Famous people lead glamorous lives filled with privilege and opportunity. Don’t celebrities have it made when they get hurt?
Not necessarily. Let’s talk about what happens when a celebrity becomes injured because of someone else’s negligence.
They file a lawsuit, just like you would.
Here’s the thing…
Celebrities get injured just like us. Doctors make medical errors on famous patients. People drive negligently and injure celebrities. When that happens, celebrities have to stand up for their rights just like everyone else. But they do it under a bright spotlight.
In this article, we’ll discuss…
- Why Celebrity Injury Lawsuits Are Unique
- 3 Examples of Huge Malpractice Lawsuits
- How Celebrities Choose Their Legal Teams
- Lessons Non-Famous Injury Victims Can Learn
Why Celebrity Injury Lawsuits Are Unique
We already covered this, but let’s dive deeper.
When someone famous becomes injured due to negligence, every court document and decision becomes front-page news. The media will follow celebrity cases every step of the way.
But other than that, celebrity personal injury lawsuits are much like any other lawsuit.
Lawyers representing celebrities (and non-celebrities) must prove the same elements of negligence:
- The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care
- The defendant breached their duty by acting negligently
- The defendant’s negligent conduct caused the plaintiff’s injuries
- The plaintiff suffered compensable damages as a result of their injuries
Essentially, anyone who hires an Allentown injury lawyer to pursue a negligence claim must prove their injury would not have occurred if not for someone else’s negligent conduct.
Working with a personal injury attorney who understands the medical system can help injury victims obtain maximum recovery from their lawsuits.
Medical malpractice causes more than 250,000 deaths every year. That’s more than car accidents and drug overdoses combined.
Medical Errors Are Deadly
According to a study published by Johns Hopkins University, medical errors kill patients:
- Faster than HIV/AIDS
- Twice as quickly as breast cancer
- More than Alzheimer’s disease
- At a rate surpassed only by heart disease and cancer
Facing a mountain of medical debt while dealing with a lifetime of injuries isn’t something anyone should have to bear. But just because celebs have money and power, that doesn’t mean they’re immune to doctor errors.
3 Examples of Huge Malpractice Lawsuits
Celebrities file thousands of lawsuits every year. Some launch highly-publicized cases that set precedent and influence the way personal injury law develops as a whole.
Here are a few examples of celebrity lawsuits that had enormous impacts:
Julie Andrews
In 1997 actress Julie Andrews filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital.
She had undergone a routine throat procedure to remove benign growths on her vocal cords.
The procedure left Andrews permanently unable to sing. According to court documents, Andrews was never warned of the potential side effects of the procedure beforehand.
Andrews and Mount Sinai settled the case out of court, but her lawsuit brought important attention to the doctrine of informed consent.
John Ritter
In another tragic case, John Ritter filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Providence St. Joseph Medical Center.
Ritter collapsed on stage while filming a sitcom episode, complaining of chest pain and nausea.
Doctors diagnosed the comedian with a heart attack and proceeded to perform emergency surgery.
By the time they discovered their mistake, it was too late. Ritter died of natural causes that evening at age 54.
His wrongful death lawsuit alleged the hospital negligently misdiagnosed his aortic dissection. Ritter’s lawsuit settled in 2006.
Dana Carvey
Venturing away from malpractice, celebrity comedian Dana Carvey suffered catastrophic injuries due to surgical negligence.
In 1998, Carvey underwent double-bypass heart surgery to remove an arterial blockage.
However, his surgeon operated on the wrong artery. Carvey didn’t discover the error for months.
He nearly died as a result of complications and spent 6 months in intensive care followed by rehabilitation.
How Celebrities Choose Their Legal Teams
Anyone who has been injured due to negligence deserves access to quality legal representation. But when celebrities file lawsuits, they need something extra from their attorneys.
Celebrity lawyers should:
- Anticipate media coverage and work to limit its effects
- Understand how to handle intense public scrutiny
- Have experience managing high-profile clients
- Know how to spot predatory defendants who aim to take advantage
According to a study performed by the Peter G. Petersen KMCRowe & McCumber law firm, about ⅓ of doctors will face a malpractice lawsuit in their careers.
That means doctors know what plaintiffs go through when they file these claims. It also means celebrities need a legal team that can hold big-impacts defendants accountable.
How Do High-Profile Lawsuits Affect You?
It’s easy to get caught up in the unique world of celebrity lawsuits. But don’t forget about the lessons we can learn from famous cases.
There’s a good chance you recognize at least one plaintiff in the examples above. We all know the lawsuits shape the way personal injury law changes and adapts.
Just like celebrity clients, we need skilled and compassionate legal professionals who will fight for our best interests.
Litigation Finances Your Case
When you hire a personal injury lawyer, they get paid on contingency. This means your lawyer only gets paid if you win your case.
Your attorney’s payment comes as a contingency fee calculated as a percentage of your recovery. That money comes from the defendant’s insurance company.
Insurance companies spend billions of dollars each year on litigation. All of that money comes from your car insurance premiums, rising healthcare costs, and more.
When you sue for injuries, you’re helping pay the salary of every lawyer who fights these big corporations.
What Makes These Lawsuits So Special?
Hang on.
Before you go thinking celebrity injury lawsuits have some magical advantage over normal cases, let me clarify.
While celebrities have access to more resources than the average plaintiff, their lawsuits tend to be more difficult to prove.
Why?
Because when a celebrity files a lawsuit, they must prove four of the following:
- They won’t receive another career opportunity ever again
- The press will influence how jurors perceive their testimony
- Insurance companies will do everything in their power to avoid settling
- Jurors may be skeptical that such a wealthy person was truly injured
Famous plaintiffs face unique challenges when they stand up for their rights. For that reason, high-profile cases often progress differently than traditional cases.
But that doesn’t make the lawsuits any less special.
Final Thoughts
When celebrities get hurt, they file lawsuits like you would. They demand compensation for someone else’s negligent behavior and hold the at-fault parties accountable.
The injuries we discussed today could happen to anyone. Deaths due to medical malpractice are embarrassingly common.
And hiring a great lawyer matters whether you’re famous or not.
Negligence is negligence, no matter who you are.
To summarize:
- Celebrities get injured just like you and I
- Doctors make the same mistakes on famous patients as they do us
- Stars file lawsuits to maximize their potential recovery
- When they win, those precedents apply to you and me too
