Legal Blog
Are You the Victim of Medical Malpractice?
Patients who have suffered some type of injury or setback while receiving care from medical professionals in Lauderhill, FL may have some uncertainty as to whether a doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider has actually committed medical malpractice. Most often, doctors and hospitals will not admit they have provided substandard care that equates to medical malpractice.
The potential results of medical malpractice are deadly. In fact, medical errors are the third-leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer.
Patients who survive medical malpractice may nevertheless receive a questionable explanation from medical professionals about the complications or injuries they have incurred. This can leave a patient with serious suspicion that they are the victim of medical negligence or malpractice.
The only way to find out what has actually occurred is to retain the services of an experienced medical malpractice attorney who can do a thorough, independent investigation of the situation.
Do you have a med mal claim?Not every unsatisfactory medical treatment constitutes medical malpractice. There is a significant difference between suffering a preventable injury due to a hospital or medical professional's negligence and obtaining unsatisfactory results from a medical treatment or procedure. Medical malpractice involves the delivery of substandard medical care which can include something as serious and rare as leaving surgical instruments inside of a patient to failing to order proper diagnostic tests based on a patient's symptoms.
A mistake made by a doctor during the course of treatment in Lauderhill, FL does not necessarily equate to medical malpractice.
Standard of proof requiredPlaintiffs must prove certain factors in medical malpractice lawsuits in order to successfully recover damages.
The proof required includes:
- The medical provider owed the patient a certain duty of care;
- The medical provider failed to provide that duty of care;
- The patient's harm was caused by this breach of duty; and
- The patient suffered injuries due to the medical provider's action or failure to act.
The medical provider is not required to have provided care that is free of mistakes or even the best care possible. Rather, in evaluating whether a healthcare provider breached its duty of care to a patient, it must have violated the applicable standard of care. That standard is what a reasonable medical provider operating in the same field within the same community would be expected to provide in a similar situation.
Medical expert testimonyMedical malpractice lawsuits usually involve testimony of a medical expert witness who can establish if the care the patient received fell short of reasonably expected professional standards.
Some situations involving medical malpractice are obvious – for instance, when a doctor performs surgery on the wrong body part or the wrong procedure altogether. Other situations require more expert analysis concerning violations of standard procedures among medical teams and the resulting injury to the patient these violations can cause.
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