Call for Consultation (337) 366-8994
Call for Consultation (337) 366-8994
Legal Disclaimer: This article provides general educational information about Louisiana medical malpractice law and is not intended as legal advice. Medical malpractice cases are highly complex and fact-specific.
The information presented here should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultation with a qualified Louisiana attorney. The Ikerd Law Firm makes no representations about the accuracy or applicability of this information to any particular case. If you believe you have experienced medical malpractice, consult with an attorney promptly to protect your rights.
You went in for surgery expecting to get better. You put your faith in a doctor and their team—healers. You came out with a new injury, a longer recovery, or a permanent disability.
When you asked the surgeon what happened, they likely told you, “It was a known complication. We discussed this risk before the surgery. It’s unfortunate, but it happens.”
They point to the stack of consent forms you signed and imply that because you agreed to the surgery, you agreed to the injury.
This is often a lie.
While it is true that every surgery carries risk, there is a massive difference between a Known Complication (an injury that occurs even with the most careful care) and a surgical error (a preventable act of negligence). Hospitals and insurance adjusters love to blur this line. They want you to believe that every bad outcome is just “bad luck.”
At the Ikerd Law Firm, we know the difference. We know that you can consent to a risk, but you can never consent to negligence. Call (337) 366-8994.
This guide explains the forensic difference between the two and how Louisiana law protects patients who have been injured by preventable surgical mistakes.
To win a malpractice case, we must first strip away the medical jargon and look at the legal definitions.
A known complication is a recognized, foreseeable adverse event that can occur even when the surgeon performs the procedure perfectly.
A Surgical Error is a preventable mistake caused by the healthcare provider deviating from the accepted Standard of Care.
One of the most common reasons victims fail to call a lawyer is because they think, “I signed the form, so I can’t sue.”
We need to be very clear: Informed Consent is not a “Get Out of Jail Free” card for doctors.
Informed consent laws (La. R.S. 40:1157.1) require a doctor to disclose the material risks of a procedure. You are consenting to the inherent risks of the surgery. You are not consenting to the doctor performing the surgery poorly.
Sometimes, the surgery itself was performed technically well, but you still have a case.
To understand how this plays out in a lawsuit, specific examples may help show the distinction between these two in forensic investigations.
Unfortunately, these types of errors are difficult to prove, as surgeons rarely document in their operative report facts suggesting the surgery was performed improperly. Thus, a case is often made based on evidence like the size, location, and severity of the injury or in situations where a delay in diagnosis of the injury occurred and caused harm.
Proving that your injury was an error and not a complication requires a forensic investigation. We don’t just take the doctor’s word for it; we obtain the Operative Report and the electronic medical data.
We look for:
To win in court, we must meet the four-part legal test:
Before you can file a lawsuit in a Louisiana court, you must clear a unique hurdle: the Medical Review Panel.
Louisiana law requires all malpractice claims against qualified private providers to first be reviewed by a panel of three doctors and one attorney.
While the Panel’s opinion is not binding (you can still sue if they vote against you), a positive opinion is a powerful weapon in settlement negotiations. A negative opinion makes the case harder and more expensive. You need a law firm that knows how to package the evidence to convince these three doctors that their colleague made a preventable error.
Clients are often confused by Louisiana’s “cap” on damages. It is important to understand what is capped and what is not.
Louisiana law limits “general damages” (pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life) to a total of $500,000, exclusive of future medical care.
Crucially, Future Medical Care is NOT subject to the $500,000 cap.
In personal injury cases, you generally have one year to sue. In medical malpractice, the rule is more complex.
Example:
Takeaway: Never “wait and see” if you get better. If something feels wrong post-surgery, contact an attorney immediately to preserve your dates.
Surgical error cases are the most complex type of personal injury law. They require a firm that understands medicine, anatomy, and the unique procedural rules of the Louisiana Medical Review Panel.
If you suspect your “complication” was actually a mistake, contact Chad Ikerd and the Ikerd Law Firm today for a free forensic case review. We will help you find the truth.
Likely not, unless the scar is disfiguring and caused by negligence (like a burn from a tool) rather than the incision itself. Scarring is a known complication of cutting skin.
In Louisiana, an apology or expression of sympathy is generally inadmissible as evidence of liability. However, specific admissions of fact (e.g., “I accidentally cut the wrong nerve”) can be used. Write down exactly what was said immediately.
Malpractice cases are expensive. Expert witnesses charge thousands of dollars to review records. At Ikerd Law Firm, we advance these costs. We only recover them if we win your case.
Yes. Often, the error involves the surgeon (an independent contractor) and the nursing staff (hospital employees) who failed to monitor you properly after the mistake was made. Also, there are circumstances where the hospital may have failed to have in place appropriate policies and procedures related to your care and treatment that would have changed the outcome.
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