Healthcare providers have a responsibility to care for their patients. When their actions fall below the standard of care they are obligated to provide, those patients can be hurt due to medical malpractice.
Examples of medical malpractice
There are several examples of medical malpractice, and patients can suffer a wide range of injuries, some of which are severe. If a healthcare provider does not diagnose you promptly or misdiagnoses you, it can cause your condition to progress and limit your treatment options.
They can also make a mistake when performing surgery, by operating on the wrong section of your body, not closing your wound properly or by leaving surgical instruments inside your body. This can cause you immense pain and require you to have additional surgeries.
Healthcare providers can also prescribe the wrong medicine, the wrong dosage or a medication that causes an adverse reaction. You can be hurt if the healthcare professional does not monitor you correctly, administers too much or too little anesthesia or does not sanitize the treatment area properly.
You may seek compensation from the healthcare provider for medical malpractice.
Elements of a claim
To successfully prove a medical malpractice claim, you must meet several elements. There must have been a relationship between you and the healthcare provider involving medical services and you must show that the healthcare provider breached the standard of care in providing those services. The standard of care involves the level of skill and diligence a competent professional would provide under the same or similar circumstances.
You must show that their breach of the standard of care caused your injuries and that you suffered actual damages, such as additional medical costs, emotional harm or lost wages, for example.
