What Is Medical Malpractice?
In general, medical malpractice is some sort of omission, negligent act, cause of injury from a doctor, hospital, or health care institution.
The negligence can come from the result of an error in aftercare, treatment, diagnosis, and health management.
For something to be considered medical malpractice under the pretense of law, a claim must fulfill these characteristics:
Violation of Care Standards
In law, medical standards are acknowledged and are considered to be appropriate medical treatment by health care professions under specific circumstances. This is also known as the standard of care.
A patient has the capacity to expect appropriate care from health care professionals that adhere to the standards above. If it has been established the standard has not been met, then negligence has been determined.
And one can move on to the next step of establishing injury by negligence.
Injury by Negligence
In order for a medical malpractice claim to be validated, it’s simply not enough to prove that a health care professional has violated a standard of care. The patient is also responsible for proving they have sustained an injury, which could not have occurred otherwise, but only as a result of the negligence.
An unexpected outcome is not considered malpractice. Therefore, the negligence has to have caused the injury. If there is no injury but negligence or injury without negligence – the claim is invalidated.
After this, one moves on to proving damages, as a result of the injury.
Injury Resulting in Damage
A medical malpractice lawsuit is quite expensive to litigate, as it requires regular and extensive testimony from many experts and witnesses while contributing imminent hours of deposition.
For a case to be valid, a patient must show that extensive damages have been incurred from the injury receive via the medical negligence. If the damages are minimal, the cost of pursuing the case is most likely incompetent.
To pursue the medical malpractice claim and have some bearing on financial return, the injury must have resulted in the loss of income, disability, suffering, significant medical bills, etc. Only in such cases will the case pay for itself, if won.
Let’s take a look at some examples of medical malpractice that can lead to a lawsuit:
- Unnecessary surgical treatment
- Ignored laboratory results
- Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose
- Surgical error
- Improper medication dosage or type
- Premature discharge
- Poor aftercare
- Disregarded patient history
- Failure to analyze symptoms
- Failure to a proper test
These are just some examples, and the list is practically indefinite, as these lawsuits can be filled on a case by case basis. However, they present some reasonable relevance to the scope of potential negligent behaviors that come under the pretense of legal medical malpractice.
If you would like to discover some additional examples, check out this list.
What Do Medical Malpractice Lawyers Do?
The primary role of a medical malpractice lawyer is to help recover damages for the victims or family of a victim by proving that medical malpractice has occurred on some level.
As much as one would like to admit, but negative results do occur in the medical industry. Not everyone can be cured and healed. Not every child can be birthed and saved.
However, if medical malpractice occurs based on negligent behavior, resulting in injury – then that’s a different story.
A specialist medical malpractice lawyer should help you take all of the steps to file the lawsuit, then find a medical expert to review the details to prove negligence. So no matter what type of negligence you have experienced, a specialist medical expert has the proficiency to determine when it’s plausible to sue.
Once the evidence has been collected in some shape or form, the lawyer will help you pursue the next steps. Since these cases are the length and costly, it might make sense to reach a settlement out of court.
In any case, your lawyer will advise you on what approach is best, and whether or not you should seek a settlement.
Let’s take a look at some of the duties of a medical malpractice lawyer:
- To work with medical experts on developing case reports, and testimony to support the plaintiff
- Gathering and reviewing medical records
- Performing depositions of medical personnel, and all third parties
- Establishing medical examinations to receive an objective evaluation of your condition
- Working with nurse consultants to review case merits, review records, decipher notes, and accompany you to examinations
- Doing medical research relevant to your condition
Surely, these are only examples, and by no means are they to constraint the opportunity and capacity of a medical malpractice lawyer. Nonetheless, all of the activities preside in some realm of relevant to the 6 duties outlined above.
The Right Medical Malpractice Lawyer for You
Now that you know what medical malpractice is, and what medical malpractice lawyers do. You are well on your way to deciding if seeking legal support is the right decision for you.
If you’re looking for a medical malpractice lawyer in Florida, we will gladly help you out with your case.
Get in touch with my team now.
