Think you may have a medical malpractice lawsuit, but are unsure of what is considered medical malpractice? Victims of medical malpractice deserve to be compensated for their losses. It is important to find out if you or a loved one has a legitimate malpractice claim, so that you can get the justice you deserve.
Think you may have a medical malpractice lawsuit, but are unsure of what is considered medical malpractice? Victims of medical malpractice deserve to be compensated for their losses. It is important to find out if you or a loved one has a legitimate malpractice claim, so that you can get the justice you deserve.
Medical Malpractice Definition
The legal definition of medical malpractice is negligence on the part of a healthcare provider that causes injury, disability or death to the patient. This extends to any act or omission by a physician, nurse, or medical healthcare professional during treatment of a patient that differs from accepted norms of practice in the medical community and causes an injury or death to the patient.
For a patient to be monetarily compensated for medical malpractice they must be able to prove that substandard treatment or negligence by a healthcare professional resulted in an injury. Once negligence resulting in an injury has been established, it is up to the court to assess the damage and decide how much the patient should be compensated. The damage is calculated by economic loss from the injury, cost of future medical care, and pain and suffering.
Examples of Medical Malpractice Cases
A study from the Journal of the American Medical Association from 2009 concluded that the most common outpatient reason for a medical malpractice claim is a diagnostic error from a doctor. This can either be a wrong diagnosis and a delayed diagnosis. The most prevalent impatient claim from the study was because of a surgical error. Some examples of surgical errors are doctors injuring a nerve during surgery, performing an incision at the wrong location, or leaving a piece of surgical equipment inside the patient.
Another common malpractice claim is an error in treatment or medication. For example, if a doctor writes the wrong dosage on a prescription or if they fail to refer a patient to the correct specialist. Other slightly less common medical malpractice lawsuits are from obstetric (child birth) errors and anesthesia errors.
How to Prove Medical Malpractice
The first step to proving medical malpractice is having evidence of a relationship between the healthcare professional and the patient. Secondly, it is important that there was negligence from this healthcare professional while treating the patient. This does not include a doctor not doing their very best, but if they were not “reasonably skillful or careful”, then it can be classified as negligence. Most likely an expert in the field will need to testify to this. Lastly, the negligence must have directly resulted in an injury that led to specific damages. The damages could be physical pain, mental anguish, additional medical treatment and bills, loss of enjoyment of life, the loss of the ability to earn money in the future, and much more.
Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Despite ongoing efforts from Congress and the medical community for improvement, medical errors are still frequently occurring. Patients who are victims of medical malpractice want and deserve justice now. To get the justice you deserve requires the patience, expertise, skill and experience of highly qualified medical malpractice lawyers.
For those who are in Arizona, contact me today for a highly qualified Medical Malpractice Attorney in Phoenix and Tucson. Get the personal attention and expertise you need in a medical malpractice attorney.