Seattle Medical Malpractice Attorney
A surgery that went wrong at a Seattle hospital, a diagnosis that came months too late, a medication given at the wrong dose: these are the situations that lead people to look for a Seattle medical malpractice attorney. Injury Law Group NW is a personal injury law firm that represents patients and families harmed by medical negligence in Seattle, across King County, and throughout the greater Seattle area.
Medical malpractice is not like a car crash claim. A bad outcome alone does not make a case. Doctors and hospitals cannot promise results, but they must meet the accepted standard of care, and the question in every one of these cases is whether a provider fell below that standard and whether the shortfall caused real harm. Answering that takes medical records, qualified expert witnesses, and a clear timeline of what was done and when.
These cases also tend to run longer than most injury claims. Expect a stretch of record gathering and expert review before anything is filed, then a defense that is usually backed by a hospital system or medical liability insurer with its own lawyers. Knowing how those defenses are built is a large part of how we approach the work.
Why Choose Injury Law Group NW for a Seattle Malpractice Claim
Injury Law Group NW represents injured people and grieving families in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Kent, Renton, Sammamish, and communities across King County and the Puget Sound region. Our attorneys spent decades defending insurance companies before they began representing injury victims, and the firm’s practice now focuses on personal injury cases, including medical malpractice, wrongful death, and traumatic brain injuries. Consultations are free and confidential, and we work on a contingency fee basis, so there is no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.
That defense-side background matters in a malpractice case. Troy Hunter, our founding partner, spent 16 years in insurance defense litigation, mostly as a partner at Floyd, Pflueger & Ringer, defending insurers and their corporate clients against personal injury and wrongful death claims. David D. Mordekhov spent two decades at Gardner Trabolsi & Mordekhov, a Seattle defense firm, trying wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases before judges and juries across Washington. Both are rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. David has been selected to the Super Lawyers list and teaches trial and deposition skills as faculty at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, which is directly relevant when the central fight is how a physician or hospital administrator holds up under questioning. Troy also serves as a dispute mediator. Warren Barreiro and Hannah Shergold are associate attorneys on the team, and the firm is a member of the Washington State Association for Justice. Our attorneys have argued at every level of the Washington court system, from district court to the Washington Supreme Court.
The firm has also taken on a hospital directly. We recovered more than $1 million for parents whose newborn died after a hospital failed to adequately test for Group B Strep, and that case led the hospital to change its procedures. We prepare every claim as though it will be tried, because insurers and hospital defense teams settle more fairly when they believe the lawyer across the table will go to court. Clients consistently describe our communication as responsive and honest, and our case managers return calls and texts promptly. David Mordekhov is fluent in Russian and has represented Russian and Ukrainian speaking families, and Warren Barreiro speaks Spanish. If your injuries make travel difficult, we will meet you at home or at the hospital.
Types of Medical Negligence Claims We Investigate
- Surgical Errors: Wrong-site procedures, damage to nearby organs or nerves, anesthesia mistakes, and instruments or sponges left inside a patient. Retained objects carry their own, shorter clock under Washington law, discussed below.
- Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis: Cancers, strokes, heart attacks, and infections missed in emergency rooms or clinics, or imaging that was misread. The claim turns on whether a reasonable provider would have caught the condition earlier and whether earlier treatment would have changed the outcome.
- Medication and Prescription Errors: Wrong drug, wrong dose, ignored allergies, or dangerous interactions that a pharmacist or prescriber should have flagged.
- Birth Injuries: Failure to monitor fetal distress, delayed cesarean delivery, or missed infection screening in mothers and newborns. Our Group B Strep recovery came from this kind of failure.
- Failure to Obtain Informed Consent: Treatment performed without telling the patient about material risks or reasonable alternatives, so the patient never had a real choice.
- Brain Injuries From Medical Care: Oxygen deprivation during surgery or delivery, delayed stroke treatment, and other events that leave lasting cognitive harm. Insurers often contest these injuries, so the medical and vocational evidence has to be built carefully.
- Hospital and Facility Failures: Inadequate staffing, poor handoffs between shifts, and missed warning signs in monitored patients, where the hospital itself, not just an individual doctor, may be responsible.
- Medical Negligence Resulting in Death: When a provider’s error takes a life, certain family members and the estate may bring a wrongful death claim.
How a Medical Malpractice Case Unfolds From First Call to Resolution
The first stage is quiet and takes the longest. We collect the complete medical record, not just the summary a hospital hands to patients, and review it for the sequence of events: what the chart says was observed, ordered, and done, and where the timeline has gaps. In Seattle, treatment often involves more than one system, such as an urgent care visit followed by an emergency department and then a surgical team, so records come from several places and have to be reconciled.
Next comes expert review. A malpractice claim generally needs a qualified medical professional who can say what the standard of care required and how the care in question fell short. We work with qualified medical experts to answer that before filing anything, because a case that cannot survive expert scrutiny should not move forward, and one that can will be stronger for it.
If the evidence supports a claim, we may send a demand or, where appropriate, begin the lawsuit. Suits for injuries in Seattle are filed in King County Superior Court, a general jurisdiction trial court that sits at the King County Courthouse in Seattle, with another location at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. Washington law also provides a path to request mediation before filing, and a written, good-faith request for mediation under RCW 7.70.110 pauses the malpractice limitation period for one year.
Discovery follows: written questions, document exchanges, and depositions of the providers, nurses, and experts on both sides. This is where defense teams test whether the claim holds together, and where trial experience shows. Many cases resolve in settlement negotiations or mediation after depositions, once both sides have seen how the evidence will play to a jury. Cases that do not settle go to trial, and we prepare for that outcome from day one.
What to Do If You Suspect Medical Negligence in Seattle
Start with your health. If you are still in treatment, continue it, and consider getting a second opinion from a provider outside the system that treated you. A new doctor can often tell you what went wrong and what care you need now, and that care is also part of documenting your damages. Do not stop treatment because you are angry at the first provider; gaps in care are something insurers use to argue your injuries are less serious than they are.
Then request your complete medical records and billing statements, and keep them together with discharge papers, medication lists, and any written communication with the provider’s office. Write down what you remember while it is fresh: who said what, what you were told about risks, and when symptoms began. Keep a simple journal of pain, limitations, and missed work. Avoid posting about your treatment or recovery on social media, since defense lawyers do look.
Be careful with calls from a hospital’s risk management department or a malpractice insurer. They may sound sympathetic, but their job is to limit the hospital’s exposure. You are not obligated to give a recorded statement, and it is wise to talk with a lawyer first.
Deadlines matter more here than in most injury cases. Washington sets a three-year limit for malpractice actions under RCW 4.16.350, with a one-year discovery rule that can extend the time when an injury was not reasonably discoverable, and an eight-year outer limit that applies regardless of when the harm was found. For a retained foreign object such as a surgical sponge, you have one year from the moment you actually learn of it. A mediation request can pause the clock, and tolling for minors in malpractice cases was struck down by the Washington Supreme Court, so a child’s claim should not be left to wait. If the care came from a public hospital or a government-run clinic, a formal claim must first be presented to the government, followed by a 60-day waiting period, and the form and delivery method have to be right. Because these rules interact, call early.
Seattle Medical Malpractice FAQs
How long do I have to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Washington?
Generally three years from the negligent act, or one year from when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury and its cause, whichever is later. There is also an eight-year outer limit. A retained foreign object has a one-year period that begins when you actually learn about it.
Do I need an expert witness to bring a malpractice claim?
Almost always. These cases usually require testimony from a qualified medical professional about the standard of care and how it was breached. We line up that review early so we know whether a claim is viable before committing to a lawsuit.
What does it cost to hire Injury Law Group NW for a malpractice case?
The first consultation is free and confidential, and we work on contingency. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fee.
Is a bad medical outcome the same as malpractice?
No. Complications and poor results can happen even when care is competent. Malpractice requires that the provider failed to meet the accepted standard of care and that the failure caused your harm. Sorting out which side of that line your situation falls on is what the early record and expert review is for.
Can I bring a claim if the mistake was made by a hospital employee, not my doctor?
Possibly. Responsibility can rest with the individual provider, the hospital, a staffing group, or several at once, depending on who employed the person and who controlled the care. Identifying every responsible party is part of the investigation.
What if I was partly at fault, for example by missing a follow-up appointment?
Washington follows comparative fault. Your recovery is reduced by your share of responsibility but not eliminated, so partial blame does not automatically end a claim. Providers sometimes overstate what the patient should have done differently, which is worth having a lawyer review.
My relative died after a medical error. Who can bring a claim?
The personal representative of the estate brings the wrongful death action for the benefit of the spouse, state registered domestic partner, and children, including stepchildren. If none of those exist, parents or siblings may be the beneficiaries. The three-year period generally runs from the date of death, though the malpractice rules in RCW 4.16.350 can also apply, so the timing should be checked quickly.
Will my health insurance cover treatment to fix a medical error while the claim is pending?
In many cases, yes, and you should not delay needed care while a claim is investigated. We help you keep medical bills under control and coordinate sources of payment so treatment continues as the case moves forward.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my injury seems modest?
Malpractice claims involve significant expert costs and a well-funded defense, so they are not suited to every situation. That said, the right answer depends on the harm, including long-term effects that may not be obvious yet. A free consultation can tell you whether your case is worth pursuing before you commit to anything.
How long does a malpractice case usually take?
Longer than most injury cases. Record collection and expert review come first, and litigation adds months more. Timing depends on the complexity of the care, the number of defendants, and whether the case settles or goes to trial. We keep clients informed at each development so you are not left guessing.
Can I still act if the provider was a government-run hospital or clinic?
Yes, but claims against state or local government entities require a formal claim to be presented first, on the standard form and delivered by a recognized method, followed by a 60-day waiting period before suit. Missing a step can cost you the claim, so contact a lawyer early.
Serving Seattle Malpractice Clients Across King County
We represent patients and families throughout Seattle, from downtown, Capitol Hill, First Hill, and the University District to Ballard, Fremont, Queen Anne, Magnolia, West Seattle, Beacon Hill, Columbia City, and Rainier Valley. Seattle’s major hospitals and clinic networks draw patients from a wide area, so many of our clients live well outside the city limits. We also serve people in Shoreline, Burien, Tukwila, and SeaTac to the south and north of the city, and across the Eastside in Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Sammamish, and Issaquah.
Further out, our team works with clients in Kent, Renton, and other King County communities, and throughout the greater Seattle area and the Puget Sound region. Whether the care happened at a Seattle hospital or a clinic closer to home, if medical negligence harmed you or someone you love, we can evaluate the case, and if travel is hard because of your injuries, we will come to you.
Talk With a Seattle Medical Malpractice Lawyer About Your Case
If you suspect a provider’s mistake changed your health or took someone you love, a conversation with a Seattle medical malpractice lawyer is a sound place to start. Call or text Injury Law Group NW for a free, confidential consultation. We will listen to what happened, explain whether the facts point to a viable claim, and tell you plainly what the process and deadlines look like. We give hope. We get results.
