Medical Malpractice
The medical malpractice attorneys at Upton & Hatfield represent people who have suffered serious, permanent injuries as a result of medical malpractice. Typically, these cases involve such things as:
- failure to diagnose cancer
- birth injuries
- heart attack
- death
- severe, disabling catastrophic injuries.
Medical malpractice is a unique specialty, and our firm has the resources and expertise to handle this type of complex, expensive litigation. We employ attorneys, nurses and specialized personnel who concentrate on malpractice litigation. We also have the negotiating experience and judgment to obtain the best possible settlements for our clients. (See our NH Medical Malpractice Verdicts & Settlements page.)
The Medical Malpractice Process
If your case is meritorious, we will investigate the claim, have it reviewed by the best experts we can find and represent you throughout the litigation process until we have obtained a fair settlement or verdict on your behalf.
Many cases end with a settlement or verdict on behalf of our clients, but we also attempt to influence the conduct that caused the negligence in the first place so that it does not happen to other families. This can be done through settlement agreements to change practice protocols or the behavior that resulted in the injury.
Representative Cases
A sampling of the persons we have represented for medical malpractice includes, but is not limited to:
- A woman who died of AIDS as the result of a blood transfusion that was required when her doctor was being instructed by a salesman in the operating room on how to use a new surgical stapler device.
- A child who was born with profound brain damage caused by the failure of an obstetrician to respond to repeated calls from the hospital to perform an emergency Caesarian section.
- A child with mental retardation and blindness caused by the failure of a hospital to perform a standard thyroid test that is required by state law.
- A man who died of a stroke because his doctor inadvertently doubled his prescription for a blood thinner.
- A middle-aged woman who died of colon cancer when her primary care physician failed to refer her for a colonoscopy after she was clearly exhibiting the classic signs of colon cancer.
- A woman whose baby was born with profound birth defects that her obstetrician failed to detect on an ultrasound because the ultrasound had been performed at an improper stage in the pregnancy, in spite of the fact that the woman’s first child was born with birth defects.
- A woman who lost a healthy baby in childbirth and suffered a uterine rupture during the birth because she was encouraged to attempt a BVAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) birth which failed.
- A man who died after his doctor ignored classic VBAC symptoms of cardiac arrest and claimed not to have communicated with his patient by e-mail.
Experienced Attorneys
Our medical malpractice attorneys have appeared on educational panels for lawyers on medical malpractice litigation. We have also been active in trying to achieve a legislative and judicial solution to the medical malpractice crisis that preserves the rights of victims to be fairly compensated for their injuries. Both Heather Burns and Gary Richardson have served as president of the New Hampshire Trial Lawyers Association. Gary is currently serving in the New Hampshire House of Representatives on the Judiciary Committee. Gary is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has been listed in Best Lawyers in America® for over 10 years.
Have You Been Injured?
If you believe you are the victim of medical negligence, please allow us to evaluate your specific case to see if you have a valid medical malpractice claim worth pursuing in a New Hampshire court. Please contact Gary Richardson for more information at 800-640-7790.
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Legal Needs Since 1908
NH Medical Malpractice Attorneys
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