Every time our loved one or we get injured, sick, or need medical treatment, we trust our doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to help us get well. Our trust is because they are professional and dedicated to giving the best possible care.
Often, our medical professional will do their best as diligently as possible. But what if they fail to do so? What if a doctor or surgeon put your life at risk? In the recent study from Johns Hopkins, it shows that medical errors ranked third in the leading cause of death in the United States, right behind heart disease and cancer.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice happens when the acts of the medical professional or a doctor are subpar and do not meet the standards set by the medical community for caring and attending to a patient. As a result, the patient gets injured, or his/her life is put at risk. In short, if the medical provider fails to give you treatment or care that others who have the same training would have, the health care professional will become liable for the injuries or losses.
Examples of Medical Malpractice
Postoperative Negligence
This type of malpractice refers to the subsequent and monitoring care, which a patient receives after an operation. The surgeon is responsible for monitoring their patients for other complications that may come after treatment or surgery like treating and preventing infections, giving detailed instruction to the patient for post-surgery care and preventing complications. If the doctor fails to do so, the patient may suffer severe injury, and they have a valid lawsuit on their hands.
Anesthesia Errors
There are three types of anesthesia that a doctor may employ on a patient: general, local, and general. Each of this anesthesia has its purpose. One of the most common complications of anesthesia error is awareness or when a patient wakes up in the middle of the surgery and become aware of what is going on. Patients who are victims of anesthesia errors can file for a claim for physical and emotional injury.
Emergency Room Errors
The emergency room is a hectic place where everything is rushed, and in this condition, the medical professionals should still uphold the standard of care for the patients. In some cases, though, negligence of doctors, nurses, and other staff members still occur, which can lead to a severe and debilitating injury. When these errors occur, the victims can file a claim and get compensation.
Hospital Indirect Liability
The hospital can also be held liable for the injuries that are caused by the disregard of their employees, which includes the nurses, technicians, among others because it is their role to supervise and direct their employees. This liability lawsuit covers the negligence of their employees, including the systemic issues inside the hospital, the unreasonably long lines at the emergency room and infections from unclean instruments.
Hospital Malpractice
Patients can also file a hospital negligence lawsuit against the hospital where they got injured. The hospital is charged because they did not evaluate their employees adequately. If they hired qualified employees, they could be held liable for the injury caused by the employee’s negligence.
Errors from Medical Device
The medical devices are regularly used to treat the patients in the hospital, sometimes their misuse or failure can result in an injury or worse death to a patient. A manufacturer’s defect can cause it or misused by the medical professional due to inadequate training, lack of skills or negligence.
What does a Medical Malpractice Attorney Do?
When you search for medical malpractice lawyers near me, you will find a lot of results. But you must make sure that you know how to differentiate a medical malpractice suit from a personal injury case. They are intertwined in their areas of expertise: medicine and law. Both cases are complicated and require an experienced and skilled attorney. The lawyer should have the following qualities:
- With a firm understanding of medicine
- Can navigate a complicated medical record
- Know the experts to consult and what questions to ask
- Anticipate the strategies of the defendant’s lawyers
Here is what a medical malpractice attorney can do for your claim:
- Reviewing the information, you provide to establish your claim
- Collect evidence to support your claim
- Determine the viability of your claim and the potentially liable parties
- Explain to you your options and legal rights
- Handle the complex procedures the court has
While the facts and evidence may be at your side, the success of your claim is dependent on your medical malpractice attorney to prove it. At Pittsburgh Medical Malpractice Lawyers, they know how to put all these details together and present them to a jury.
If you think that you have a solid case against the medical provider for those injuries which you or your loved one endured from negligence, contact our lawyers today.
