Medical Malpractice and Legal Consequences

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What are negligence and malpractice?

Hospitals, doctors, and other health care professionals who commit medical malpractice may cause patient injury through negligence or omission. Negligence may result from errors made during diagnosis, treatment, aftercare, or management of health information.

No science is perfect, including medicine. Despite practicing at the highest standards, a patient can suffer injury or die. You might be able to recover compensation if a physician or other healthcare professional caused injury, illness, or death by reckless acts or omissions.

In medical malpractice cases, there are many factors to consider. To hold a negligent clinician or facility accountable for medical malpractice, your lawyer can determine if your case complies with the four elements of medical malpractice.

When to consider legal action?

Patients are entitled to expect that health care professionals will deliver care per established standards. It’s possible to establish negligence if the standard of care was not met.

An unfavorable outcome by itself does not constitute malpractice. Rather, the patient must demonstrate that the injury was caused by negligence. A case can’t be brought if an injury didn’t occur due to negligence or if negligence did not cause an injury. For instance, lawyers for breast cancer malpractice follow strict protocols and consider everything to provide justice to the plaintiff.

 

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A malpractice claim can only be pursued if the patient has been disabled, lost income, suffered unusual pain, suffered hardship, or has significant past and future medical bills.

A medical malpractice lawyer can find evidence linking a doctor’s negligence to your injuries in most cases. A medical malpractice case should consider the following factors:

  • It is important to know your age, gender, and medical history risk factors.
  • If you’re being treated for multiple medical conditions.
  • The number of physicians who treat you.

Negligent medical professionals rarely admit liability or wrongdoing. Because of this, victims often pay for lawyers and investigators to track down the evidence.

In a medical malpractice investigation, the following four elements may be analyzed:

  • Gathering medical records, test results, and other evidence of medical care.
  • Obtaining expert medical testimony.
  • Conducting a review of previous malpractice claims and complaints.
  • Establishing a timeline of events and parties involved.
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How to distinguish between negligence and malpractice?

In both negligence and malpractice cases, the plaintiff seeks compensation for losses instead of punishing the defendant. An individual liable for a victim’s damages in a civil suit does not have to have broken the law. Simply breaching the plaintiff’s duty of care would be enough for the defendant to be held liable. 

As a general rule, both cases carry the same burden of proof. It’s up to the plaintiff to prove that he owes a duty of care, that this duty was breached, and that he has suffered damage. Additionally, malpractice claims could have different statutes of limitations than negligence claims.

-In Collaboration with duffyduffylaw.comᐧ 

 

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