Redmond Medical Malpractice Attorney
Redmond families usually reach this decision after a conversation with a doctor that did not add up: a diagnosis that came months too late, a surgery that left something worse than what it fixed, a newborn who should have been protected. Deciding whether to pursue a claim is hard, and the clock on that decision is shorter than most people expect. Injury Law Group NW represents patients and families harmed by medical negligence, and as a Redmond medical malpractice attorney team we serve clients across Redmond, the Eastside, and greater King County.
A bad outcome is not the same as malpractice. Surgery can fail, cancer can progress, and a baby can be born with complications without anyone doing anything wrong. A malpractice claim asks a narrower question: did a provider fall below the accepted standard of care, and did that failure cause harm that proper care would have prevented? That causation link is where most of these cases are won or lost.
Why Choose Injury Law Group NW for a Redmond Medical Malpractice Claim
Injury Law Group NW is a personal injury firm that serves Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland, Sammamish, Issaquah, Seattle, and the rest of King County. The attorneys spent decades defending insurance companies before representing injured people, so they know how malpractice carriers evaluate a claim, which records they scrutinize first, and when they are preparing to fight rather than settle. Every claim is prepared as though it will be tried, because carriers pay more fairly when they believe the lawyer across the table will go to a jury.
Founding partner Troy Hunter spent 16 years in insurance defense litigation, mostly as a partner at Floyd, Pflueger & Ringer. He also serves as a dispute mediator, which gives him a working view of how cases resolve outside the courtroom. Attorney David D. Mordekhov spent two decades at Gardner Trabolsi & Mordekhov, a Seattle defense firm, trying wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases. He teaches trial and deposition skills as faculty at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and has been selected to the Super Lawyers list. Both Troy and David are rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. Associate attorneys Warren Barreiro and Hannah Shergold complete the team, supported by case managers who return calls and texts promptly. The attorneys have argued at every level of the Washington court system, from district court to the Washington Supreme Court, and the firm is a member of the Washington State Association for Justice.
That experience has produced results in cases with the highest emotional weight. The firm recovered more than $1 million for parents whose newborn died after a hospital failed to adequately test for Group B Strep, and that case also led the hospital to change its procedures. Clients describe the team as responsive, honest, and clear about what to expect. David Mordekhov is fluent in Russian and Warren Barreiro speaks Spanish, so families can discuss a painful event in the language they are most comfortable using. Consultations are free and confidential, and the firm works on contingency, so no attorney fee is owed unless there is a recovery. If injuries make travel difficult, the attorneys will meet you at home or in the hospital.
Types of Medical Negligence We Investigate for Redmond Patients
- Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis: Cancer, stroke, heart attack, sepsis, and infections are the conditions where lost time changes outcomes. These claims turn on whether a reasonably careful provider would have ordered the test or made the referral sooner, and whether earlier treatment would have changed the result.
- Surgical Errors: Wrong-site procedures, damaged organs or nerves, anesthesia mistakes, and surgical tools or sponges left inside the body. A foreign object left behind has its own, shorter filing clock once you learn of it.
- Birth Injuries: Oxygen deprivation, delayed cesarean decisions, missed infections in the mother or baby, and failure to screen or treat. The Group B Strep case we handled shows how a single missed test can have the gravest consequences.
- Medication and Prescription Errors: Wrong drug, wrong dose, dangerous interactions that a pharmacist or physician should have flagged, and failure to review allergies in the chart.
- Lack of Informed Consent: A patient is entitled to understand the material risks and alternatives before agreeing to a procedure. When a risk that should have been disclosed materializes, the failure to disclose can support a claim even if the procedure itself was performed competently.
- Hospital and Emergency Room Failures: Patients sent home from an emergency department with an unrecognized condition, inadequate monitoring after surgery, and breakdowns in communication between shifts or departments.
- Brain Injuries from Medical Care: Oxygen loss during surgery, delayed treatment of stroke or bleeding, and anesthesia events can cause lasting cognitive harm that requires medical and vocational evidence to value properly.
- Wrongful Death from Medical Negligence: When a provider’s failure costs a life, the personal representative of the estate brings the claim on behalf of qualifying family members.
What to Do in the Weeks After Suspected Medical Negligence
Start with your health. If you are still being treated by the provider you suspect made the error, get a second opinion from an independent physician. Many Redmond-area residents receive care through large Eastside hospital systems and clinics, and a different doctor, ideally outside the same system, can tell you what needs to be corrected and give you an unfiltered view of your condition.
Next, request your complete medical records in writing, including imaging, lab results, nursing notes, and discharge paperwork. Do not alter, annotate, or discard anything. Keep your own record as well: dates of appointments, what each provider told you, symptoms as they developed, missed work, and out-of-pocket costs. Write it down while your memory is fresh. Save every bill and every insurance statement.
Be careful about what you say. Hospitals and malpractice insurers often reach out quickly with expressions of concern and requests for statements. You are generally not required to give a recorded statement to an insurer, and a casual comment can later be used to minimize your injury or shift blame. Do not post about your care on social media, and do not sign releases or accept payment offers before a lawyer has reviewed them.
Then watch the calendar. Under RCW 4.16.350, a malpractice action generally must be filed within three years of the negligent act, or within one year of when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury and its cause, whichever is later. There is also an eight-year outer limit on these claims from the act itself. If a foreign object was left in your body, the one-year period runs from when you actually learn it is there. A written, good-faith request for mediation before filing can extend the deadline by one year under RCW 7.70.110. Some people receive additional time under the tolling rules in RCW 4.16.190, such as those who are legally incompetent or disabled. In 2014 the Washington Supreme Court struck down the part of that statute that had removed extra time for minors in malpractice cases, but you should not plan around exceptions. Treat the earliest date as the real one.
If the provider is a public hospital or a government-run clinic, a different rule applies. Claims against local government entities must first be presented on the standard tort claim form to the entity’s designated agent, and suit cannot be filed until 60 calendar days after presentment. Claims against state employees or agencies follow a similar 60-day rule through the state office of risk management. Email and fax generally do not count as proper presentment for local governments. Missing a step here can end a valid claim.
Most malpractice suits in this area are filed in King County Superior Court, a general jurisdiction trial court with locations in Seattle and Kent. Adults who live in Seattle or north of I-90 are typically assigned to the courthouse in Seattle. District court, including the East Division facility in Redmond, only handles claims up to a limited dollar ceiling and is rarely the venue for a serious malpractice case. A call to an attorney before any of these steps is the most practical way to avoid a deadline mistake.
How Washington Malpractice Claims Are Proved and Valued
Washington requires proof that the provider failed to exercise the degree of care, skill, and learning expected of a reasonably prudent provider in the same specialty, and that this failure proximately caused injury. In practice that means qualified medical experts. Before we take a case forward, we work with physicians in the relevant specialty who review the records and tell us, candidly, whether the care fell short and whether the harm flowed from it. Cases that cannot clear that bar should not be filed, and we say so early.
Washington follows comparative fault. Under RCW 4.22.005, a patient’s own share of fault reduces damages proportionally but does not bar recovery. Defense teams sometimes point to missed appointments, undisclosed history, or ignored instructions to argue that the patient contributed. Having defended these claims for years, our attorneys know how that argument is built and how to answer it.
Damages can include past and future medical costs, lost income and diminished earning capacity, and the human losses: pain, disability, and loss of enjoyment of life. In a fatal case, the personal representative may bring the claim under the wrongful death statute for the benefit of the spouse or state registered domestic partner and children, or, if there are none, parents or siblings. Parents also have a separate statutory claim relating to a child’s injury or death. Brain injury and birth injury claims often depend on life-care planning and vocational evidence, because the cost of care can extend across decades.
Malpractice cases take longer and cost more to prepare than most injury claims. Insurers know that, and they use delay as leverage. Preparing for trial from day one is how we keep that leverage from being used against you.
Questions Redmond Patients Ask About Medical Malpractice Claims
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 should have discovered the injury, whichever is later. An eight-year outer limit also applies. Claims involving a foreign object left in the body allow one year from actual knowledge of it.
How do I know if my bad outcome was malpractice?
A bad result alone is not enough. The question is whether a reasonably careful provider in the same specialty would have acted differently and whether that difference caused your harm. A medical expert’s review of your records is the only reliable way to answer it.
How much does it cost to hire a malpractice lawyer?
The first consultation is free and confidential, and we work on contingency. You owe no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.
Can I sue if I was partly responsible for my own outcome?
Yes. Washington reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault but does not bar the claim. Providers often overstate a patient’s share, so the facts deserve a careful review.
What if the error happened at a hospital rather than with one doctor?
Hospitals can be responsible for their own staff, systems, and protocols, and sometimes for the physicians who practice there. Identifying every responsible party early matters because it affects how the claim is filed and what insurance coverage is available.
Do I need an expert witness for a malpractice case?
In nearly every case, yes. Expert testimony is how the standard of care and causation get established. We retain qualified experts during our investigation, before a lawsuit is filed.
What is an informed consent claim, and how is it different from a surgical error?
A surgical error claim says the procedure was done badly. An informed consent claim says you were not told about a material risk or alternative before agreeing, and that a reasonable patient would have chosen differently. The same three-year limitations period governs it.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while the claim is pending?
Generally you should use your health insurance to keep getting care, and we help coordinate bills so treatment does not stop. Your insurer may later have reimbursement rights from a recovery, which we address in settlement planning.
What if my family member died because of a medical mistake?
Washington’s wrongful death statute lets the personal representative of the estate bring a claim for the benefit of the spouse or registered domestic partner and children, or parents and siblings if there are none of those. The general deadline is three years from the date of death, and malpractice-specific timing rules may also apply.
Will my case go to trial, and how long will it take?
Many cases settle, but malpractice claims often take longer than other injury cases because of expert review and extensive records. We prepare every case for trial, which is what tends to move carriers toward fair offers.
Does it matter that the provider is a government hospital?
Yes. A formal tort claim must be presented first, and suit cannot be filed until 60 calendar days later. The standard claim form and the method of delivery are strictly enforced, which is one more reason to talk to a lawyer before taking any step.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my injury seems minor?
Malpractice claims are expensive to prove, so lower-value cases are harder to pursue. A free consultation will tell you candidly whether the damages justify the cost of the experts required.
Serving Medical Malpractice Clients Throughout Redmond and King County
We represent patients and families in Redmond, from the Education Hill and Overlake areas to Downtown Redmond and the neighborhoods along the Sammamish River Trail. We also work with clients in nearby Kirkland, Bellevue, Sammamish, and Issaquah, and across the Eastside in the communities around Lake Sammamish and Lake Washington. Farther south and west, we serve families in Renton, Kent, and Seattle, and throughout King County and the Puget Sound region. If a hospital stay or recovery makes travel hard, we will come to you.
Speak With a Redmond Medical Malpractice Attorney Today
If you suspect a provider’s mistake changed your life or took someone you love, a conversation with a Redmond medical malpractice attorney can tell you where you stand before deadlines narrow your options. Call or text Injury Law Group NW for a free, confidential consultation. We will listen to what happened, review your records with the right experts, and tell you honestly whether a claim is worth pursuing. We give hope. We get results.
