It’s a term many people hear, medical malpractice, but do many people know what constitutes medical malpractice? Medical malpractice is when a health provider, through a negligent act or omission, causes harm to a patient.
To be considered medical malpractice under the law, the following criteria must be met:
A violation of the standard of care
There are certain medical practices that are accepted in the medical community as being reasonable, this is known as the standard of care. It is reasonable that a patient can expect these standards when receiving medical treatment. If the standard of care is not met, you can establish negligence.
An injury was caused by the negligence
To prove malpractice, it is not sufficient to prove that the standard of care was not met, but one must prove that injury resulted as a result of the negligence. The patient must also prove that the injury would not have resulted had the standard of care been followed. If an injury occurred during a medical procedure not related to negligence, or negligence did not cause an injury, you cannot prove malpractice.
The injury resulted in significant damages
Medical malpractice cases are expensive to pursue, often taking a lot of time and energy as well as testimony from medical experts. The damages caused by malpractice must outweigh the cost of taking the case to court. The patient must show that the malpractice caused serious injury resulting in disability, unusual pain, loss of income, hardship, or significant medical bills.
There are many types of medical malpractice, below are just a few examples:
Failure to diagnose or misdiagnose
Misreading or ignoring laboratory results
Unnecessary surgery
Surgical errors or wrong site surgery
Improper medication or dosage
Failure to order proper testing
If you believe that you or a family member is a victim of medical malpractice, please contact us.