When you go to the doctor, you expect to leave feeling better. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Doctors, surgeons, and other medical professionals can act negligently and this can result in unnecessary pain and suffering. Sometimes, it is difficult to tell who is at fault for a medical error. If you suspect that you or a loved one have been a victim of medical malpractice or negligence, you should call Grabb & Durando as soon as possible. A malpractice lawyer from our team of attorneys will consult with you and help you determine how to proceed.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is when a healthcare professional causes injury to a patient because they did not meet a certain standard of care. This can involve causing harm either by not taking actions that they should have taken or taking the wrong actions. You can make a malpractice claim against any type of healthcare providers including doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and pharmacists.
In order to argue your case, your malpractice lawyer will need to establish that the healthcare provider failed to give adequate care. They must also prove that this was the proximate cause (legal cause) of your injury. Legal cause, in this case, means that the professional could have foreseen that their actions would cause damage.
Legal cause is what separates medical malpractice from medical errors. If the individual could not have possibly known that their actions would lead to injury, they are not legally liable. This makes malpractice cases complicated. As a result, it is important to have an experienced lawyer on your side. We can help you determine whether or not you have grounds for a legal case.
Although every situation is different, here are some circumstances when you should consider calling a malpractice lawyer:
Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose
Failing to diagnose a condition or making an incorrect diagnosis can result in delayed treatment, pain and suffering, or even death. In most cases, the law does not hold doctors responsible for diagnostic error. Skilled professionals make incorrect diagnoses even under the best possible circumstances. However, if there is evidence that another doctor would have made the correct diagnosis under similar circumstances, you may have grounds for a lawsuit.
Prescription Drug Error
There are many different individuals who may be involved in the prescription and administration of a drug. Prescription drug error includes when a professional gives you a drug you were allergic to, an incorrect dose, or the wrong medication. In this type of case, your malpractice lawyer will need to determine when the mistake was made and if there was negligence involved.
Anesthesia
Using too much or too little anesthesia during a surgical procedure can result in serious complications. The most severe include waking up during surgery, brain damage due to lack of oxygen, or death. As with any other medical error, establishing malpractice depends on proving that the anesthesiologist was negligent.
Call Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers Today
It can be difficult to determine whether or not a medical error falls under the definition of medical malpractice. If you or a loved one were injured due to the actions of a healthcare professional, you should call us immediately. Our attorneys have extensive experience in personal injury and wrongful death cases and we are here to help you during this difficult time.
