Medical Malpractice Law Firms
Medical malpractice is a leading cause of death in the U.S. For those who survive, the consequences are often life-changing. Medical malpractice laws, including the amount of time you have to take legal action, vary greatly from state-to-state. Some states are very unfavorable toward medical malpractice victims. To recover the compensation you need you must choose a medical malpractice law firm staffed with attorneys who have extensive experience and stay current on the constantly changing medical malpractice laws in your state.
Examples of Medical Malpractice
Medical care resulting in a poor outcome or death is not always medical malpractice. Malpractice, or medical negligence, occurs when a healthcare professional performs below the accepted standard of care by their action or inaction, and harms a patient in the process.
Examples include:
- Surgical mistakes including wrong site surgery
- Anesthesia error
- Failure to take patient history
- Failure to obtain informed consent
- Failure to diagnose, delayed diagnosis, or misdiagnosis
- Obstetric negligence injuring the baby, mother, or both
- Unsanitary conditions leading to nosocomial infections
- Needle stick
- Medication errors
- Failure to advise a patient of diagnosis or treatment options
- Wrong treatment for the condition
- Inappropriate treatment or procedure based on patient’s medical history or current condition
- Continuing an ineffective treatment
- Unnecessary procedure, medication, or treatment
- Premature discharge from the emergency room or hospital
- Patient abandonment
Medical Malpractice Liability
The people we think of as “doctors” make up a tiny percentage of those who can be held responsible for medical malpractice. Any type of healthcare professional can commit medical malpractice.
Facilities, such as hospitals, can also be liable for medical malpractice, in two different ways. For instance, if the hospital has poor policies in place it can be held responsible for its own negligence. Or, if an employee of the hospital behaves negligently and harms a patient, the hospital can be held liable for the employee’s negligence as well.
In most cases, doctors working in hospitals are independent contractors, not employees. Determining whether you should sue the doctor, the hospital, or both can be complicated. That is where an experienced medical malpractice attorney comes in.
Those who can be held liable for medical malpractice include:
- General practitioners
- Surgeons
- Anesthesiologists
- Gynecologists
- Obstetricians
- Dentists
- Cosmetic surgeons
- Psychiatrists
- Oncologists
- Orthopedists
- Cardiologists
- Podiatrists
- Ophthalmologists
- Chiropractors
- Physical therapists
- Nurses
- Pharmacists
- Optometrists
- Laboratory technicians
- Hospitals
- Mental institutions
- Nursing homes
- Correctional facilities
- Emergency rooms
- Urgent care centers
- Out-patient facilities
- Rehabilitation facilities
- Fertility clinics
- Pharmacies
- Laboratories
To find an experienced medical malpractice attorney in your area, please search our network of experienced medical malpractice law firms today.
