Medical malpractice is a technical term that covers a wide range of negligence acts caused by a doctor or any other health care provider. When such negligent acts or omissions lead to any harm or injury to a patient, it is considered medical malpractice. Commonly such negligences are a result of errors in treatment, diagnosis, aftercare, or health management.
Under the scope of the law, medical malpractice claims can include the following characteristics:
Contents
Violation of Standard Care
The law understands that some medical standards are considered acceptable by some medical professionals – depending on the circumstances or under a specific range. These issues cannot be considered a violation of standard care. They are justified by studies and research that have offered positive results.
When it comes to standard care, it is a right that every patient has. A certain level of care that a healthcare provider must offer each patient that comes to them. Negligence can only be established if the patient is not provided a certain level of attention and care, without any medical grounds.
Injury Caused Due To Negligence
For a medical malpractice claim to be valid, the party that files the claim must be able to prove beyond a “violation of standard care”. In such cases, you must be able to prove that an injury or negative impact was caused due to a violation of standard care. Moreover, it must be established that the damage that occurred could have been avoided if standard care procedures were followed.
An unfavorable outcome alone is not considered malpractice. This is why a patient is required to prove that the doctor’s or health care provider’s negligence caused the injury.
Injury Resulted in Significant Damages
Medical malpractice cases are not easy to take on, as they cost you a great deal in hiring experienced professionals, requiring medical experts’ testimony and endless hours of deposition testimony. Only the cases that prove a patient went through significant damages due to negligence are considered viable.
However, if the damages are mild and will not cause a prolonged impact, there may not be enough reason why you should file a case. There is a great chance that you spend more than what you make in damages in such cases. This is why it’s best to pursue a medical malpractice case when an injury caused due to medical negligence leads to disability, unusual pain, hardship and suffering, loss of income, or comes with significant past or future medical bills.
Examples of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice comes in many forms. To help you get a better understanding, we have listed down a few examples of medical negligence that can turn into a lawsuit:
- Misreading a test result or ignoring a laboratory result
- Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose
- Performing unnecessary surgery
- Errors during surgery or choosing the wrong surgery site
- Poor aftercare or followup
- Improper medication or dosage of medication
- Premature discharge or extending hospital stay without any reason
- Disregarding patients history or missing patient history
- Failure to order suitable tests or running unnecessary tests
- Failure to recognize the symptoms of a patient
If you or your loved one has suffered from medical negligence, it may be best to take it to a board-certified experienced malpractice attorney. Typically in these types of cases, they will give you a free consultation where you can decide if it is worth the effort to move forward on a case. If you have been the victim of medical malpractice please feel free to comment on your experience below.
