Whenever you put your health in the hands of a professional, you expect them to meet basic competency standards. Doctors, nurses, hospitals, clinics, and other health providers should meet the basic standard of medical care. Unfortunately, preventable errors and negligence still occurs that results in severe harm to patients.
When a health provider’s negligence hurts you, a medical malpractice claim is the remedy. This allows individuals to recover for costs related to the injury, including economic and non-economic damages.
The goal of a claim is to put you in the financial position you were in prior to the negligent act as much as possible. A lawyer can help you understand some common types of medical malpractice, whether you qualify for a claim, and your potential remedies.
Defining Medical Malpractice
If a medical provider fails to adhere to the standard of care, this can be considered malpractice. All health professionals must provide competent patient care, but determining this standard depends on the specific scenario.
In addition to a patient’s condition, diagnosis, and treatment, a factfinder must understand what a provider did or failed to do. Only then can they determine negligence. The more established the standard of care, the greater the likelihood that a court will determine deviation from it as malpractice.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice can take many forms, and it is helpful to have some idea of the most common types that we handle. For example, you could hold someone accountable for errors in opthamology, neurology, cardiology, or any other medical field. Doctors or hospitals can be held accountable if a patient becomes infected, falls out of their bed, is neglected, or is discharged prematurely. Medical caregivers and their employers can also be on the hook for damages if they do their job while impaired, overworked, or without proper training.
There are also broader categories of malpractice that we commonly see.
Failed or Misdiagnosis
One of the primary forms of medical malpractice is misdiagnosis or failed diagnosis. If a practitioner does not detect a person’s condition, it delays treatment, and the problem may progress. In some cases, this leads to irreversible damage. Even worse, misdiagnosis can lead to a patient receiving treatment that makes their condition worse. If another physician with the same experience and in the same circumstances would have caught the condition, then negligence may have occurred.
Surgical Errors
Mistakes during surgery are another common type of medical malpractice. They are particularly dangerous since the patient is usually unaware and cannot advocate for themselves. Some errors include:
People are also vulnerable when being treated in the hospital or emergency room. The staff may fail to diagnose a severe condition and discharge a patient instead of providing care. They might also administer the wrong medications or dosages, or use the wrong medical devices.
Birth Injuries
Injuries that happen at or just before birth are another frequent form of malpractice. Staff can cause harm to the birthing mom or the baby through negligence, leading to lifelong disabilities, including brain damage, Cerebral Palsy, and paralysis.
Regardless of the type of malpractice, a person must demonstrate how the medical provider fell short of the standard of care. In addition, they must show that the deviation led to harm and prove the monetary value of the injury. Personal injury attorneys can help plaintiffs establish these elements for their claim.
Not All Unsuccessful Treatment Is Malpractice
One of the most complicated aspects of medical malpractice is that it does not encompass all negative results. Modern medicine cannot cure every condition; some treatments work for certain people but not others.
Similarly, surgeries are inherently dangerous, and adverse outcomes can occur even when the standard of care is followed. Simply having a poor health outcome is not enough to establish malpractice.
The primary determinant of medical malpractice is whether a provider deviated from a standard of care. To help answer that question, seasoned attorneys can compare the health professional’s actions to the standard.
Learn More About Some Common Medical Malpractice Types Today
When you are harmed through medical means and believe it may be a case of malpractice, The Weitz Firm, LLC will examine the circumstances of your case, your injuries, and the type of care you received.
Using that information, we can determine if you have a malpractice case. If so, we will help you file an insurance claim and can represent you in a lawsuit if negotiations are unsatisfactory. Schedule a free consultation with one of our hardworking attorneys today to learn more about some common types of medical malpractice.
