If you are hurt by a healthcare professional, you may have a claim for medical malpractice. Medical malpractice happens when a provider acts negligently, and it causes injury or harm to a patient.
You may be eligible to receive compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages and other damages.
Medical malpractice
There are several elements in a medical malpractice claim. The healthcare professional must have had a duty to the patient and must have breached that duty by failing to meet the standard of care expected by their profession.
The breach of duty must have caused the patient’s injury or harm, and the patient must have suffered damages because of the medical malpractice.
Injuries and harm
Medical malpractice can cause a range of injuries, including those caused by surgical errors, medication errors, misdiagnosis or a failure to receive informed consent. If you do not receive a timely diagnosis, your condition can progress making it harder to treat.
Medication errors can include prescribing the wrong medication, not accounting for potential drug interactions or allergies, and administering the incorrect dosage. Surgical errors can include operating on an incorrect part of the body and performing the wrong surgery.
You have a right to be informed of and understand the risks of treatment, as well as the benefits. If the healthcare provider does not obtain this informed consent, you could agree to treatment without understanding the full impact to your body.
The healthcare provider must adequately monitor you during treatment and if they do not, you could be harmed.