When you visit a doctor to treat a medical condition, you trust them to provide competent care that will make you feel better. If your doctor violates that trust, the consequences can be physically, emotionally, and financially devastating.
When you believe that a healthcare professional provided you with treatment that caused an illness or injury or worsened an existing condition, you deserve help from a qualified personal injury attorney to seek compensation for your losses. An Inverness medical malpractice lawyer could help guide you through a legal claim and ensure your rights are protected.
Understanding Medical Malpractice
Like everybody else, sometimes medical practitioners make mistakes. Those mistakes do not always equal malpractice. Malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional fails to provide a patient with the accepted standard level of care. Sometimes, healthcare workers make errors because they have not received the appropriate level of training. For instance, nobody would expect an entry-level medical technician to know how to recognize the lesser-known symptoms of cardiac arrest. However, a certified cardiologist should be able to spot those symptoms and act accordingly.
When determining if a medical error amounts to malpractice, a court compares a defendant’s actions to those of a similarly trained medical professional. In other words, the court asks if another healthcare provider with the same educational level, background, and training might have made that same mistake.
Additionally, for a court to consider an error as an act of medical negligence, it must cause the patient some sort of harm. If the mistake has no consequences, it is not malpractice. This means having an unpleasant experience at a doctor’s office is not enough on its own to warrant legal action. A trusted Inverness attorney could review the details of a patient’s medical record and the incident at hand to let them know if medical negligence occurred.
Types of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice can occur in any setting where a person receives medical care, advice, medication, or treatment. Many different types of medical providers and institutions can be defendants in malpractice claims, including doctors, nurses, technicians, pharmacists, dentists, hospitals, nursing homes, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and EMTs. Some of the most commonly seen malpractice claims involve the following:
- Diagnostic errors, such as misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, or delayed diagnosis
- Medication mistakes
- Surgery mistakes such as wrong site surgeries
- Anesthesia errors
- Birth injuries
Most medical providers do not set out to hurt their patients. Some of these mistakes occur because the practitioner is too busy or rushed to ask for a patient’s medical history. Others happen because doctors are tired and overworked. Regardless of the reason or intent, healthcare professionals should be held accountable if they make a mistake that causes injuries or harm to their patients. A skilled Inverness medical malpractice attorney could help injured individuals and their families fight for justice.
Consult with an Inverness Medical Malpractice Attorney
Sadly, poor medical outcomes can occur even when a medical team acts appropriately. However, these poor results only amount to malpractice if a medical provider fails to uphold their professional standard of care.
Medical negligence is a serious matter that often leads to long-term impacts on your physical and mental well-being. When a healthcare provider harms you or a loved one, our team can help you understand your options. Call today to consult with an Inverness medical malpractice lawyer.
