Been to the hospital recently and feel like the doctor didn’t treat you right? Building a case for medical malpractice is actually a lot more complicated than it looks. First you have to prove or show your doctor made a mistake AND you, as a patient, were harmed because of that mistake. Proving both these factors is not fast and easy, and this is why medical malpractice cases are long and complicated.
What Exactly Is Medical Malpractice?
When any healthcare professional, a doctor, nurse or technician, causes injury or harm to the patient, that healthcare professional has committed “medical negligence.” When building a case these two steps have to be kept in mind: mistake by a medical professional AND harm to the patient.
Medical Negligence
It could be any kind of mistake that could have occurred at any time during the treatment of the patient. Your doctor is required to provide ‘standard care’, which is the generally accepted method for all other medical professionals in your area. All patients have to be treated under similar circumstances. When building a case, you have to sufficiently prove your doctor didn’t follow the standard care method for your diagnosis or treatment. If you successfully prove this fact, you have a viable claim for medical malpractice.
Injury or Damage
The second step is the patient has to show sufficient proof the mistake caused them harm or worsened their condition. However, if no harm or injury has occurred, the patient has no claim even if the medical professional was negligent. If you were harmed or injured, you have to show ‘causation’ which means the patient was harmed directly because of the doctor’s negligence. Proving causation is the most difficult part of this battle and you need to bring in an expert witness to explain the cause.
If you feel you have a medical malpractice case but don’t really know what steps to take, contact The Fitzgerald Law Firm right now for a free consultation!