Medical Malpractice and the Law
News of medical malpractice is usually a big deal whenever it breaks. Cases of medical malpractices range from minor injuries to serious ones that may involve permanent injuries leading to death.
Question is, what exactly is medical malpractice? Simply put, It is a mistake that is mostly associated with the negligence of the doctor or nurse in charge and as a result, leads to some form of injury to the patient. Medical facilities have their ways of addressing medical malpractice while Patients too (the victims in most cases) have varied options in settling such cases. Top of the list is seeking legal representation from professional personal injury attorneys. For instance, any Nashville medical malpractice case can easily be settled by engaging any of the top medical malpractice lawyers.
Speaking of medical malpractice, the most common is that which occurs during surgery. A perfect example of this would be what happened to Dana Carvey. While undergoing an operation to unblock one of the arteries to his heart, the doctors ended up cutting open the wrong artery and as a result, he was forced to undergo a second operation. What followed was a highly publicized medical malpractice case that ended in with him having been awarded $7.5 million in damages.
Apart from the example above, other surgical mistakes which have been noted to be able to easily lead to infection or paralysis include:
- Accidental cutting open of an organ.
- The leaving of any foreign object inside the body of a patient after an operation.
It is however very important to note that surgical mistakes form only one category of medical malpractice, other equally significant cases that qualify under medical malpractice include:
Table of Contents
a. Misdiagnosis
This is the inaccurate determination of a patient’s condition. Keep in mind, failure to discover or treat the actual disease can easily result in death. Also, any misdiagnosis can lead to the prescription of the wrong medication or even recommendation of a surgery all of which pose a serious threat to the health of the patient.
b. Anesthesia Mistakes
Anesthesiologists are professionals meant to administer special medication meant to prompt the relaxation and sleep of a patient during a medical procedure. They are usually there to help ensure that no sensitive medication is given to the patient before surgery. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the anesthesiologist to go through the patients’ medical history and establish that the anesthesia about to be administered wouldn’t cause any health complications. In the event that the administered medicine does result in complications, then the anesthesiologist is held liable.
c. Prescriptions
A doctor is usually required to find out about any other medication the patient in question might be taking before prescribing any additional ones. Doing so is important since it can sometimes be dangerous to mix certain medicine. Keep in mind, certain medication might pose a serious health threat to patients with certain diseases. for instance, medicine meant to treat heart conditions would pose a serious threat to someone with Parkinson’s disease.
d. Childbirth
Any form of a mistake by a medical practitioner during childbirth too qualifies for legal action. This is because it can easily result in permanent disability such as brain damage amongst other things.
What next after sustaining an injury as a result of medical malpractice
Upon the realization that either you or your loved one has been injured as a result of medical malpractice, the first thing you should do is to engage an attorney. Doing so will help you prove the act of medical negligence on the part of the medical professionals or the medical facility through thorough and close examination of all relevant medical records. As far as how long it is likely to take before you settle a medical malpractice case, well that largely depends on the complexity of the case.
In addition to all of the above, it is worth noting that the sole reason for filing any medical malpractice suit is to ensure that moving forward the same team of medical professionals are not as negligent with other patients the way they might have been with you.
