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medical malpractice
Medical malpractice typically occurs when a doctor, nurse or other health care professional injures a patient with negligent or inappropriate medical care. If a doctor or hospital provides poor medical care, it can result in permanent damage or sometimes death of a patient. Moreover, the physical and emotional impact of a medical malpractice incident is extremely difficult to cope with. Loved ones of medical malpractice victims face overwhelming debt from expensive medical bills, funeral costs, lost of financial support and companionship. If you and or other loved ones have been affected by a medical malpractice incident, Roberts Attorneys At Law can help alleviate the stress by answering your claims-related questions and fight for the maximum compensation you deserve.
Examples of Medical Malpractice:
Failure to Diagnose or Misdiagnosis - A failure to diagnose occurs when a disease or condition is not correctly diagnosed at the time it should have been, while a misdiagnosis is an incorrect diagnosis – either a missed diagnosis or a “false positive.” Cancer, stroke, and heart attacks are some of the conditions most commonly involved in these cases.
Surgical Errors - Surgeries that are performed on the wrong location of the body, surgeries that leave foreign objects inside patients, or operations that result in possible nerve injuries are some typical kinds of surgical errors.
Birth Injuries - A birth injury is a condition caused by medical negligence, which is much different from a birth defect, which is a genetic condition. Brachial plexus injuries, post-partum hemorrhaging, retained placenta, forceps injuries, and cerebral palsy are some of the most common birth injuries.
Anesthesia Errors - Delayed delivery of anesthesia, error in the anesthesia dosage, and failure to monitor anesthesia are common anesthesia errors.
Medication Errors - A physician may prescribe a medication that proves unsafe for a patient. Similarly, a pharmacy could provide the wrong medication or dosage to a patient.
* Not all types of medical malpractice fall into the above categories. When you believe you have been a victim of medical malpractice, contact our law firm to help determine the best way to handle your claim.
Who May Be Liable?
- Any medical professional or institution can commit medical malpractice, including: doctors, nurses, surgeons, dentists, counselors, psychiatrists, doctor’s offices, and hospitals. If the individual is a professional working in the medical field and has direct responsibility for your care, they can also be negligent with such a duty.
Types of Compensable Medical Malpractice Damages:
Damages in malpractice cases can be divided into three main categories: special damages, general damages, and punitive damages.
Special damages include any injuries that are specific and of measurable worth. For example, income lost as a result of time off work because of the injury and past and future medical bills fall into this category.
General damages are harder to define and quantify and often require a professional witness to help assign a value. Damages for intangibles like pain and suffering, emotional trauma and loss of enjoyment of life are difficult to measure, but nevertheless should be part of your recovery.
Punitive damages are only awarded when the negligence was especially egregious. As its name implies, this kind of damage not only seeks to compensate the victim, but to punish the doctor.
* Consult with an attorney to discuss and verify the most current state cap on medical malpractice damages awards and relevant statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice claim.
Proving Negligence in a Medical Malpractice Claim:
Your action will need to prove the following four components:
Duty of Care - The medical professional or entity had an obligation to the patient to maintain a standard of care.
Breach of Duty - The medical professional or entity breached that duty of care by departing from the standard of care.
Causation - That breach of duty caused the patient to suffer injuries.
Damages - The patient’s injuries resulted in damages.
If you believe that you have been the victim of negligent medical treatment or that your treatment was wrongly prescribed, contact Roberts Attorneys at Law to discuss your case.
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