Malpractice is a claim of medical errors which can be a misdiagnoses, wrong medication, wrong medication dosage, poor health management treatment etc.
The medical malpractice law makes it possible for patients to recover compensation from any harm that results from substandard treatment.
The following are two examples of medical malpractice which are delayed diagnoses and surgical errors.
Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient.
Most common forms of medical malpractice include the following.
Failure to prevent infection.
Failure to order proper tests.
Failure to stop bleeding.
Premature discharge.
Unnecessary surgery.
Wrong procedure performed.
Wrong medication administered.
Wrong-site surgery.
Misdiagnosis, surgical errors, medication errors, birth injuries, anesthesia errors, failure to diagnose, and wrong treatment are some of the most common types of medical malpractice.
When a medical provider's actions or inactions fail to meet the medical standard of care, their behavior constitutes medical negligence.
If their medical negligence causes their patient to suffer an injury, it becomes medical malpractice.
On a national scale, many medical malpractice settlements tend to be in the hundreds of thousands, while the average jury verdict that favors the plaintiff tends to be an award of over $1 million.
That is not a guarantee that your medical malpractice claim will result in a similar payout.
In order to file a malpractice lawsuit four legal elements must be proven: (1) a professional duty owed to the patient; (2) breach of such duty; (3) injury caused by the breach; and (4) resulting damages.
Money damages, if awarded, typically take into account both actual economic loss and noneconomic loss, such as pain and suffering.
The first thing to understand when a hospital or doctor makes a mistake is that you have rights.
You may choose to file a complaint with your state's medical board, as well as seek remediation through legal means.
The law allows patients to file a malpractice claim up to two years after the date of the injury.