Health care providers, including physicians, hospitals, dentists and nurses, have an obligation to do their jobs with reasonable skill. If any of these medical providers falls short and is negligent in the care they provide, this could be considered medical malpractice. An injured patient can make a legal claim for medical malpractice if the negligence was the direct cause of injury.
In a medical malpractice claim, the injured patient must demonstrate that the medical provider was negligent by comparing what the provider did with what a reasonable medical provider would have done in a similar situation. If any reasonable medical provider would have done better or avoided the mistakes made by the provider in question, this is negligence that can lead to a malpractice claim.
Some of the most common failures on the part of health care providers that lead to malpractice claims include:
- Improper handling of patient records
- Misreading test results, including CT scans, MRIs, X-rays or other lab tests or medical results
- A failure to recognize or respond to the symptoms a patient is exhibiting
- A surgical mistake, including operating on the wrong patient, operating on the wrong body part, or leaving a surgical sponge or tool inside the patient
- Failure to diagnose a medical condition
- Drug errors.
These are just a few of the many medical mistakes that can be made. In any case where a medical provider is negligent in a way that causes harm or that worsens a medical problem, the patient could be entitled to take action. The negligence doesn’t need to be the only cause of the harm, so long as it played a role in worsening the medical problem. Because it can be difficult to determine whether you have a medical malpractice claim, it is advisable to consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney to evaluate your case.
Posted in: Medical Malpractice
