Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is professional negligence, by act or omission, by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, usually by medical error. Standards and regulations for medical malpractice vary by state and jurisdiction within counties. Medical professionals may obtain professional liability insurances to offset the risk and costs of lawsuits based on medical malpractice. A 2011 study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that 75% of physicians in low-risk specialties and virtually 100% of physicians in high-risk specialties could expect to face a malpractice claim during their careers. However, the authors also noted that the vast majority of malpractice claims did not lead to any indemnity payments.
More than 70% of all settled malpractice claims involve medical error.
Everyone makes mistakes. But when doctors, nurses, therapists, or dentists make them, the effects can last a lifetime. Patients have a right to expect that medical procedures will be properly performed. Medical malpractice attorneys represent you if you are injured by a healthcare provider’s careless or accidental mistakes. For example, if a doctor leaves behind gauze in your body during surgery, resulting in an infected wound that requires even more surgery, the doctor committed medical malpractice. Medical malpractice attorneys can recognize injuries caused by mistakes; they know the most common mistakes that cause injuries, and they know how to find and present information useful to prove your case.