Honolulu Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Honolulu, HI

At Shim & Chang, a Honolulu medical malpractice lawyer is dedicated to representing patients who have been harmed due to the negligence of doctors, nurses, clinics, and hospitals. Sadly, medical errors are among the leading causes of death and injury in the United States.

A study by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reveals that medical mistakes result in as many as 98,000 deaths annually in U.S. hospitals, which is equivalent to a fully-loaded 747 jetliner crashing every other day. Preventable medical errors in hospitals cause more wrongful deaths than motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, and AIDS combined.

Honolulu Legal Team Holding Healthcare Providers Accountable for Their Errors

Various factors and behaviors negatively affect the quality of health care in Hawaii and elsewhere in the United States, including but not limited to:

  • With staffing shortages and high turnover, some medical personnel are poorly trained.
  • Some medical clinics operate like patient “factories.”
  • Doctors may not spend enough time with their patients.
  • In cases of joint care, doctors may not sufficiently communicate with each other.
  • Medical personnel may make mistakes in medical records and medications.
  • Medical personnel may take unnecessary risks with patient safety.
  • Health care providers may make unsafe choices for their patients because of a lack of time and money.
  • Some medical personnel are not following patient safety rules and standards of care.

When you come to Shim & Chang after suffering harm as a patient, you will work with a Honolulu medical malpractice attorney who is committed to holding medical providers to a higher and safer standard of care, benefiting the health and safety of all Hawaiians. Our Honolulu birth injury lawyer also specializes in cases where medical negligence has led to birth injuries, ensuring that these vulnerable patients receive the justice they deserve.

A Sample Case Represented by a Malpractice Attorney at Shim & Chang

Shim & Chang represented the family of a man diagnosed with cancer, whose chances of survival were good if he underwent chemotherapy. However, the clinic treating him failed to conduct a liver function test to determine whether he had a history of hepatitis before starting the chemotherapy.

As the chemotherapy treatments progressed, the patient became increasingly weak because the chemotherapy suppressed his immune system, allowing a dormant strain of hepatitis to reactivate and severely damage his liver. Tragically, he passed away from hepatitis within a month. He left behind a wife and three children, who sought our help for justice.
We demonstrated that the clinic violated the standard of care by:

  • Failing to take a thorough medical history of the patient,
  • Not ordering a liver function test before administering chemotherapy, and
  • Continuing chemotherapy despite clear signs of liver failure.

This case was successfully settled for over $1 million.

Debunking Myths and Securing the Right Experts to Win Medical Malpractice Cases

Medical malpractice cases can be challenging to win because jurors are often influenced by misconceptions spread by malpractice insurance carriers. These myths suggest that physicians will leave town or that healthcare costs will rise if medical providers are held accountable for malpractice. However, these concerns have not come to pass. When doctors leave a hospital, clinic, or community, it is typically due to declining medical reimbursements from Medicare and insurance carriers, not malpractice lawsuits.

At Shim & Chang, our Honolulu personal injury attorneys approach medical malpractice cases by first securing the right experts to testify about the correct standard of care in each situation. We collaborate exclusively with experts who are dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, not those driven solely by retainer fees. Using the insights of these experts, we carefully analyze the facts to identify any errors made by medical providers and determine whether patients were unnecessarily harmed or even killed. Over the past 30 years, our Honolulu medical malpractice lawyer has found that many medical mistakes were preventable if not for the negligence of healthcare providers.

Consult with an Experienced Honolulu Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today

With our extensive experience in handling medical malpractice cases, we are equipped to demonstrate the errors made by healthcare providers and hold them accountable for the harm and losses caused by their negligence. If you or a loved one has been harmed as a patient, contact Shim & Chang in Honolulu for a free initial consultation to discuss filing a medical malpractice claim. By doing so, we can work together to promote safer medical care for all of us and our families.