Modern medicine offers hope for people with serious illnesses or injuries. With proper and timely treatment, doctors can fix many of the problems that ail us, allowing us to get better and return to our lives.
But all of the scientific and medical advancements in the world won’t help you if a doctor or other medical professional doesn’t take the steps needed to treat your condition. A physician’s failure to follow the appropriate standard of care in treating an illness or injury can allow a bad condition to become even worse, leading to lifelong disability or death. If you do go on to get the care you should have initially received, the avoidable delay can make your recovery much more difficult, painful, and expensive than it should have been or even worse, leave you permanently compromised or disabled.
Failure to treat is one of the most common forms of medical malpractice, inflicting unnecessary pain and hardship on thousands of patients and their families every year. If you are one of those patients, or if someone you love passed away because of a doctor’s negligent failure to treat an illness or health condition, you deserve compensation for the needless losses you’ve incurred.
If you didn’t get the medical treatment you needed, get the legal help you deserve
At Berman & Simmons, Maine’s premier medical malpractice and personal injury law firm, we are committed to getting the maximum amount of compensation available for medical malpractice victims in Maine and throughout New England, including those suffering because of a doctor’s breach of the obligation to properly treat his or her patients in a timely manner.
These cases are complicated and require lawyers who have the knowledge and resources to uncover and prove malpractice. Since doctors, hospitals, and their insurers will do everything they can to defeat your claim and avoid responsibility for their negligence, you need attorneys who will not stop until you get the compensation you deserve. We have provided this kind of skilled and tenacious representation for over 100 years, improving the lives of countless medical malpractice and personal injury victims just like you.
Negligence that results in the “failure to treat” can come in many forms
Several different acts or omissions by a doctor or other healthcare provider can form the basis of a medical malpractice claim for failure to treat, including:
- Failure to treat a patient because of a lack of insurance.
- Failure to treat an emergency condition, such as heart attack or stroke.
- Failure to advise a patient about treatment options.
- Failure to refer a patient to a specialist.
- Failure to order necessary diagnostic tests, or failure to correctly interpret test results.
- Failure to follow-up on lab, xray or other diagnostic test results.
Unmatched resources and experience in medical malpractice cases
Berman & Simmons’ lawyers are widely acknowledged as the best personal injury lawyers in Maine. But for us, that it is not enough. With our unique resources and talent, we strive to be among the very best in the country.
We have obtained several of the largest medical malpractice jury verdicts and settlements in Maine, recovering over $1 billion in compensation for victims and their families. This record of success is a testament to the talents of our attorneys and the commitment of our firm to providing excellence in medical malpractice representation.
No other medical malpractice firm in Maine can match the depth of our experience and the breadth of resources we use to bring these complex cases to successful conclusions. We pride ourselves on taking on―and winning― cases that other firms turn down.
Call us for your free medical malpractice consultation
Maine has strict statutes of limitations for filing medical malpractice complaints, so it’s critical to consult with us as soon as possible if you think your physician failed to treat you properly. Our initial consultations are free, so even if another firm has told you that you don’t have a valid claim, there is no reason not to call us for a second opinion.
Please contact Berman & Simmons today at (207)784-3576 to arrange for your free consultation. You pay nothing unless we obtain compensation for you by settlement or jury verdict.
We'll Take Care of the Heavy Lifting
Get Peace of Mind
It never hurts to consult an attorney regardless of whether you decide to move forward.
Many states have strict deadlines for filing personal injury claims.
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The other insurance company is likely already building their client’s case against you.
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Witnesses may become unavailable and evidence may be lost or degraded with time.
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You’ll need help navigating your medical care and dealing with financial pressures.
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You need peace of mind to focus on your recovery.
$8.5 Million
Paralysis due to mismanagement of
degenerative spine
$2.5 Million
Catastrophic injuries in a head-on car accident
$800,000
Wrongful death case involving negligent
motorist
$715,000
Plaintiff Rear Ended by
Telephone Truck
$5 Million
Delay in diagnosis and treatment of cancer
$1.2 Million
Significant Head Injury Car Accident
FAQs
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What do I prepare for the first call or meeting with you?
For your first meeting with us, simply tell us your story and explain in your own words what happened and how your life has been affected. If you’re meeting with us in person, you can bring notes about what happened to you, driver insurance information, names of any witnesses, photos of the accident damages or injuries, medical records, and other related paperwork if you have it and if it’s applicable, but that information isn’t necessary. Really all you need to do is be yourself, speak with us honestly, and be willing to tackle your problems with us.
Initial conversations between potential clients and our staff members are often done over the phone. Rest assured that everything we discuss is confidential and protected under law.
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How much will a lawyer cost me?
The lawyers at Berman & Simmons work on a contingency basis. That means you pay nothing up front and nothing unless we settle or win your case. We will consult with you, evaluate your situation, and do initial research free of charge. This is true even if we decide you don’t have a valid claim. We will also cover all necessary case expenses and you will not be obligated to reimburse us until and unless we recover monies on your behalf. if we do take your case and win a settlement or a jury verdict in your favor, a percentage of the compensation goes to pay for our costs and the work done by our legal team.
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How will I know if I have a case?
To pursue a case, we will need to prove that you suffered a substantial personal injury and the injury was directly caused by the negligence of another party. A bad result alone is not enough to establish negligence. We let you know upfront if we are able to move forward with the legal process, or if we don’t think you have a case. Generally, we will know if you have a case after our first phone call or meeting.
If we believe you have a valid claim and decide to move forward with litigation, our attorneys and staff will then take it from there and do everything else that needs to be done, including obtaining and reviewing records relevant to your case, such as accident reports and other law enforcement documents, employer records, medical records, and other information.
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How long will it take to resolve my case?
Every case is different, and there is no way to predict how long it will take for your case to be resolved. Some cases end in a matter of months, while the most complex and challenging cases, such as a medical malpractice case, can span several years. The vast majority of cases, however, are resolved before a trial and usually within a year.
The goal is to make sure you receive fair compensation for your injuries, no matter how long it takes whether that comes in the form of a pre-trial settlement, or with a jury verdict in your favor.
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How much is my case worth?
There are many factors that need to be considered when determining the value of your case. Every case is unique and it takes a team effort — including your attorney, staff researchers, and outside experts — to determine the extent of your damages and how much your case is worth. There are two types of damages for which you could receive
compensation: Economic and non-economic.If your case goes to trial and a jury agrees you deserve compensation, the jury members will decide how much the money you should receive for each category of damages.