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Did you seek treatment for an injury or medical condition only to come out the other side worse off than you were before? If so, you might be wondering if you can hold the medical provider who hurt you accountable for medical malpractice. This guide will explain some of the basics about medical malpractice: what it is, how to recognize it, what it takes to win, and how a lawyer can help. That way, you’re better prepared to assert your rights and seek the fair compensation you deserve.
What Constitutes Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider renders treatment that falls below the accepted standard of care in a patient’s case and injures the patient as a result. However, not every adverse outcome of medical treatment constitutes malpractice. For example, an adverse complication may simply be an unexpected outcome that a doctor could not have foreseen or avoided with reasonable care. In other words, an injury or complication alone does not mean a provider committed malpractice. Instead, they must also have made critical mistakes that another provider would not have.
Examples of situations that may result in a medical malpractice case include:
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
- Failure to treat a condition
- Treating the wrong part of the body
- Causing physical injury during treatment
- Failure to obtain informed consent by explaining the known risks of a proposed treatment and discussing alternative treatments or procedures
- Surgical errors, including leaving equipment or materials inside the patient’s body
- Medication errors, including miscalculating dosage or prescribing a contraindicated medication
The Elements of a Medical Malpractice Claim
You could have a viable medical malpractice claim if you can meet the following legal elements:
- The existence of a doctor–patient relationship: The first element is that you sought care from a doctor who agreed to do so or who otherwise provided you treatment.
- The doctor deviated from the accepted standard of care: In the course of that treatment, your doctor’s decisions or actions differed from those that other providers of similar training and experience would have made if they had been the ones treating you instead.
- The deviation from the standard of care harmed you: Not only did the provider veer from established best practices, but by doing so, they caused you to suffer some sort of harm. For example, you might have suffered a physical injury, an existing disease might have gotten worse, or you may have developed a new disease or condition that would not have occurred had your doctor not deviated from the standard of care in your treatment.
- You incurred losses due to your harm: Finally, the harm you suffered can be expressed in financial terms. This does not mean that a successful claim only covers financial losses, though they should be included. Rather, it means that you can put a dollar value on the various losses that resulted from the substandard care you received, including pain and suffering.
Signs You May Have Suffered Medical Malpractice
Certain circumstances may signal that an adverse outcome you experienced from medical treatment may have occurred due to medical malpractice. Here are some potential warning signs to watch out for:
- You receive a significantly different diagnosis or prognosis after seeking a second opinion.
- You suffer unexpected complications following routine treatment that your doctor did not warn you about.
- Your doctor does not change their treatment even though you experience persistent or worsening symptoms.
- Your doctor cannot explain what may have caused your complications or refuses to discuss what may have gone wrong in your treatment.
Although these signs do not definitely indicate that you have suffered medical malpractice, they should motivate you to obtain a second opinion from another provider and then to seek legal counsel.
Contact Our Firm Today for Help Seeking Accountability After Suffering Medical Malpractice
If you’ve suffered injuries or complications from medical treatment, you might have a legal claim against your provider. A lawyer can help you pursue your case to hold your healthcare provider accountable for their negligent decisions or treatment. Contact The Law Firm of Lawrence M. Karam, PC today for a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced medical malpractice attorney in New York and to learn more about your next steps.