practice areas

It is important to state that a bad outcome from a medical procedure or surgery does not necessarily mean that there was negligence on the part of your medical team.

Primum non nocere is a Latin phrase meaning "First, do no harm." It reminds physicians and other medical professionals that they need to consider the potential risks of any health intervention because even well-meaning actions can have unintended consequences.

Medical malpractice occurs when a physician or other health care provider does something that no other reasonably prudent physician or health care provider would do, AND that act leads to injury. 

Before becoming an attorney, Keith S. Douglass was formally trained in medical research and pharmacology and supervised a clinical laboratory in Alaska . He brings that unique experience to represent injured people efficiently, cost-effectively, and to achieve the best results possible for his clients. He has represented hundreds of victims of medical, dental, chiropractic, home health, nursing and pharmacy malpractice.

More people die each year from preventable medical errors than from motor vehicle accidents or breast cancer. It is the Number 3 killer in the United States third only to heart disease and cancer and claims the lives of some 400,000 people each year. 

Our team has more than 100 years of combined legal and paralegal experience helping people injured by medical malpractice receive the financial compensation they deserve. We have the skills, knowledge, and experience to represent you efficiently and effectively. Our law practice works to improve accountability, increase public awareness, and better healthcare safety one patient at a time. By holding healthcare providers accountable for the preventable harm they cause, we aim to improve the delivery of healthcare in our communities. We do this by providing the best services to our clients possible. Our law firm has been helping people who have suffered injuries at the hands of medical professionals for more than three decades.

Medical malpractice laws can vary significantly from state to state. Many states have imposed significant limits on the amount of monetary compensation a victim may recover. States differ as to the qualifications and regional location of expert witnesses that can testify in court. Based in Spokane and licensed in Washington State, Keith S. Douglass has been specially admitted in many other states where his skills and knowledge were needed (called “ pro hac vice” in the legal field), thereby affording him the opportunity to represent a client anywhere in the United States. When working with clients in states other than Washington, he associates with local counsel at no additional cost to the client.

In general, all states require the plaintiff in a medical malpractice action to prove: 1) that the healthcare provider violated the applicable standard of care, 2) that the violation of the applicable standard of care caused injury, and 3) that the plaintiff suffered an injury sufficient to warrant compensation. The definition of “standard of care” varies from state-to-state, but is often similar to “what a reasonable practitioner would do under like or similar circumstances.” So, if Dr. John Doe used an antibiotic that no other reasonable physician would have used under the circumstances presented, and this antibiotic caused permanent or long-lasting kidney failure, the patient would have a potentially meritorious malpractice case.

It is important that you contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible after an injury occurs; as the statute of limitation in each state dictates the length of time a person has to file a lawsuit. Additionally, there may be even a shorter time to file against a government entity, which, depending on the state, may include community hospitals or physicians who are affiliated with such hospitals.

Keith S. Douglass and Associates, LLP has helped hundreds of clients recover financial compensation for injuries resulting from all types of medical malpractice, including but not limited to.

For in-depth coverage about gentamicin/tobramycin/aminoglycoside poisoning, please visit our website: www.gentamicin.com created as a service to those who suffer from this debilitating and often misunderstood condition.

Gentamicin is an effective and powerful antibiotic administered in hospitals and nursing homes to combat severe infections. Because it has serious, well-documented side effects, its use requires close attention to length of treatment,  dosing and monitoring.  Extended use or excessive dosages can result in irreversible damage to the inner ear , leaving patients permanently injured and unable to engage in normal activities.

Keith S. Douglass and Associates, LLP is one of the few law firms equipped to investigate and litigate gentamicin and tobramycin poisoning claims throughout the United States. Over the years, we have been the go-to source to review, investigate, and litigate such claims that are referred to us by other attorneys inexperienced in this specialty, and also by injured patients who have sought us out. We have represented clients in nearly all 50 states.

The competent practice of medicine is not easy. It takes years of instruction, additional years of closely supervised and limited exposure to the practice of medicine, and continual education and practice to achieve competency, and to remain so. In practice, competency at performing a differential diagnosis (the distinguishing of a disease or condition from others presenting with similar signs and symptoms) requires careful questioning  of the patient and hands-on examination.

All competent and appropriately trained physicians without exception use the differential diagnosis in determining how to treat their patients. When it is appropriately used, the methodology rarely produces an erroneous conclusion. When it is not employed appropriately  or not employed at all a physician has breached the applicable standard of care. In other words, he is negligent. 

To be diagnosed with cancer is a chilling prospect for anyone. To receive this diagnosis when it is too late for treatment, or the cancer could have been treated is devastating. While not all delays in diagnosis can be proved to significantly alter the progression of the cancer, some delays are just plain negligence and may be compensable. Generally, to prove that the delay caused an injury, the plaintiff must prove that the delay in diagnosis and treatment caused the cancer to significantly progress.

The signs and symptoms of cancer may not be evident to even the most astute physician until the cancer has spread to a degree that it may not be successfully treated. However, there are many instances where physicians or other practitioners ignore or dismiss signs or symptoms of cancer and fail to act in a timely manner. IF this delay allowed the cancer to significantly worsen and a person’s life expectancy or quality of life was seriously degraded, there may be a medical malpractice case.

An increasing cause of medical malpractice is health care providers’ failure to follow patients. It is incumbent upon a physician discharging a patient from the hospital, performing a surgery, prescribing a new medication, or ordering blood or imaging tests, to establish a plan for following the patient.

Responsibility for overseeing a patient after hospitalization or an outpatient procedure may be spread among several entities. The delegation of this responsibility is often not communicated or miscommunicated between the health care providers, and this failure may constitute medical negligence.

Due in part to shorter hospitalizations for illnesses and surgical procedures, there has been a significant expansion in the amount of care provided patients in their own homes. This care is provided by Home Health Care agencies that employ Registered Nurses, pharmacists, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Home Health Aides. Home-care services are becoming increasingly popular, mainly because it is an alternative for those who do not yet need or want the skilled nursing care that they receive in a nursing home. Remember that a home health care agency is not a medical facility and the staff there may not have the credentials and specialized training that one would expect from nursing home staff. Some of the tasks that a home health agency employee may fail to properly execute are – administer/monitor/dose oral and/or IV medications, fully implement the discharging physician’s plan of care and nurses or aides ignoring signs and symptoms of developing illnesses. If these are not properly carried out, there may be medical negligence.

Unlike contact dermatitis (uncomfortable skin irritation) from the metals (including nickel contact allergies) in buttons, earrings, watches, or other jewelry, some people experience a much more severe reaction. Most recently, the individual components of medical devices themselves have been subject to increased scrutiny amid reports of systemic reactions that appear to be allergies. Cutaneous and systemic hypersensitivity reactions to metallic implants may be more serious than skin dermatitis, as you may have implant-related allergic contact dermatitis. When metal hypersensitivity occurs in the context of surgical implants, complications can run the gamut, from loosening of a prostheses, to bacterial infections from non-healing surgical wounds. Here is an overviewarticle that discusses the various metals and their alloys, properties and uses in surgical implants. If a medical provider fails to properly investigate a prior severe metal allergy before implantation, this may be medical negligence.

A birth trauma or birth injury refers to a number of injuries that can occur before, during or immediately after a baby's birth. These injuries may affect the mother, the baby or both.

Injuries suffered at birth can be severe and life-altering for the child and the mother. During the pregnancy, labor, birth and newborn periods, both the mother and the baby need to be constantly monitored for dangerous conditions like hypoxia and fetal distress: when they are not, devastating results such as cerebral palsy, nerve damage, brain damage, or death can occur.

The birth mother may also be threatened by conditions that develop as a result of her pregnancy, such as ectopic pregnancy , Rh Negative Disease , and Group B Strep. In some cases, birth injuries may occur as the result of medical negligence.

Signs that a nursing home resident is being neglected may include severe bed sores, rashes, wounds, falls or broken bones, obvious malnutrition or dehydration, weight loss, the use of restraints or over-sedation. 

Situations raising the risk of medication errors include transfers of care, such as when an inpatient switches to an outpatient setting; the route of administration of the medication; and the severity of the underlying illness. 

Pharmacy errors that arise from incidents where patients received the wrong drug, or the wrong dose of a drug may constitute medical negligence.