Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Medical malpractice is a suit that a patient files against a health practitioner such as medical doctor, nurse or specialist for any harm that the practitioner might have caused to the patient. It may constitute the negligence of the health practitioner or the lack of professionalism that the health practitioner may have demonstrated while carrying out his duty. It also may be the substandard treatment that the health practitioner does. Some of the cases that have led to medical malpractice have resulted in the permanent injuries to the patient and in severe cases have led to death.
When a medical practitioner is licensed to practice medicine, they are given the license based on the skills that they have acquired and the competence that they have demonstrated. They are also made to swear to take care of the lives of the patients that will be under their care for the period that they will be practicing. Medical malpractice therefore is a very serious offence that can lead to grave financial punishment to the health practitioner. They can lose their medical license (hence banned from ever practicing medicine) while they can be heavily fined or even imprisoned.
When we visit a medical practitioner for the treatment or consultation to the various conditions that we may be suffering, a lot of confidential information is exchanged. As a patient, you are fully entitled to the confidentiality that comes with this exchange. You are also entitled as a patient, to be made aware of the full diagnosis of the condition that you have plus the prognosis. The two are to be explained in a way that you can understand. If the doctor fails to give such information and something that you had not been made aware of happens, this also qualifies to be termed as medical malpractice.
Medical malpractice also involves negligence or lack of attention during the surgery of a patient. We have heard of cases where the surgeon by mistake left some equipment that is to be used during surgery in the patient’s body. The negligence then leads to serious complications to the patient since most of the time, the discovery of the equipment is known after some time. This is negligence. What should you do then when you have experienced medical malpractice?
The basic and the most important thing that you should do are to consult the services of a medical malpractice attorney. They are the people who will help you to build the case on medical malpractice so that you will get justice not only for yourself but also prevent other patients from going through what you have. As a victim of medical malpractice, you are entitled to compensation.
Depending on the extent of the damage that has been caused, the compensation varies. Some insurance companies however, take advantage of the claims from the people who are not fully aware and informed on the rights that they have. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer is the person who is able to help you understand and claim what you are entitled to.