Malpractice

Medical malpractice occurs when a medical practitioner fails at their medical duties to patients, resulting in injury.

Rules on actions against malpractice and qualification vary between states. In some places, you need to notify the medical professional or institutions of your intentions to seek legal redress ahead of time.

Here are some of the general principles on malpractices.

Basic Requirements

Before a medical malpractice claim can stand, the patient must prove the following:

There Was a Doctor-Patient Relationship

The patient must demonstrate they had hired the doctor, and the doctor must have agreed to attend to them. You cannot claim harm from following some overheard medical advice.

Questions often arise when the medical professional doesn’t treat the patient directly.

There Was Negligence

There must be actual negligence in diagnosis and treatment.

You must prove the physician caused harm in a manner that a competent physician would not have in the same situation.

However, the care provided need not necessarily be the best but reasonably careful and skilful. The patient must demonstrate a deviation from the standard of care to prove malpractice.

The Injury Was From the Negligence

It is hard to prove medical malpractice because patients are usually sick when they seek medical attention. As such, it’s complicated to distinguish between something the doctor did negligently and the effect of the medical condition. The patient must show the doctor’s actions more likely than not contributed to the harm.

There Were Particular Damages to the Injury

A claim for medical malpractice cannot stand in the absence of harm. Damages or harm can be mental anguish, physical pain and additional medical bills. It can also include the loss of earning capacity.

Categories of Medical Malpractices

• Improper treatment is when the physician treats the patient in a way that a competent doctor would not or administers the therapy inappropriately.
• Failure to diagnose: a strong malpractice claim is possible where it is proved that a better outcome was possible if a competent doctor provided a different diagnosis.
• Failure to warn of risks: GPs have a duty of informed consent toward their patients, and failure to inform them of known risks is negligence.
• Improper treatment: treatment that is different from what a competent doctor would have provided can result in a malpractice claim.

Medical malpractice falls under a complex group of laws that vary between jurisdictions. Our competent lawyers can help navigate the malpractice claim to ensure a favorable outcome. Contact us today.