When you are in a hospital, you expect to be taken care of properly. Hospitals may make you scared or uncomfortable, but you should not have to worry about a healthcare professional committing medical malpractice against you. Be familiar with the types of things that are considered medical malpractice so you know if it happens to you or a loved one.
Medical Malpractice Explained
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional makes a mistake or disregards a patient or symptom which directly causes an injury or illness.
Healthcare professionals are bound to make mistakes at some point. To be considered medical malpractice, the following would have to be proven:
- The healthcare professional had a duty to provide you with care.
- The healthcare professional failed to provide you with adequate care.
- You were injured or became ill as a result of the inadequate care.
- The injury or illness has caused damage to you and your family.
If a healthcare professional makes a mistake but it does not affect you or your health, you will not be successful with a medical malpractice lawsuit.
To prove that medical malpractice has taken place, you will need to hire a lawyer that is familiar with the process. It is also likely that you will need to get a medical expert witness to testify on your behalf that you did not receive adequate medical care.
Some examples of a healthcare professional committing medical malpractice can include:
- Prescribing the wrong medication or the wrong dosage
- Leaving a foreign object inside your body after surgery
- Misdiagnosing you
- Failing to provide tests vital to correctly diagnosing you
- Neglecting to read your chart and missing an allergy
- Discharging you before you are medically ready
- Performing unneeded surgeries
There are also cases where a patient committing suicide while under the care of medical professionals can be considered medical malpractice.
Informed Consent
All patients must give informed consent before a procedure is performed. This means that healthcare professionals are required to answer all questions about a procedure and they have to tell you about the risks of a procedure. They cannot withhold any information about a procedure to sway your decision on the matter.
Informed consent is important because if you are given a treatment option and are told there are no risks or the risks are never disclosed to you, you may say yes to the procedure when you would have said no if the risks were disclosed to you beforehand. If illness or injury is a result, you may be in a position to start a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations for most medical malpractice cases is two years. This means you have two years after the date of the medical malpractice incident to start a litigation case against the person you accuse of medical malpractice.
There are some cases where illness or injury caused by a medical malpractice incident does not surface for some time. Because of this, you could have up to five years after the date of the medical malpractice incident. However, you will have to prove that the incident is the cause of your delayed illness or injury.
Medical malpractice cases where a foreign object was left inside the body during surgery are harder to put a limit on. Because it could be years until a foreign object is discovered inside your body, you would have one year to start a litigation case after the foreign object is found.
If you think you are a victim of medical malpractice, contact us at North Metro Litigators today for a free consultation. We will help you figure out if your case qualifies for medical malpractice and get you on the road to compensation. Do not wait until it is too late to get the compensation you deserve.
