Medical Malpractice is when a hospital, doctor, or other healthcare professional causes injury to a patient through negligence. The cause of negligence can be errors in diagnosis, treatment, aftercare, or health management. If you feel that you received careless treatment at the hands of a medical professional or hospital, you may have a case for medical malpractice. However, there are a few requirements that must be met for the claim to be classified as medical malpractice. The requirements are as follows:
Failure to Meet the “Standard of Care”
By law, recognized medical standards define acceptable medical treatment, and this is known as the standard of care. If your healthcare provider failed to meet the standard of care, negligence may have been a factor.
Injury Caused by Negligence
If you are looking to make a case for malpractice, failure to meet the standard of care is not sufficient to make a case. You must also be able to prove that you suffered an injury due to their negligence. If you did not suffer an injury, or if the injury was not caused by negligence, you do not have a case.
You Suffered Significant Damage from Injury
Since medical malpractice typically demands testimonies from medical experts, the injured party must demonstrate significant damage. If negligence caused minimal damage, pursuing the case may not be worth it because litigating medical malpractice cases is expensive. To classify as serious damage, the injury must result in disability, loss of income, unusual pain, suffering, and hardship. It should also involve significant past and future medical bills.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice
Now that you know what requirements must be met to have a case for medical malpractice, let’s take a look at a few potential outcomes resulting from negligence:
- Failure to diagnose or misdiagnose
- Surgical errors
- Wrong medication or dosage
- Early discharge
- Failure to recognize symptoms
- Child Birth Errors
If you feel that you have been a victim of medical negligence of any kind, contact the Spector Injury & Accident Lawyers. We want to ensure that you receive justice for the improper medical care you received.
