KKHC&T advocates a wide range of cases involving personal injuries resulting from medical treatment. Medical negligence occurs when a healthcare provider – which can include dentists, nurses and therapists as well as doctors - fails to meet certain minimum standards of care while providing medical treatment to a patient. The catastrophic results may include permanent disfigurement, paralysis, or death. Insurance companies often pressure clients to dismiss their right to legal counsel and settle hastily. It’s important for you to consult with an attorney regarding your legal rights. Our attorneys can represent you in medical negligence/malpractices cases resulting from a medical practitioner’s actions or inactions regarding:
- Misdiagnosis
- Failure to diagnose
- Failure to provide appropriate treatment
- Unreasonable delay in treating a diagnosed condition
To receive a free case review, please contact us or fill out our free case review online form.
1. What is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice is a negligent or careless act by a doctor, hospital, or other health care provider. It is the breach of the accepted standard of care that is recognized by other providers who are practicing with similar training in the same field of medicine. It can result from a failure to act or from acting improperly.
Examples would include: the failure to properly read an x-ray showing a cancerous tumor; the administration of an excessive dose of medication; the misdiagnosis of a life-threatening condition; surgery on the wrong limb; and failure to remove a surgical sponge at the end of an operation. There are many other circumstances of medical malpractice in the medical and legal literature.
2. When should I suspect that medical malpractice may have occurred?
Probably the most likely indicator that medical malpractice may have occurred is the dramatically different or unexpected result of treatment or surgery. An example would be serious brain injury following relatively minor surgery.
Another telltale sign is the failure of the provider to give a good explanation for a worsened condition of the patient or of the sudden death of the patient.
There are also instances in which nurses or doctors or other providers make critical statements of prior care. These statements sometimes turn out to be accurate indicators of medical malpractice even though they may never be repeated in a legal setting.
3. Are there some common patterns of medical malpractice?
Yes, certain common patterns seem to occur more frequently than others. However, there are situations that do not seem to fit any pattern.
A few of the common patterns of medical malpractice are the following:
- failure to diagnose a condition or to diagnose a condition in time to treat it properly;
- failure to treat a condition properly;
- failure to monitor or observe the patient;
- failure to perform surgery properly;
- failure to order necessary tests; and
- failure to consult with specialists.
4. How can I determine if a doctor, hospital, or other health care provider has committed medical malpractice?
It is extremely difficult for a patient or the relative of a patient to determine on their own whether or not medical malpractice has occurred. This is true because of the complexity of the medical and legal questions that must be answered.
If there is a suspicion that medical malpractice has occurred, it is advisable to consult with an attorney experienced in medical malpractice. This consultation is usually without charge. By the end of the consultation, the attorney is usually able to answer the first question that should be asked, does this situation (including the injury or death) justify further investigation into the possibility that medical malpractice has occurred? In order to answer this question the attorney calls on his or her knowledge of the law of medical malpractice and the types of claims that have a reasonable chance of success.
At the conclusion of the initial attorney consultation, it is common for a plan of action to be set in motion for the further evaluation of the potential claim. This may include obtaining all relevant medical records and the selection of a medical expert or experts to provide important opinions concerning the standard of care and the injury or death.
5. Should a claim for damages be made for every act of medical malpractice?
Unfortunately, not every act of medical malpractice justifies the filing of a formal claim for damages. It is advisable to discuss the potential benefits of a medical malpractice claim with an experienced attorney in order to weigh them against any downside risks and disadvantages.
