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Medical Malpractice Attorneys for Bar Nunn, WY
When medical care in Bar Nunn goes wrong, the harm is physical, financial and personal at once, and it is hard to know whether what happened is a legal claim.
Below you will find the Wyoming rules that shape a malpractice claim, from the filing deadline to wrongful death and public providers, and a way to reach an attorney in our network through needanattorney.net.
Medical Malpractice Under Wyoming Law
A medical malpractice claim in Wyoming is one that arises from an act, error or omission in the rendering of licensed or certified professional or health care services, the wording used by W.S. § 1-3-107 for the filing deadline.
Wyoming law defines fault to include acts or omissions that are a proximate cause of injury and are in any measure negligent (W.S. § 1-1-109), so a claim has to connect what the provider did or failed to do to the harm.
Not every complication is malpractice. A claim needs both a failure in the care and proof that the failure caused the injury.
Situations That Can Lead to a Malpractice Claim
Whatever the kind of mistake, a claim comes back to two questions: did the care depart from accepted practice, and did that cause the injury?
Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis
When a provider fails to order the right test, misreads a result or dismisses symptoms, the harm may come from lost time. A claim asks whether an earlier diagnosis was reasonably available and what difference it would have made to treatment.
Mistakes during surgery
A surgical complication is not always a mistake, but a wrong site procedure, a retained object or an avoidable injury during an operation may be. The claim looks at what was done and at what caused the harm.
Wrong drug or wrong dose
Giving the wrong medication, the wrong amount or a drug that conflicts with something the patient already takes can cause serious harm. A claim looks at where in the process the care fell short.
Harm to a mother or baby at birth
Birth injury claims examine monitoring, decisions about delivery and care after the baby is born, and ask whether any departure from accepted practice caused the harm.
How Long You Have to File in Wyoming
The deadline is measured from the date of the alleged act, error or omission, and the period is two years (W.S. § 1-3-107).
If the problem could not reasonably have been found within the first two years, or was missed despite due diligence, W.S. § 1-3-107 allows a claim up to two years after discovery, but the claimant has to establish that.
W.S. § 1-3-107 adds six months when the act, error or omission comes to light in the second year of the two year period.
For an injury to the rights of a minor, the deadline is the minor’s eighth birthday or two years from the act, error or omission, whichever is greater, with the same discovery exception; for a plaintiff with a legal disability other than minority, it is one year after the disability is removed (W.S. § 1-3-107).
A Death Caused by Medical Care
A wrongful death action may be brought when a death is caused by a wrongful act, neglect or default that would have entitled the patient to sue had the patient lived (W.S. § 1-38-101).
W.S. § 1-38-102 requires the wrongful death action to be brought by and in the name of the wrongful death representative.
The period for a wrongful death claim is measured from the death, not from the care, and is two years (W.S. § 1-38-102), tolled while a properly filed appointment action is pending (W.S. § 1-38-103).
The court or jury may award pecuniary and exemplary damages as fair and just, and each beneficiary may prove damages, including the loss of probable future companionship, society and comfort (W.S. § 1-38-102).
What the Wyoming Constitution Says About Damage Limits
The Wyoming Constitution says no law shall be enacted limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the injury or death of any person (Wyo. Const. art. 10, § 4), so there is no statutory cap on a malpractice verdict.
One more point in Wyo. Const. art. 10, § 4: the legislature may by general law mandate alternative dispute resolution or medical review panel review before a health care claim is filed, so it is worth confirming early whether anything of that kind applies.
What a claim is worth depends on the injury, the proof and the allocation of fault, not on a statutory ceiling.
When Fault Is Divided
Wyoming follows a fifty percent rule: contributory fault does not bar recovery when it is not more than fifty percent of the total, and the damages are diminished by the claimant’s share (W.S. § 1-1-109).
W.S. § 1-1-109 makes each defendant responsible only for its own share of fault, and the shares are determined for every actor, including one who is not a party.
Knowing who treated the patient, and when, helps an attorney decide whom to name and how fault may be divided.
Government Employed Providers in Wyoming
A governmental entity is liable for damages caused by the medical malpractice of health care providers who are its employees, including contract physicians, physician assistants, nurses, optometrists and dentists serving state institutions or county jails, while acting within the scope of their duties (W.S. § 1-39-110).
W.S. § 1-39-113 says no action may be brought against a governmental entity unless an itemized written claim was presented within two years of the act, error or omission.
After the claim is filed, W.S. § 1-39-114 allows one year to start the action. Against employed physicians, physician assistants, nurses, optometrists and dentists, the limit is $1,000,000 for care on or after May 1, 1988 (W.S. § 1-39-110).
Choosing the County to File In
An action for personal injuries or wrongful death may be brought in the county where the cause of action arose or in the county where the defendant resides or may be summoned (W.S. § 1-5-109). For care received in Bar Nunn, the county where the claim arose may well be Natrona County.
The Court and Hospitals Behind a Bar Nunn Claim
Natrona County is the county the Census Bureau assigns to Bar Nunn. The Seventh Judicial District Court for Natrona County is listed by the Wyoming Judicial Branch in Casper, at 115 North Center Street, Suite 100, Casper, WY 82601. Another facility on the Wyoming Department of Health trauma center list, Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, is also in Natrona County; it is listed as a Regional Trauma Center. Whichever hospital treated you, request your full records and an itemized bill early, and keep a list of the providers you saw.
Speak With a Bar Nunn Malpractice Attorney
Before you contact anyone, it helps to put the events in order: the dates of treatment, the providers you saw, what you were told and what happened afterward.
Submit the form on this page and we will work to connect you with an attorney in our network who handles medical malpractice claims in Wyoming. Because filing deadlines are measured in years, not decades, it helps to ask early.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the deadline different if the patient was a child?
Yes. W.S. § 1-3-107 gives a minor until the eighth birthday or two years from the act, error or omission, whichever period is greater.
Can I recover if I share some blame in Wyoming?
You can recover if your fault is not more than fifty percent of the total, and damages are reduced by your share (W.S. § 1-1-109).
Where is a malpractice lawsuit from Bar Nunn filed?
W.S. § 1-5-109 allows either county, the one where the claim arose or the one where the defendant resides or may be summoned. Natrona County is often one of them for a Bar Nunn claim.
Can I recover from every provider who contributed to the harm?
Under W.S. § 1-1-109, each defendant is responsible only to the extent of its proportion of the total fault.
Is there a different process for public hospitals in Wyoming?
The governmental entity is liable for the malpractice of its employed providers (W.S. § 1-39-110), after a written claim within two years (W.S. § 1-39-113) and a suit within one year of filing it (W.S. § 1-39-114).
What is the filing deadline for a malpractice claim in Wyoming?
Two years from the date of the act, error or omission, with a discovery exception (W.S. § 1-3-107).
Does Wyoming have a discovery rule for malpractice?
Possibly: W.S. § 1-3-107 allows up to two years after discovery in those circumstances, and the claimant must establish them.
Where to Look Next
If your matter is in another part of Wyoming, start from the directory or a nearby community page.
