What constitutes a medical malpractice case?
Posted in Firm News, Medical Malpractice on March 23, 2019
When the residents of Seattle visit a medical professional, they expect to receive quality medical care and diagnosis for any serious problems they may have. When a doctor or other medical professional is negligent in their treatment, there may be a case for medical malpractice. If you feel you have been treated negligently, you should understand when you have a case for medical malpractice.
According to the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, under the law, the following characteristics must be present for an individual to have a case for medical malpractice. The standard of care must be violated, the negligence must have caused an injury and the injury caused significant damages to the patient.
There are many forms of medical malpractice. The following are a few examples:
- Failing to recognize symptoms of an illness or injury
- Failure to order or request the appropriate testing for the patient
- Improper medication or the wrong dosage of a medication
- Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose
- Ignoring or misreading results from the laboratory
- Wrong site surgery or surgical errors
Injuries can be caused to patients during all parts of the process including treatment, diagnosis, health management or aftercare. Medical malpractice applies not just to physicians or doctors, but also to health care facilities, anesthesiologists, nurses, pharmaceutical companies and any other entity involved in providing health care services to patients. During the case, the purpose is to prove that the organization or individual was at fault. Hospitals can also be held responsible for not only their own negligence, but also for any negligence on the part of an employee.
This information is provided to give you a general idea of what medical malpractice is, but it should not be interpreted as legal advice.