When you or a loved one is injured or sick, it can be beyond scary. At times like these, you depend on medical professionals for competent treatment and good advice. Unfortunately, as too many of us are all too aware, sometimes we don’t get the proper treatment, and sometimes the “treatment” makes everything worse. Medical malpractice can be a complex issue, and it can be difficult to prove. Here is some information that you need to know about medical malpractice.
What kinds of medical malpractice are there?
There are a variety of reasons to file a medical malpractice claim, but generally the reasons fit into one of these categories:
1. Improper treatment
2. Failure to diagnose
3. Failure to inform a patient of possible risks that come with a procedure or course of treatment
What must be proved in a medical malpractice claim?
Before thinking of filing a medical malpractice claim, make sure you can prove these things:
1. There was a doctor/patient relationship. Your doctor had to treat you directly, which is usually the easiest part of medical malpractice to prove.
2. The doctor was negligent. Not getting the results you wanted does not mean that your doctor was negligent – you must be able to show that your doctor caused you harm in a way that any skilled, careful, and competent doctor would not.
3. The negligence caused injury. This can be difficult to prove, as a patient is already seeing a doctor because of illness or injury. You must be able to show that it is “more likely than not” that the doctor caused further injury.
4. You suffered harm because of the doctor’s actions or inaction. “Harm” includes physical pain, mental anguish, additional medical bills, and lost work or the loss of the ability to earn a paycheck.
As you can see, filing a medical malpractice claim can involve many different moving parts. If you or a loved one has been harmed by a medical professional, make sure that you have someone with experience and compassion to see you through this difficult process. Attorney Laurie Robbins can help – call her Atlanta office today for a free consultation, at 404-252-8117.