a medical malpractice case is to establish whether you have been the victim of medical malpractice.  Consult a qualified attorney at Kiker Law Firm to evaluate your case. This course of action commonly involves gathering and evaluating medical records and other pertinent materials.  It is imperative to tell the attorney at Kiker Law Firm exactly what ensued, from your first appointment to the doctor or other health care provider, through your final communication with him or her.  If possible, attempt to acquire your medical records and bring them with you when you initially meet with an attorney at Kiker Law Firm.   

Dedicated to the Client
Medical malpractice law is a highly technical, specialized field.  The lawyers at Kiker Law Firm have extensive experience in medical malpractice cases.  We understand what you're up against and also know that many injuries do not appear serious at first but that they may, in fact, plague someone for life. Our staff can aggressively pursue full compensation for all your injuries – including present and future.

We offer a free consultation and evaluation of your case. Simply complete a free consultation form online or call us at 843-842-7200. We'd be happy to meet with you and help you make an informed decision regarding your accident and injury claim.

Medical Malpractice Q&A
What are the steps of a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

• Speak to an attorney
• Attorney launches investigation
• Attorney will file a lawsuit
• Pretrial Discovery including:
  -Written Discovery
  -Depositions of the Parties and Lay Witnesses
  -Depositions of Expert Witnesses

• Negotiations and possible Settlement
• Trial Preparation and Trial

What are the Limits on Malpractice Damages?
South Carolina imposes limits on non-economic damages and your entitlement to damages can vary wildly depending or specifically which facility or physician caused your injuries. 

What is the Collateral Source Rule?
Under the collateral source rule, a defendant may not attempt to reduce its liability by introducing evidence that the plaintiff has been given compensation from other sources, such as insurance coverage.

Are there Rules for Expert Witnesses?
Medical expert witnesses are typically licensed physicians, nurses or other health care providers, and they must have the education, training and experience to be able to testify as to the standard of care used in the defendant's field of expertise.

What is Joint and Several Liability?
Under the rule of joint and several liabilities, where more than one defendant is found liable for the injury suffered by a plaintiff, each defendant is individually liable for the entire amount of the judgment.

What is Vicarious Liability?           
A doctor who has been negligent may not be the only defendant in a subsequent lawsuit. A hospital that has retained the doctor on its staff may be vicariously liable for the doctor's negligence under a theory of "respondeat superior" ("let the master answer") that often holds an employer liable for the negligence of its employees.  Customarily, doctors have "staff privileges" at the hospital, and the hospital will try to prove the limited role it plays in directing or supervising the doctor's work. Importantly, many doctors belong to private medical practices, such as limited partnerships or limited liability companies, which also may be vicariously liable for the negligence of their member doctors.  However, under normal circumstances, a doctor is generally liable for any negligence on the part of his assistants, staff, and interns in carrying out his orders or caring for his patients.

What is the Statute of Limitations?                                                                            Medical malpractice actions must begin within three years of the act or omission giving rise to the injury, or within two years if the malpractice occurred at a government run or government funded institution.

What are the limits on Attorney Fees? 
South Carolina does not impose special limits on attorney fees in medical malpractice cases.

What is Informed Consent?
A medical practitioner may also be legally liable if a patient does not give "informed consent" to a medical procedure that results in harm to the patient, even if the procedure is performed properly.

What is Medical Error without Harm?                                                                     
If the patient is not harmed by the physician's error, the patient cannot recover damages as the result of the error. For example, if a doctor misdiagnoses stomach pain as caused by appendicitis, and surgery discloses that it resulted from a perforated ulcer, if the patient would have required the surgery to repair the ulcer the patient will probably be unable to bring a lawsuit - the surgery was necessary even with the correct diagnosis. However, if the patient was only suffering from indigestion, the unnecessary surgical procedure most likely would support a malpractice action.

What are Breaches of Doctor-Patient Confidentiality?
Doctor-patient confidentiality is based upon the general principle that a person seeking medical help or advice should not be hindered or inhibited by fear that his or her medical concerns or conditions will be disclosed to others. There is generally an expectation that the physician will hold that special knowledge in confidence and use it exclusively for the benefit of the patient.

The professional duty of confidentiality covers not only what a patient may reveal to the doctor, but also what a doctor may independently conclude or form an opinion about, based on his or her examination or assessment of the patient. Confidentiality covers all medical records (including x-rays, lab-reports, etc.) as well as communications between patient and doctor, and generally includes communications between the patient and other professional staff working with the doctor.

The duty of confidentiality continues even after a patient has stopped seeing or being treated by the doctor. Once a doctor is under a duty of confidentiality, he or she cannot divulge any medical information about patients to third persons without patients' consent. There are limited exceptions to this, including disclosures to state health officials. However, unauthorized disclosure to unauthorized parties may create a cause of action against the doctor. J. Brent Kiker of the Kiker Law Firm, was the attorney for the plaintiff in a landmark case creating this cause of action in the state of South Carolina.