Medical Malpractice: What Victims Must Know

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Medical malpractice is the failure of a health care professional or provider to give the necessary treatments, medicines, and care a patient needs. It may cause harm, injury or death.

Medical malpractice commonly involves error in diagnosis, dosage, health management, treatment, and aftercare. Doctors or nurses can be considered legally responsible if they fail to give the quality of care that a competent medical professional would normally provide, according to HG.org.

If you think you’re a victim of medical malpractice, you should consult with an attorney first to see if the incident that caused harm or death can be considered a malpractice. A hospital, doctor or other health care professional is not always liable for all the harms a patient experiences.

Misdiagnosis. It is a major cause of malpractice complaints. Missed or delayed diagnosis may prevent patients from receiving necessary treatments they need at a certain period of time. Misdiagnosis can also lead to prescription of wrong treatments, which may cause harm.

Medication Errors. Improper dosage has been considered the most common medication error. Medication errors also involve the doctor’s mistake on initial prescription, providing inappropriate drugs, and failure to notice a potentially harmful drug interaction.

Childbirth Injuries. It can be considered a medical malpractice if the fetus is injured during pregnancy or during the birth process. These injuries can be brain injuries, fractured bones and full or partial paralysis.

Anesthesia Errors. Even a small anesthesia error can lead to permanent injury, brain damage or death. One of the most common errors is giving too much anesthesia to the patient.

Surgery Errors. This medical malpractice can be puncturing an organ or blood vessel, operating on the wrong body part, or leaving surgical equipment inside the body.

There is a medical malpractice law that allows patients to recover compensation from any harm caused by sub-standard treatment. Each country has different standards and regulations for medical malpractice so you must know how failures of medical professionals can be considered a medical malpractice.

How to Determine Medical Malpractice

According to Medical News Today, a claim needs to have some characteristics for medical malpractice to be considered.

Failure to provide a proper standard of care. There are recognized medical standards stated by the law that medical professionals should follow when providing care for patients. If they clearly violated these standards, they will be liable for malpractice.

An injury was the consequence of negligence. It is important to know that if a patient only claims he/she is not happy with the service of a health care professional, it will not be considered a malpractice. The patient must prove that there’s an injury or harm caused by the negligence of the doctor or other health care professionals. For legal guidance in such situations, consult with experts like Case Assist: Oklahoma City, OK for necessary assistance and advice.

The patient’s injury must have very damaging consequences. Lawyers would consider a claim as a medical malpractice if the injury or harm caused by negligence led to considerable damages, such as suffering, enduring hardship, having to live in constant pain, loss of income, and disability.

If the injury is minor, the process may take longer than usual. However, if you believe you or someone you know has suffered at the hands of medical malpractice, don’t hesitate to contact an attorney.

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