When you visit a doctor, you expect that you will feel better after the visit than you did before. However, it is usually not the case. Whether you had a botched surgery resulting in an injury or suffered because of misdiagnosis, medical malpractice may cause death and serious injuries. So, what should you know about medical malpractice?
What Does Medical Malpractice Mean?
Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional has not met the standard of care. For breaching the standard of care, medical professionals or doctors must have done something irrational under the circumstances, meaning, another doctor would not do the same in that particular circumstance. If an injury occurs because of this unreasonable inaction or action, medical malpractice exists.
Some common examples of medical malpractices are:
- Misleading lab results
- Unnecessary errors in surgery
- Unrequired surgery
- Improper dosage or medication
- Early discharge from hospital
- Failure to diagnose
- Misdiagnosis
- Failing to take or ignoring the medical history of a patient
- Failure to order proper testing or recognize symptoms
Is Medical Malpractice Common?
In the U.S., medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death. Every year, due to medical malpractice, lives of up to 400,000 patients are lost. Moreover, up to twenty times that figure suffer injuries from medical malpractice that do not result in death.
Does Medical Malpractice Always Exist When There is a Bad Outcome?
It is not necessary. Every medical process has risks and each individual responds differently to the treatments. However, the fact is, even with the best doctors and in the best circumstances, bad results can happen. Even with highly advanced treatments, the health of a patient can deteriorate in the absence of any negligence. In order to prove a medical malpractice case, a bad outcome of the procedure is necessary, a bad outcome, however, does not mean the medical malpractice was present.
Is There Any Limit For Filing a Medical Malpractice Case?
There is a time limit for filing a medical malpractice case depending on where you live. This is why consulting a Miami medical malpractice attorney becomes necessary. Depending on the situation, this time limit varies. For example, a minor patient has to wait until they turn eighteen to file lawsuit against their negligent provider. But if a minor dies because of medical negligence, the parents have 2 years to file the case. Additional limitations apply injuries involving mental incapacity and obvious injuries.
How to Know If Medical Malpractice Happened?
Proving medical malpractice can be complex and this is why it is recommended to discuss the medical injury with an experienced attorney before you make decisions about whether or not you should file a case. There are 4 steps to prove that medical malpractice took place. These elements should exist to prove the medical malpractice case –
- You must prove that medical negligence was present
- There needs to be a doctor-patient relationship
- You must prove that the injury occurred due to negligent behavior
- You must prove that the injury resulted in damages
The above-mentioned points comprise all the important things that you need to know about medical malpractice. For any other queries, if you have, we are here to answer.
