By Dan Noll on October 30th, 2025 in Articles, Medical Malpractice
Springfield Medical Malpractice Lawyers Dan Noll and Sarah Noll Answer Common Medical Negligence Questions to Help You Decide If You Have a Medical Malpractice Case in Illinois
Although most healthcare providers do an excellent job, unfortunately that is not always the case. In fact, one study suggests approximately 400,000 patients suffer from preventable medical errors every year in the United States. Another study reports that 1 in 3 healthcare providers will be sued for medical negligence at least once in their career. Despite these troubling statistics, the Springfield medical malpractice lawyers at the Noll Law Office know that many defendants will claim victims do not have a claim but rather suffered an unavoidable complication, it was a natural risk of the condition or procedure, or even that the patient caused his or her own injuries. This leaves many victims asking do I have a medical malpractice case?
At the Noll Law Office, Dan Noll and Sarah Noll are experienced personal injury lawyers who handle medical malpractice cases. They help protect the rights of victims and families throughout Illinois, including right here in Springfield. They want victims to know that they may have a medical malpractice case if 1) a healthcare provider failed to meet the “standard of care,” 2) that failure caused harm, and 3) if a victim suffered measurable losses like medical bills, lost wages, disability, conscious pain or suffering, or any other type of loss. To determine if you have a case, they will consider what happened, why it was avoidable, how it hurt you, and what proof exists.
Illinois Malpractice Essentials
Medical malpractice is a type of personal injury action, which is called a “tort” or civil wrong. There are many important points to understand about this type of complex and devastating type of negligence case.
- Elements to prove – must prove each of the following: duty owed, breach of that duty, causation, and damages
- Certificate of merit – the formal complaint in medical malpractice lawsuits must include an attorney affidavit referencing a qualified expert’s written report confirming the claim has merit.
- Comparative fault– this rule may reduce recovery by a victim’s share of fault and bar recovery if they are more than 50% at fault.
- Damages cap –Illinois has no statutory caps on non-economic damages after the Illinois Supreme Court struck them down in 2010.
“How do I really know if what happened is malpractice?”
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider’s negligence causes harm. However, not all bad outcomes are medical malpractice. Therefore, the key question is whether a reasonably careful provider in the same specialty and locality would have acted differently under similar circumstances. Said differently, did the defendant do something that another reasonably prudent physician would not have done?
Proving medical malpractice typically requires an independent medical expert to review your records, timeline, and evaluate what happened. The expert must demonstrate that your provider deviated from accepted standard of care and that this deviation, not your underlying condition, caused your damages.
“Does a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis count – and when do timelines prove it?”
Both misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis can constitute malpractice when they result in harm that proper diagnosis would have prevented. The critical factor is whether the delay or error changed your outcome. Such change does not have to be immediate, but could also be a change of the outcome in the future such as “loss of chance” at a better outcome (or surviving) next time.
For time-sensitive conditions, specific benchmarks help establish negligence, including the following:
- Stroke: brain imaging ≤ 25 min from arrival; tPA door-to-needle ≤ 60 min; EVT time goals; tPA eligibility up to 4.5 hours LKW (local policy dependent).
- Heart attack (ACS/STEMI): ECG ≤ 10 min of ED arrival; PCI door-to-balloon ≤ 90 min.
- Sepsis: antibiotics ideally within 1 hour when shock/high likelihood. Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM)+1
- Cancer: even 4-week treatment delays increase mortality risk (quantify directionally, not graphically).
These missed benchmarks often result in worsening outcomes which lead to injuries now or in the future (loss of chance), and therefore could constitute medical malpractice with the help of an experienced attorney such as Dan Noll or Sarah Noll.
“What are surgical ‘never events’ and do they basically prove negligence?”
Surgical “never events” are preventable errors that should never occur with proper safeguards, including wrong-site surgery, wrong-patient procedures, wrong procedures performed, and retained foreign objects like sponges or instruments. Approximately 4,000 surgical never event claims occur annually nationwide, highlighting their unfortunate frequency despite being entirely preventable.
These events often establish negligence more readily than other malpractice claims because they violate basic safety protocols. Evidence includes operative notes, sponge and instrument counts, safety checklist compliance records, and device tracking logs.
“We Think a Sponge Was Left In – What Proof Do We Need?”
Retained surgical items cause post-operative pain, infection, obstruction, and sometimes require additional surgery. Imaging studies typically confirm the presence of foreign objects, while operative count discrepancies in medical records may show when protocols failed. Retained surgical items are classified as never events, and hospitals must internally report these incidents.
Generally, they occur when a surgical team does a count and cannot find the object, then sutures the patient closed to get a quick x-ray to find the object, then goes back to surgery right away or reschedules for another soon day based on the condition of the patient. Other times a surgical team miscounts or does not do a count at all, and entirely fails to realize they left an object inside of a patient.
Families suspecting retained objects should preserve all hospital communications, request incident reports where discoverable, and document symptoms thoroughly. Second-look surgery findings often provide definitive proof. Timeline documentation showing when symptoms began versus when the object was discovered helps establish the duration of suffering and associated damages.
“Could medication errors at the hospital or pharmacy be malpractice?”
Medication errors at hospitals or pharmacies can constitute malpractice when they cause harm. Look-alike/sound-alike drug names create confusion, such as epinephrine versus ephedrine represents just one dangerous example. Patients should watch for pills that look different after refills, name mismatches on labels, or unexpected side effects.
The FDA recommends patients verify prescriptions when something seems wrong. Document medication errors immediately with photos of pills and labels, preserve packaging, note timestamps of administration and adverse effects, and report concerns to providers promptly. Pharmacy records, medication administration records, and adverse event reports all serve as crucial evidence.
“What about radiology ‘misses’ – how are those proven?”
Radiology errors fall into perceptual errors (not seeing abnormalities) and cognitive errors (seeing but misinterpreting findings). Diagnosis-related issues account for approximately 67-75% of radiology malpractice claims. Studies show important findings can be missed in a notable percentage of abnormal chest X-rays, though most radiologists maintain high accuracy rates.
Proving radiology malpractice requires an independent board-certified radiologist to re-read images, comparison to later scans showing what was missed, and correlation between the delay and harm suffered. The timeline between the missed finding and eventual diagnosis, combined with evidence of how earlier detection would have changed treatment and outcomes, establishes the causal connection.
“What documents should I gather now to help a lawyer evaluate the case?”
Comprehensive documentation strengthens case evaluation. Collect all medical records from emergency departments, hospitals, and clinics; imaging studies and radiology reports (DISCOM if possible); medication administration records and pharmacy labels; discharge instructions and follow-up recommendations; medical bills and documentation of lost wages; a detailed timeline with dates and times; and contact information for witnesses. You may also want to keep a journal that is marked for attorney-client purposes or in anticipation of litigation to protect it from possible discovery (exchange with the other party) during the lawsuit.
Illinois’s certificate of merit requirement means attorneys need these materials for expert review early in the process. Organized, complete records expedite expert evaluation and help determine case viability more efficiently.
Still Not Sure How to Answer Do I Have a Medical Malpractice Case? Call the Springfield
If you think a medical mistake in Illinois caused you or a loved one serious harm, the Springfield medical malpractice lawyers at the Noll Law Office can review your records, consult the right experts, and explain your options at no cost. Contact Dan Noll or Sarah Noll today for a free, confidential case evaluation. They are fifth-generation lawyers who have served Illinois by insuring victims of negligence have their voices heard and their rights protected. Unlike other law firms that send cases across the state to new lawyers in big cities, the Noll Law Office handles cases in-house and in your community.
To learn more about protecting your legal rights following medical malpractice in Springfield or anywhere else in Illinois, call (217) 414-8889 or send a message here to schedule your free consultation.