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If you have been injured through the negligence of a doctor, hospital or other medical worker, you may be able to receive compensation. Using LegalFish, you can submit your case to our system and be contacted by medical malpractice attorneys who are interested in your issue and screened for experience and integrity. You will have the opportunity to review their credentials and biographical information so that you hire the lawyer that is right for your situation. We know that being injured by medical negligence can be a frightening experience and we are committed to helping you get the right lawyer to assist you. | Submit your case and find the medical malpractice lawyer that is right for you. |  |
INFORMATION ABOUT MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAW
When a person seeks treatment from a physician the parties enter into what is known as a doctor-patient relationship. During the course of this relationship the doctor has a duty to treat the patient's medical problems with a certain level of competence. Under the law, the doctor has a duty to take care of the patient in a manner consistent with care that would be provided by a reasonably prudent doctor in a similar situation. If the doctor fails to meet this standard of care then the doctor is considered to be negligent. If this negligence is the cause of injury to the patient then the doctor shall be considered liable for the injuries. This means that the doctor is responsible for providing monetary compensation to the affected patient. Once these conditions are met, the patient will have a cause of action against the doctor known as medical negligence. Negligence
A plaintiff must show that the doctor did not exercise the appropriate standard of care to prevail on the issue of negligence. This is often the most difficult aspect of the case to prove. A plaintiff must provide expert testimony in the form of other doctors that are willing to testify that the care provided by the doctor in question fell below that of a reasonably prudent doctor in a similar situation. This is often the most complicated and costly aspect of a case. In addition to the treating physician, other entities are often named as defendants in medical malpractice cases. The hospital where the patient received treatment can be a named defendant under the doctrine of “respondeat superior”. This doctrine states that an employer is responsible for the actions of its employees while they are acting within the scope of their employment. Applied to health care, this doctrine allows plaintiffs to sue hospitals for the negligence of its physicians. The doctrine also holds hospitals responsible for the negligence of all its other employees. Plaintiffs, therefore, can sue a hospital for the negligence of a nurse or any other health care professional under its employment. This is important for a plaintiff's case since the hospital often has the greatest ability to pay for any injuries. Types of Negligence Misdiagnosis
A case of medical malpractice can arise from a misdiagnosis. Since a patient's symptoms can often lead to multiple, reasonable diagnoses the occurrence of a misdiagnosis is not necessarily negligence. For every patient, a doctor must consider a wide range of possibilities for the diagnosis. In medical terminology, this is referred to as the “differential diagnosis”. As tests are performed and lab results evaluated, the diagnosis under consideration may change. This is common and does not mean that the doctor was necessarily negligent. It is often possible for doctors to reach two different yet equally reasonable conclusions. It is also possible, however, for the doctor to be negligent in reaching his conclusions. If he reaches an erroneous diagnosis based on faulty reasoning, he can be considered negligent. The doctor can also be negligent if he fails to order the appropriate tests, misinterprets testing results, or is simply dismissive of the patient's complaints. In order to prove the doctor's negligence, the plaintiff will have to provide expert testimony by other doctors. The doctors will have to testify that the doctor did not act as a reasonably prudent doctor would have in a similar situation. Additionally, the plaintiff will have to show that the misdiagnosis resulted in some type of damage. This can take many forms. The patient may suffer injury from a delay in treatment of the correct diagnosis. The patient may have been required to undergo unnecessary testing, treatment and surgical procedures to treat the erroneous diagnosis. The patient may have suffered from emotional and psychological injury from the erroneous diagnosis. In general, the patient must show some form of injury as a result of the misdiagnosis in order to bring a claim. Improper Medical Treatment For any given ailment, there are probably a number of treatment options available for a doctor and patient to consider. The choice of treatment must be determined on a case by case basis. The patient relies on the doctor's expertise in developing a treatment plan. If the treatment plan is not in accordance with applicable standards of care, the doctor may be guilty of medical malpractice. Such a case may arise if the doctor prescribes the wrong medication or makes an error in the dosage. Medications are approved to be used only for specific purposes and situations. Some medications are contraindicated in certain situations. For example, some medications are not appropriate for patients with liver or kidney problems. Some medications are not meant to be combined with certain other medications. The physician's role is to use his professional expertise to determine the appropriate situation in which to prescribe any given medication. If the doctor fails to take the patient's other health problems and medications into account and prescribes an inappropriate medication, he may be guilty of malpractice. It is also the role of the physician to inform patients of the risks and side effects associated with medication. A doctor may also be negligent in not making the appropriate referral to a specialist. Doctors are board certified in their relevant specialty. They often require the expertise of other physicians to adequately treat a patient. If a doctor does not consult with a specialist when such expertise is reasonable and necessary, he may be guilty of negligence. Surgical Error Surgical error or error in performing a medical procedure is a common type of malpractice case. These types of cases are often the type you hear about in the media. The publicity they receive usually comes in two forms. The first is because they can be obvious and egregious and result in significant injury to the patient. The second form is because these are the cases that result in huge awards for plaintiff and are thus the subject of debate when it comes to high health care costs and high malpractice insurance premiums for the doctors. Every medical procedure is associated with the risks. These risks can be unpreventable and often do not arise from any negligence on the part of the doctor. There are many instances, however, where surgical error can result in adverse outcomes for the patient. In these cases, the plaintiff must show that the damages suffered were caused by negligence. The plaintiff must provide other doctors to testify that the doctor in question made a technical error that a reasonably prudent doctor in a similar situation would have avoided. An example of this would be if a doctor severed a nerve during a routine surgical procedure.
Lack of Informed Consent Before a doctor can provide a patient with medical treatment he must obtain that patient's informed consent. Almost every medical treatment and procedure is associated with certain risks and side effects. Most of the time these risks are not under the control of the doctor and do not result from any negligence. Every patient accepts these risks when undergoing treatment. The acceptance of such risks, however, must be predicated on knowledge of their existence. The doctor has a duty to inform the patients of any risks ahead of time so that the patient can make an educated decision about accepting them. If a doctor fails to explain the risks of medical treatment to a patient, he can be held liable for negligence if the patient can prove that he or she would have made a different decision had he known about the risks. In addition to informing patients about the risks associated with medical treatment, doctors are required to inform patients about alternative treatments and procedures available to them. This is part of the process of educating patients so they can make informed decisions regarding their medical treatment. If a patient was not properly informed of risks and available alternatives and he suffered injury as a result, he may have an actionable medical malpractice case. Damages
Proving that negligence was the cause of injury to the plaintiff is essential to any medical malpractice case. The fact that a plaintiff is injured is does not necessarily mean it was caused by negligence. The causal relationship must be established by the plaintiff. Conversely, the fact that the doctor was negligent does not make him liable if the plaintiff cannot prove injury. For example, if a doctor misdiagnoses an illness but the patient suffers no adverse consequences as a result - the doctor cannot be held liable for any damages. Such an instance may arise if the treatment options are still available with no detriment to the patient. Once the causal relationship between negligence and injury is established, the plaintiff can expect some form of monetary compensation. The plaintiff may be compensated for medical expenses, time lost from work, loss of future wages, pain and suffering and any other incidental expenses incurred as a result of the medical malpractice. HIRING A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ATTORNEY Getting the right medical malpractice attorney to represent you can be one of the most important factors in whether you will prevail in your claim for compensation. Medical malpractice cases are often highly complicated, expensive and time-consuming to pursue. Also, tort reform in many states has made it prohibitively difficult to bring a malpractice lawsuit. Because of this, medical malpractice lawyers do not accept most of the cases that come to them. When trying to decide which lawyer you want to hire, you should consider their overall experience as well as their experience handling cases similar to yours. You should also check their bar record, the professional organizations they belong to, and obviously, their fee arrangements. Medical malpractice lawyers typically work on a contingency basis, meaning that they will only collect if you do and they will take 25-40% of what you collect from either a settlement or judgment. If you are interested in hiring medical malpractice attorney, please | 
