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Your Pinedale Medical Malpractice Attorney
When medical care in Pinedale goes wrong, the harm is physical, financial and personal at once, and it is hard to know whether what happened is a legal claim.
The sections below set out the Wyoming law that applies to malpractice claims and explain how to reach, through needanattorney.net, an attorney in our network who handles them.
What Counts as Medical Malpractice in Wyoming
The statute that sets the filing deadline, W.S. § 1-3-107, speaks of an act, error or omission in rendering licensed or certified professional or health care services, and that is the conduct a malpractice claim is built on.
To recover, a patient connects the provider’s conduct to the harm. Wyoming treats an act or omission as fault when it is negligent in any measure and a proximate cause of the injury (W.S. § 1-1-109).
A bad result alone is not enough. The question is whether the care departed from accepted practice and whether that departure, rather than the underlying illness or a known risk, caused the harm.
Kinds of Cases That Need a Malpractice Attorney
The examples that follow are not a complete list, but they show how a claim connects what the provider did or failed to do to the harm.
Diagnostic errors
A claim can arise when a condition is missed or identified late. The question is whether the delay or error departed from accepted medical practice and caused harm that earlier treatment would have avoided.
Surgical mistakes
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
A wrong drug, a wrong dose, a missed allergy or a harmful interaction can injure a patient. These claims ask who in the chain, the prescriber, pharmacist or nurse, made the error and whether it caused the harm.
Injuries during pregnancy or delivery
A delivery that goes wrong can leave lasting harm. A claim looks at what the providers knew, what they did and whether that caused the injury.
The Wyoming Filing Deadline
Under W.S. § 1-3-107, the general rule is two years from the alleged act, error or omission in the rendering of health care services, and the time runs whether or not the patient has yet seen a lawyer.
W.S. § 1-3-107 lets a claim be filed not more than two years after discovery when the act, error or omission was not reasonably discoverable in the first two years or was missed despite due diligence. The burden of showing that is on the claimant.
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).
The action is brought by and in the name of the decedent’s wrongful death representative, for the exclusive benefit of the beneficiaries who sustained damage (W.S. § 1-38-102).
An action for wrongful death must be commenced within two years after the death of the decedent (W.S. § 1-38-102). If an action to appoint the representative is properly filed, the limitation periods are tolled from that filing until thirty days after the order appointing the representative (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).
Compensation Limits Under Wyoming Law
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.
The absence of a limit does not mean any amount is guaranteed; the outcome of a claim depends on its facts and the evidence.
Shared Fault in Wyoming
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.
Listing each provider who touched the care, and the dates, is useful before the first consultation.
Government Employed Providers in Wyoming
If the provider is employed by a governmental entity, W.S. § 1-39-110 provides for liability for the provider’s medical malpractice within the scope of the provider’s duties.
The claim against a governmental entity must be in writing and itemized, presented within two years of the act, error or omission, and it must state the amount demanded (W.S. § 1-39-113).
One year from the filing of the claim is the deadline to sue (W.S. § 1-39-114), and for the providers listed in W.S. § 1-39-110 the limit is $1,000,000, a figure that differs from the general limits in W.S. § 1-39-118.
Choosing the County to File In
Under W.S. § 1-5-109, venue lies in the county where the cause of action arose or where the defendant resides or may be summoned; for treatment in Pinedale, that can include Sublette County.
Courts and Hospitals Near Pinedale
Sublette County is the county the Census Bureau assigns to Pinedale. For Sublette County, the Wyoming Judicial Branch lists a district court in Pinedale, part of the Ninth Judicial District, at 21 S South Tyler, Pinedale, WY 82941. The Wyoming Department of Health trauma center list shows Sublette County Hospital District in Pinedale as a Trauma Receiving Facility. If your care took place at a hospital like this, ask for the complete chart and an itemized bill, and write down every provider who treated you.
Next Steps for a Pinedale Medical Malpractice Claim
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
How long does a family have after a death caused by malpractice?
Yes. W.S. § 1-38-101 provides the action, which must be commenced within two years after the death (W.S. § 1-38-102).
How is fault divided among several providers?
Each defendant is liable only for its own proportion of the total fault, and fault can be assigned to an actor who is not a party (W.S. § 1-1-109).
How much time do I have to sue for medical malpractice in Wyoming?
Two years from the date of the care, extended in some cases by the discovery rule (W.S. § 1-3-107).
What if the hospital or provider is a government entity?
A written, itemized claim has to be presented within two years of the act, error or omission (W.S. § 1-39-113), and suit must be started within one year after the claim is filed (W.S. § 1-39-114).
Which county would a Pinedale malpractice case be filed in?
Venue follows W.S. § 1-5-109: the county where the cause of action arose, or where the defendant resides or may be summoned, which for care received in Pinedale may be Sublette County.
What if I did not find out about the mistake until later?
W.S. § 1-3-107 has a discovery exception, and a discovery in the second year adds six months to the period.
Is the deadline different if the patient was a child?
For a minor the deadline is the eighth birthday or two years from the act, error or omission, whichever is greater, with the same discovery exception (W.S. § 1-3-107).
Other Pages That May Help
Medical care often happens outside your own town; these pages cover other Wyoming communities.
