What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional, such as a doctor, nurse, or technician, fails to provide appropriate care to a patient, resulting in injury, harm, or death. To qualify as medical malpractice, certain circumstances must be present, including:
- A duty of care: The healthcare professional must have had a legal obligation to provide care to the patient, which typically arises from an established doctor-patient relationship.
- Breach of duty: The healthcare professional must have failed to provide care that meets the accepted standard of care for their profession, based on current medical standards and protocols.
- Causation: The healthcare professional's breach of duty must have directly caused the patient's injury or harm.
- Damages: The patient must have experienced measurable harm or injury as a result of the healthcare professional's breach of duty.
Examples of medical malpractice may include misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, improper treatment or medication, surgical errors, anesthesia errors, and nursing errors.
It may be challenging to determine if medical malpractice has occurred, and it typically requires extensive medical knowledge and expert testimony to prove a case. Additionally, certain limitations or exceptions may apply, such as the statute of limitations, which limits the amount of time a plaintiff has to file a lawsuit, or the doctrine of contributory negligence, which may limit or bar a plaintiff's recovery if they were partly responsible for their harm.
If a patient suspects that medical malpractice has occurred, they should seek the advice of a qualified attorney who specializes in medical malpractice cases. The attorney can review the specifics of the case, obtain expert testimony, and provide guidance on options for pursuing legal action.
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