Personal Injury Lawyer

At some time or another, we will all see a medical professional and be treated for something that is bothering us – whether that is a mild sickness or an invasive surgery. And when we go to the doctor’s office or hospital, we have certain expectations. We expect that the doctors will treat us correctly – that they will accurately diagnosis our symptoms and give us the medicine we need to feel better. We trust that they know more about our illness than we do and we accept and take the prescriptions they prescribe. But every once and a while doctors can make mistakes which can result in terrible consequences. In this post, we’ll discuss what exactly is medical malpractice and what are some common examples.

What is medical malpractice?

In a nutshell, medical malpractice is when a doctor, physician, nurse, or other professional care taker, is negligent towards their patient which resulted in the patient getting injured. All doctors and hospitals abide by a standard of care. These are requirements that have to be met by all employees to ensure the health and safety of all patients. These are based on the expectations patients have when they come to see the doctor. When those standards are ignored or not met, the hospital and medical professionals can be liable for negligence.

What are common examples of medical malpractice?

There are many ways a doctor can be considered negligent. Here are a few of the most common causes for someone to file a medical malpractice lawsuit:

• Error in anesthesia. If someone is given the wrong dosage of anesthesia, it could be cause for a lawsuit. Too much anesthesia is bad for the liver and organs while too little anesthesia means you could wake up on the operating table.
• Childbirth mistake – If a C-section is not performed in a timely fashion during an emergency situation, the family could claim malpractice.
• Misdiagnosis – One of the most common reasons for a malpractice case is a misdiagnosis. Negligence in this situation means that a competent doctor would not have misdiagnosis this patient – that it was clear what they were really suffering from, but the doctor somehow misread the symptoms for whatever reason.
• Mistreatment – When you are supposed to receive one type of treatment, but you receive another is an example of being mistreated. You could be given the wrong prescriptions (which could be life-threatening) or taught the wrong strengthening exercises. Whatever it may be, mistreating an illness can be extremely dangerous and is considered negligence.

Next steps

If, after reading this list, you believe you were a victim of medical malpractice, then you should reach out to a hospital malpractice lawyer Phoenix, AZ. They can help you get the most out of your case in terms of compensation. They will save you time since you won’t have to fill out any of the paperwork and they will gather all the evidence you need for your case. A medical malpractice case generally deals with the medical professional’s insurance lawyer and having someone on your team who can speak to them on their level can be really helpful. Whatever you decide to do, do it quickly. Medical malpractice cases generally have statutes of limitations and plus, it will be easier to find witnesses if you act quickly.

Thank you to our friends and contributors at Rispoli Law, PLLC for their insight into medical malpractice.