When you mention medical malpractice, most of the time people only have a rough idea of what it is. The term also means different things to different people. Also, what many presume to be a malpractice claim is often not the case. Some of the erroneous notions include; if you’re injured while receiving treatment, then you have a malpractice case; your compensation will always be a huge chunk of money; you always have superior rights of protection as a patient more than physicians do. All these are misconceptions of medical malpractice law brought by misinterpretation of the proper definition. When talking matters law, a clear elucidation is always important. So Let’s demystify that vague grey area of what medical malpractice claim is.
Definition
Without going into complicated legal terminologies and jargons, a medical malpractice claim is an injury that is inflicted to a patient by a physician or a hospital by an act of negligence. The dereliction of duty can occur in varying degrees including the poor management of a health facility, errors in aftercare, treatment, or wrongful administration of a diagnosis. This is not all there is to defining a claim; meaning, other thresholds must also be met for a case to pass as a malpractice claim under the law.
Characteristics of a Medical Malpractice Claim
In order for your petition to be adopted by an attorney, he or she will carefully examine your claim to ascertain its eligibility. Identifying and acknowledging an injury is only one of the many parts of building the case. Here are the rest of the fragments.
Proof of Negligence
Now that you’ve clearly stipulated your injury, you’ll also have to prove that the pain inflicted was an act of utter negligence. Furthermore, you’ll also be required to ascertain that should you not have received treatment from that particular medical institution or doctor, the injury wouldn’t have occurred. Hence, the only cause of your harm was irresponsibility. Bear in mind that either of these two scenarios would not result in a medical malpractice claim. A negligence claim that didn’t give rise to an injury; an injury that has been incurred without an act of carelessness.
Standard of Care
By law, all medical practitioners have a safe area in which they operate, that’s considered as a sound medical practice. Standard of Care is the execution of sound judgment while administering medical services to a patient. It also refers to how other physicians would perform their duties, given the same scenario. By filing a malpractice lawsuit, one of the points you’ll be seeking to establish is on the violation of the standard of care.
Damages
The other hurdle of proving your medical negligence claim is showing substantial evidence that the injury you incurred from the act of negligence impedes you from functioning normally, such as having a permanent injury. Other shreds of evidence include lasting pain, decrease in or complete loss of your earnings, and the burden of a long term medical expenses. It’s clear that medical malpractice cases are some of the most expensive lawsuits. Hundreds of thousands of dollars normally go to expertise skills to examine and build the charges. The team of maestro usually includes a board of medical malpractice lawyers as well as physicians. Having stated that, it’s prudent to note that if you incurred minimal damages, the money you’ll spend to pursue justice might be more than the compensation you’ll receive in return. This is actually the reason why some legal practitioners do turn down a number of cases. Not that the claims aren’t genuine, but the risk-reward isn’t worth it. After all, at the end of the day, lawyers also have to make a living and a profit.
The Next Step
After carefully scrutinizing your claims to pass as a medical malpractice case, you can then contact an attorney. Nashville medical malpractice lawyer Brian Cummings is one of the most decorated legal practitioners in the United States. He has recovered over $25 million for his past clients, giving him a lifetime membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocate Forum. It’s in your best interest to get hold of an attorney that’s in a similar caliber. Only by doing so will you have the best chance for success.
