Do you believe you’ve suffered a form of medical malpractice?
Doctors and other health care workers possess the duty to safeguard the health of the public. That often includes caring for patients with various conditions, ranging from the minor to the serious.
While many doctors and carers do their jobs well, cases of accidental negligence or intentional abuse do take place. When that happens, you should file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
But what constitutes medical malpractice claims? How do you know if you have a viable case?
Cummings Law is Honolulu’s top personal injury and medical malpractice law firm. Below, we’ll go into the 5 most common types of medical malpractice.
Keep reading to learn more!
Defining Medical Malpractice
What to know what constitutes medical malpractice?
Malpractice occurs when a patient suffers from a doctor or other medical professional failing their duty to care for them in an adequately competent manner. It’s important to note that not all continued patient suffering comes as the result of medical malpractice.
After all, even doctors who treat patients to the best of their ability sometimes struggle to fight off the results of an injury or illness. Yet, some doctors neglect their duty to treat their patients. This comprises malpractice.
When you launch a medical malpractice lawsuit, your lawyer will seek to establish that a doctor (or medical carer) and patient relationship existed between you and the professional in question. Then, the attorney will demonstrate that your doctor was negligent and the negligence caused harm that led to specific damages, such as physical pain.
Civil vs. Criminal Cases
Before you launch a medical malpractice suit, you should know the difference between civil cases and criminal cases.
Why? Medical malpractice suits are civil cases, which means the other party won’t go to prison if you win. Instead, as in many other civil suits, you’re seeking compensation from them.
If you believe your physician has violated the law and deserves to be placed behind bars, consider pressing criminal charges against your physician as well. This will open a criminal case against them, which you can pursue alongside a civil lawsuit.
Types of Medical Malpractice Claims
So, what are the common types of medical malpractice? Want to know if you should call a lawyer?
Below, we’ll discuss the 5 most common types of cases a medical malpractice attorney handles. If your case matches any of the descriptions, you should phone Cummings Law to schedule a consultation.
1. Surgical Procedure Mistakes
Have you recently undergone a procedure in which a surgeon made a mistake? Have you experienced a serious infection after your surgery?
Surgeons have a responsibility to keep their patients safe while on the operating table. They need to implement their procedures adeptly, ensuring no one becomes hurt. Yet, sometimes, injuries on the operating table occur, and these injuries count as medical malpractice.
Some people also experience infections after surgery. If you’re one of them, there’s a chance the infection came about as a result of your treatment. As such, you can pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit.
2. Failure to Treat a Patient
Did you entrust your health to the care and expertise of a medical provider only to have them fail to treat you or select an improper treatment?
Competent physicians should have the ability to diagnose and select treatments for their patients. If the doctor failed to choose a treatment or chose one that no other adequate doctor would have chosen, you have suffered medical malpractice and should contact a personal injury attorney.
A doctor’s failure to give a patient crucial instructions regarding follow-up care or releasing them from the hospital too early also constitutes medical malpractice.
3. Delayed Diagnosis or a Misdiagnosis
Your health and well-being are important. That’s why doctors have a duty to properly diagnose you.
If your doctor delays your diagnosis for any reason other than additional testing for clarification purposes, they put your health on the line. In that time, your condition could grow worse, and you might have increased difficulty in fighting your condition.
Alternatively, if your doctor misdiagnoses you due to mislabeled test results or a mistake in testing, you should consider a medical malpractice claim. Medical practitioners must be able to perform their jobs well, and you should not have to suffer for their mistakes.
4. Prescription Problems
Did your doctor prescribe you the wrong medication or diagnosis? Did they fail to tell you of any potential interactions with your other drugs?
There’s a reason prescription drugs aren’t available over the counter, and that’s because these medicines should only be used in specific dosage when recommended by a doctor.
In addition, your physician should not fail to tell you about any adverse interactions with your other medications.
If a doctor prescribes the wrong dose or medicine, it could have ill effects on your body. That’s why you should consider filing medical malpractice claims against any physician who has given you an inaccurate prescription or fails to anticipate negative interactions.
5. Injuries in Childbirth
Have you or your newborn baby suffered an injury as the result of childbirth?
Birth puts both the lives of the mother and the child in the hands of a gynecologist and nursing staff.
If you have received subpar prenatal care, found out too late that you have a life-threatening condition, or the doctor or nursing staff improperly handled tools or your infant, you should pursue compensation via a medical malpractice claim.
Have You Suffered from Medical Malpractice?
If you’ve been the victim of medical malpractice, you probably want to know how to get compensation for your damages.
In this article, we’ve covered the top 5 most common medical malpractice claims. Should you still wonder whether or not your case qualifies, we recommend you phone a lawyer to find out.
Need a good recommendation? Here at Cummings Law, we provide top-notch legal representation to those who have suffered from medical malpractice. Call us today!
