Medical malpractice happens due to the negligent acts of a medical professional, resulting in injury to a patient they have checked and treated. Aside from doctors and nurses, medical malpractice also covers dentists, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers, midwives, occupational therapists, and chiropractors.
In general, these professionals are licensed, board certified, and trained to get to where they are. They will naturally be held to a specific standard of care within their profession, so any deviation of any kind from such standard may be considered malpractice, explains medical malpractice attorneys in Provo, Utah.
Liability in Medical Malpractice Cases
This refers to the individual or parties held legally liable for the injuries of the plaintiff. Generally speaking, the liable party is the one who breached the standard duty of care and has unfortunately caused the malpractice.
In some cases, however, it could be difficult to determine who exactly caused the injuries. This is because liability may involve multiple parties.
Both your doctor and their attending nurse, for instance, can be held liable for your injuries because they were the ones who attended to your needs. In addition, you could hold the entire hospital responsible for the malpractice, particularly if their overall quality of care and policies are inferior — or subpar according to standards.
Common Examples of Medical Practice
Although medical malpractice involves any negligent act that happened while a patient is being treated, the following are the common basis for most medical malpractice claims:
- Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose
- Delayed diagnosis
- Surgical mistakes
- Incorrect treatment methods
- Delayed treatment following a diagnosis
- Inaccurate reading of laboratory results
- Anesthesia errors
- Failure to record the patient’s medical history
- Mistakes in prescribing medication
- Lack of informed consent, which means that the doctor failed to provide sufficient information regarding treatment risks
Proving Medical Malpractice
To establish and prove liability for the negligent acts that resulted in your injury, the following must be true:
- You and a medical professional had a professional relationship in a given time, e.g. patient-doctor relationship
- The medical professional was negligent at some point while treating you, which means that they did not live up to their duty of care
- The negligent actions of the medical professional directly caused your injury
- Your injury resulted in quantifiable damages, such as loss of income, physical pain, disability, and mental pain and suffering
If you are planning on filing a claim against the entire hospital, you need to prove that the hospital was negligent with regards to supervising or training the medical professionals they hire. Depending on the specific circumstances of your claim, you might also be able to sue the federal state or local agencies in charge of operating the hospital.
If you have sustained injuries caused by a medical professional who was treating you and you firmly believe that their negligent acts were the cause, have a personal injury attorney assess your claim as soon as possible. Your attorney will determine the weaknesses and strengths of your claim and help ensure that you receive compensation for your troubles.
