MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

Doctors swear an oath to protect their patients and act in their best interests. When a doctor fails to provide adequate care to a patient competently, they can be held accountable. If a doctor has caused significant damage through negligence while violating the standard of care, you may have a medical malpractice case.

Medical malpractice injuries occur when a doctor, hospital, or another health care professional is negligent in their treatment of a patient. This can be by omitting information, causing injury to patients, errors in diagnosis, treatment, aftercare, health management, or by a negligent act.

DO I HAVE A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE?

Medical Malpractice cases must have the following characteristics for a claim to be made.

Standard of Care Violation– There are medical standards that healthcare professionals use as a guideline for acceptable medical treatment. A patient has a right to receive care and treatment from healthcare institutions and professionals consistent with these standards.

Injury Caused by Negligence– For a claim to be valid, a patient must be able to prove that any injuries sustained would not have occurred in the absence of negligence. If a procedure did not produce the desired outcome, this is not negligence. The patient must prove negligence to have a valid claim of medical malpractice.

Injury Led to Significant Damages– An injury sustained in a medical malpractice case must be significant to have a viable chance. This is because medical malpractice lawsuits get very expensive to pursue, and often with more minor claims, the cost of the case will be higher than the eventual recovery. If an injury resulted in the loss of income, pain and suffering, disability, and additional medical bills, you have grounds for a medical malpractice claim.