Find Medical Malpractice Attorney By Lorraine Fisher
Medical malpractice is the general term for negligence or harmful behavior by a medical professional or hospital against a patient. It could include the dispensing of improper medication or an incorrect diagnosis and treatment plan. Essentially, it applies to any instance in which the doctor made a mistake.
How Big a Problem Is It?
Many health professionals have opted to leave their chosen field, simply because the rates of malpractice insurance have risen too high. But there is good reason for the astronomical costs of doing business: a large number of people are being harmed by those who are there ostensibly to help them improve their health. One study, published by the Harvard Medical Practice Study in 1990 in its report to the state of New York, cited the deaths of 80,000 people in the United States, annually, due to medical malpractice. These are alarming figures, particularly in light of the fact that they are based only on hospital statistics and do not include cases from clinics and private doctors' offices.
What Must be Proven?
For a successful claim of medical malpractice, the injured party must prove certain cases: that the doctor made a mistake, that the mistake caused injury, and what damages resulted from the injury. The damages might be physical (even death, in which case a family member would most likely bring the suit), financial (due to loss of wages from work), or medial bills.
Types of Cases
"Medical malpractice” is a relatively broad term that encompasses many different types of actions or omissions. The following are some of the cases that a court reviewing a medical malpractice case might hear:
• Failure to diagnose a disease
• Anesthesia related incident during surgery
• Failure to obtain the patient's informed consent for an operation or procedure
• Improper treatment of a disease or condition
• Misuse of prescription drugs or misuse of a device or implant.
All of these actions can have serious consequences. Any person who feels that wrongdoing has occurred on the part of his or her attending physician should seek help from an attorney specializing in medical malpractice.
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