We place an enormous amount of trust in healthcare practitioners and while that trust is usually repaid, some patients do find themselves the recipient of negligent care. Fortunately, although it can be difficult, it is possible to hold negligent healthcare providers accountable for their actions by filing a medical malpractice claim, so if you or a loved one were recently injured due to a doctor, nurse, or hospital’s negligence, it is important to contact an experienced lawyer who can walk you through your legal options.
What is Medical Malpractice?
We are all required to use a certain amount of care in our dealings with others. Some individuals, however, including medical care providers, are obligated to satisfy an even higher standard of care when diagnosing and treating patients. Healthcare professionals who fail to do so can be held liable for resulting damages, but only if the injured patient can provide evidence demonstrating that the healthcare provider in question did not use the level of care, skill, and treatment recognized as both appropriate and acceptable by similar healthcare providers.
Proof of a medical injury is not enough to satisfy this requirement or to create a presumption of negligence on the part of the defendant. The only exception to this rule applies in situations where a foreign body like a sponge, clamp, or surgical needle is found inside a patient, as it is clear that this type of conduct is negligent. In most cases, however, claimants must still provide evidence demonstrating that a physician’s breach of the prevailing standard of care was the proximate cause of his or her injury.
Examples of Medical Malpractice
A wide variety of claims fall under the broad category of medical malpractice, including those based on:
- Diagnosis errors, such as a failure to order proper testing, conduct examinations, or use reasonable care in interpreting the results of a lab test;
- Prescribing the wrong amount or type of medication if the mistake was the result of a failure to take an adequate patient history, a lack of care in note taking, or a failure to communicate with pharmacists;
- Surgical errors, which violate the accepted standard of care, such as using non-sterile instruments, operating on the wrong patient or part of the body, and leaving foreign bodies inside of a patient;
- Anesthesia errors resulting from a failure to monitor a patient’s oxygen during surgery or to take an adequate patient history; and
- Negligent care of a mother or child during pregnancy or childbirth.
All of these forms of medical negligence can result in serious health complications for patients, and in some cases, could even lead to their untimely deaths, making it especially important for patients who are injured through a healthcare provider’s negligence, to speak with an experience attorney about recovering compensation for related losses, including medical bills, lost wages, disability, and pain and suffering.
Call Our Experienced Brandon Medical Malpractice Lawyers Today
To speak with a Brandon medical malpractice lawyer about your own legal options, please call Palmer | Lopez at 813-506-5651 today.
