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Medical Malpractice: Patients
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Medical malpractice is a broad term defined as mistakes considered below the standard level of care made by a healthcare provider that causes personal injury to the patient. People make mistakes all the time and the field of medicine is no exception. Doctor mistakes are common. However, when a healthcare provider makes a mistake, human life can be greatly affected. If a patient is injured or killed by a healthcare providers’ mistake, medical malpractice has most likely been committed. In a study published by the Harvard Medical Practice Study, it is estimated that medical malpractice plays some part in approximately 80,000 wrongful deaths annually in the United States alone.
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Medical malpractice is the failure of a doctor to exercise the degree of care and skill that is considered standard among st the medical professionals of the same field for the same circumstances. There are various types of medical malpractice. It can be anything from negligence to substandard care or treatment. In order for a medical malpractice suit to be valid, certain criteria must be met. The medical professional must not have abided by the required standards, breaking the legal duty that was owed to their patient. This must cause an injury which causes physical, emotional, or monetary damages to the patient.
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Medical malpractice law is a specific kind of personal injury law. It refers to claims that a doctor, or a nurse, or a dentist, or a chiropractor, or a hospital, or anyone else involved in delivering healthcare services, has made a mistake. Even an excellent healthcare professional, who almost never make mistakes, can occasionally make a mistake. Most often, a healthcare professional’s mistake does not result in serious injury, and/or can be corrected. Every once in a while, though, a medical mistake results in a very serious injury, or even death, to a patient.
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Medical malpractice is an oversight or omission of the best possible medical treatment available by a health care professional in the care of an individual that results in injury or harm to the patient. Every year thousands of Americans are injured, hospitalized or die from medical mistakes due to wrong diagnosis, hospital negligence or prescription errors and the consequences to the patients and the families of affected individuals can be devastating. It is unfortunate that people are injured when receiving health care, but you should not expect to endure a life of pain and suffering because of someone else’s oversight or negligence. If you are hurt or made to suffer because of negligence you may be entitled to compensation for your distress and anguish.
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Medical malpractice takes many different forms; surgical errors, amputation errors, emergency room mistakes, failure to diagnose illness, birth injuries, emergency room mistakes, improper pre-operational/ post-op procedure, etc. No matter what kind of medical malpractice experienced, in the eyes of the law the patient must have suffered a personal injury strictly due to the healthcare provider’s error. In addition the medical error must be considered below the standard level of healthcare given across the country.
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Medical malpractice laws are designed to protect patients' rights to pursue compensation if they are injured as the result of negligence. However, malpractice suits are often complex and costly to win. While theoretically, you can seek compensation for any injury caused by negligence, regardless of its seriousness, time and money make it unrealistic to sue for an injury that is minor or resolves quickly. Therefore, if you believe you have a medical malpractice claim, it is important to consult with an attorney who can help you determine whether your claim is worth pursuing.
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