If you believe your doctor or the hospital staff was negligent in your treatment and caused your condition to worsen or you got injured due to the treatment, then you need to get an attorney by your side so that you can get compensated. Also, if you find that your loved one has gotten injured or passed away because the doctor or staff didn’t practice the best standard of care, then you might have a medical malpractice case at hand.
Read on to learn more about the legal action for medical malpractice.
The Complexity of Medical Malpractice Cases
You should know that medical malpractice cases are complex. Sometimes, it is not the doctor’s actual fault – other times – a physician or healthcare professional might cause injury or even death due to their recklessness or their failure to stick to the standards of care.
A medical malpractice lawyer can help identify whether or not a case upholds all potential elements of medical malpractice and whether or not the staff, hospital, or doctor can be held accountable. However, it is important to mention here that the law is different for each state, which is why you must consult a lawyer from your respective state to move forward with the legal action.
For instance, if you reside in Albany and believe that your doctor has been negligent towards you or your loved ones, then you should contact the Albany Medical Malpractice Lawyers, who will assess your situation and explore the best legal venues to hold the responsible party legally accountable. Subsequently, this will help you get the compensation you need.
Important Aspects of A Medical Malpractice Case
Essentially, a medical malpractice case must comprise some important aspects, which refer to the following:
Breach of Duty: The lawyer must establish that the doctor or the hospital staff breached the duty of care that they originally owed to the patient. The lawyer and their team must be able to establish through evidence that there was a dereliction of this duty of care, which caused the patient’s injury or death.
Establishment of Damages: With the help of their team, which includes doctors, the lawyer must calculate the potential financial and non-financial losses that the patient suffered due to their injury or illness caused by the doctor’s negligence or malpractice.
Together with their team, the lawyer will collect evidence to show in court that these strong elements of medical negligence or malpractice exist. Subsequently, the lawyer will pursue compensation for you.
Examples of Breach of Duty of Care Originally Owed to the Patient
There are several ways that a physician or a hospital staff might breach the duty of care to their patients, which can then form the basis of a medical malpractice or a medical negligence case. Some of such examples include the following:
- Leaving a gauze inside the patient’s body
- Leaving a surgical tool inside the patient’s body
- A failure to recognize the health condition
- Missing a diagnosis
- Prescribing the wrong dose
- Prescribing the wrong medicine
It is important to mention here that doctors are humans just like us, which is why they might not have acted out of malice but made an honest mistake. Nonetheless, their mistake might have caused you or your loved one to become ill or develop a lifetime health issue, such as a disability, which can lay the foundation of a medical negligence case.
Medical Malpractice vs Negligence
You might be wondering about the difference between medical malpractice and negligence, which is why we are here to tell you that they are the same thing. Both terms refer to when someone is injured due to a potential mistake made by a medical professional, who can be a doctor, a nurse, or a hospital staff.
Generally, the term negligence refers to the failure to use reasonable or standardized care under specific circumstances. On that note, when a medical professional causes negligence, it is referred to as medical negligence. It is also referred to as medical malpractice.
Doctors And Nurses Are Required to Act Reasonably Under All Circumstances
It is important to mention here that doctors, like everyone else, are held to the same standard of care – whether you call it medical negligence or medical malpractice. Doctors and hospitals are required to act reasonably under the circumstances – just as everyone else, such as when crossing the road or driving a car. In other words, doctors cannot act in any other way than what is reasonable in the circumstances.
If doctors act in some unreasonable way, under the circumstances, they will be held responsible for their conduct. In the course of their jobs, if doctors or healthcare professionals do something unreasonable under the circumstances or they fail to use ordinary, reasonable care while doing their jobs, they will be held accountable.
Medical malpractice or medical negligence, whatever you want to call it, are then the same thing.
When Should I Call a Medical Malpractice Lawyer and File a Claim?
Now that you know what can potentially make a solid medical malpractice case, you should consider contacting a medical malpractice lawyer if you think that the doctor or healthcare professional has failed to stick to the standards of care and caused you harm or injury, especially if the injury resulted in a disability or loss of wages as you might have been unable to return to work.
On that note, you should actually get legal help if you have experienced the following:
- A life-threatening injury
- Prolonged hospitalization
- Significant disability
- Loss of income
- Misdiagnosis
- Failure to diagnose your illness
- Negligence in a nursing home
- Use of a defective medical device
- Wrong medicines
The lawyer will help assess the case as medical malpractice or negligence cases are usually complex, which means that they require detailed legal attention and expertise to determine whether you should proceed with filing a claim against the doctor or hospital. Usually, the lawyer will only proceed with the case if they see that you have the potential to win the case against the staff or doctors.
Final Thoughts
With the help of a medical malpractice attorney, you will be able to bring forward evidence to exhibit a possible and relevant link between your injury and the negligence of the doctor. Your case can be clear or challenging, especially if you receive treatment from several physicians. Nonetheless, a professional attorney is your best bet to win the case and get compensated for the financial and non-financial damages.