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You put your trust and faith in medical professionals when there is an injury or illness to mend, but what happens when medical staff or a facility fails to provide the right duty of care? Negligence can be devastating in the medical field. Under what circumstances would you have a malpractice case?
These questions are common throughout the medical industry. Patients that receive substandard care are often wary and unclear on their rights, leading them to delay any legal action. Malpractice happens daily, and understanding your rights can help you get the compensation and justice you deserve.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
A common question that legal professionals like the experts at Tario & Associates deal with is uncovering the definition of malpractice. Until patients understand what qualifies as malpractice, more will end up not pursuing an action for their cases.
Medical malpractice occurs when a hospital, doctor or other health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, causes an injury to a patient. This definition goes beyond simple mistakes; there must be the presence of negligence existing within the error for the action to be considered malpractice.
What Is Negligence?
Negligence can be determined when a medical professional’s actions when compared to what is expected are below the standard. This means that whenever the appropriate and medically accepted actions are not followed, there may be a case for negligence. Medical professionals are held to a specific standard of care. In malpractice cases, the performance and treatment of a patient is compared to the acceptable procedures to determine if there has been negligence.
Common Medical Negligence
A standard of care breach can occur in any situation where a doctor or medical professional fails to provide the accepted levels of care that should be practiced in all circumstances. For example, if the expectation is that certain tests or procedures are expected during a medical emergency, and a doctor or medical staff member fails to follow those situational protocols, it could be considered negligence. These are some examples of common medical negligence:
- Delayed or missed diagnosis
- Birth injuries
- Lack of informed consent
- Misread screenings or test results
- Medication errors
- Abuse or neglect
Get Professional Advice
Medical malpractice cases can be very complex and you should talk to a professional attorney about your case before taking any action. There are very specific rules of law that need to be followed as you build a case which can be overwhelming for patients without any legal background. Working with a legal advocate can increase your chances of mounting a successful case and getting the compensation and justice that you deserve.
Mistakes happen in every industry. However, when there are errors made when a human life is on the line, decisions made in the moment can end up being tragic. If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of malpractice talk to an attorney today about your case.