Todd N. Hendrickson is an experienced St. Louis medical malpractice lawyer who works with clients throughout Missouri and Illinois. Throughout his career, Todd has focused on the representation of individuals injured by the negligence or malpractice of healthcare professionals. His experience includes complex products liability actions and professional liability cases, including orthopedic malpractice, emergency room errors, nursing home neglect, surgical malpractice, and more. If you believe your medical provider made a harmful mistake while treating you, you can trust Todd to give you honest advice and powerful advocacy.
Todd Hendrickson’s philosophy is that clients get the best, most seamless representation when an attorney personally handles every aspect of their case. Todd will advise and advocate for you at every step of the legal process, from your initial consultation to the resolution of your case.
What separates Todd from most other attorneys in St. Louis is not only his exclusive focus on medical malpractice, but his individual attention to each case. Unlike firms in which younger, less-experienced attorneys handle many aspects of a case before handing it over to the trial attorney, Todd makes it a priority to know every detail of every case.
In any given case there will be many hours spent taking sworn statements from witnesses prior to trial, reviewing the defendant's documents, and examining the plaintiff’s medical records. Many litigators leave this work to associate attorneys. Todd has found that by handling this preparation personally, he develops a deep understanding of the facts and evidence that gives him a distinct advantage during settlement negotiations and trial.
Medical malpractice happens when a doctor or medical professional is negligent or omits treatment that results in harm to a patient. Types of negligence by a healthcare professional include an error in treatment, diagnosis or management of the illness. If a patient is injured due to negligence, a medical malpractice lawsuit could arise. The actions of the health care professional must deviate from generally accepted standards of practice, improper care, medication errors, and nursing or sanitation issues.
This question cannot be answered without, at the very least, a detailed review of medical records, relevant medical history and, in most cases, a consultation with a qualified physician/expert witness. While an experienced medical malpractice attorney can bring his prior experience and knowledge gained in past cases to bear in making an initial determination of whether to review your case in detail, an in-depth review of your medical records is a must.
The answer is a health care provider is negligent if he or she fails to act in a way that is determined to be the “standard of care.” Standard of care means the acceptable way of conducting a surgery, medical procedure, diagnostic process or other health care. Standard of care is determined, in major part, by the medical profession itself. Standard, acceptably competent ways of practicing medicine have been established over time. However, those standards continually change as research, knowledge and technology advance the medical science.
Under the law of most states, you have a limited period of time to file a medical malpractice suit. That time limit is called the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations varies state by state and there are fact specific issues that may extend the time limit. Determining the applicable statute of limitations requires the application of both legal and factual analysis. The only way to truly understand the appropriate time limit is to consult with an attorney who concentrates his or her practice in the field of medical malpractice.
In general, the law in both Illinois and Missouri is that a medical malpractice action must be filed within two years of the negligent act. There the similarity ends. For example, the law in Missouri generally extends that start date on the running clock to the last date you received continuous treatment, from the negligent health care provider, related to the negligent care. In Illinois, the clock begins to run when you knew, or should have known, that negligence had occurred. Further, in Missouri the time limit for filing a wrongful death action is three years, not two.
You should contact an attorney as soon as you suspect that you or a loved one has been the victim of medical malpractice. The earlier that you contact an attorney, the earlier he can begin the process of researching the appropriate medical standards and obtaining relevant medical records.
It may not be possible to determine if a viable case exists until after you have completed your medical treatment, but by contacting an attorney early in the process, you establish a relationship with a lawyer who can help you navigate the process and offer advice and guidance. There is no down side to contact an attorney too early.
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