Medical malpractice is not exactly common, but it does take place. When something like this happens, big firms such as the law offices of Dr Bruce. G Fagel & Associates step in to help claimants sue the hospital or the individual responsible for what has taken place. If they win the case it is likely that they are awarded a hefty amount of damages and the responsible party is likely to be suspended or have their medical license take away.
Many people unfortunately think that doctors and surgeons are perfect, and they will often try to bring malpractice claims against them for things which actually are not classed as malpractice. For example a late cancer diagnosis is not considered as malpractice, despite what many think and despite the damaging impact which this could have.
Definition
Medical malpractice is a specific subset of the law and it is defined as being “any act or omission by a physician during treatment of a patient that deviates from accepted norms of practice in the medical community and causes an injury to the patient”
Incidents of Medical Malpractice
There are some issues which are more often than others in the world of medical malpractice, and here are some issues which we see occur, that warrant a medical malpractice lawsuit.
- Surgical Errors – If an error is made during surgery which leads to additional complications for the patient or further damage to the patient then this could be malpractice. In order for it to be proven so, evidence of an error is not enough. What is required here is evidence of negligence, of miscommunication between the team or a surgeon veering away from what is considered to be the industry standard. A tool left inside the body, operating on the wrong patient or removal of an organ when not required are all examples of where this is considered as malpractice.
- Treatment Errors – If a physician decides to change or alter the treatment which a patient is given, and moves away from what is predefined as the correct treatment, then this is also grounds for a medical malpractice case. Whilst it is not necessary, this will usually be supported by the fact that the alternative treatment option has then caused further damage to the patient, either physical, mentally or emotionally.
Causes
In most cases those fund guilty of medical malpractice are those individuals under high levels of stress, either because of the workplace or because of issues at home. We often see individuals with drink or drug problems which have been hidden from colleagues, and that too can cause such a situation. In most cases however, medical malpractice comes about due to poor communication and very basic administration errors, which is why it is so critical that hospitals and medical centers have a high quality and world class method of dealing with each patient which is methodical and which involves multiple checks by different professionals.
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