Medical malpractice occurs more often than you’d think. However, there is something that you can do if you ever find yourself in this situation.
Wronged parties can file lawsuits against health practitioners for negligence or intentionally disregarding the standard of care, leading to a patient’s injury. Sadly, it’s not uncommon to encounter medical malpractice wrongful death settlements.
Suppose you believe that you’ve been a victim of medical malpractice. In that case, you can file a personal injury case to receive compensation, but this requires a lot of work. For example, you have the burden of proving that there was medical malpractice in the first place.
With guidance from the Coastal Virginia Law Firm, you can gather evidence for your case. It is critical to establish proof of the patient-doctor relationship, the negligence, and the injury and damages caused by the medical malpractice. Together, you will build a case and eventually receive due justice.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Before you learn how to find a lawyer for medical malpractice, it’s good to have a basic understanding of medical malpractice to determine whether your situation falls into this category.
Medical malpractice happens when a healthcare provider causes injury or damages (mental, physical, or financial) to a patient by disregarding, omitting, or flouting the appropriate standard of care.
You can bring medical malpractice claims against any healthcare provider in Virginia, from individual practitioners like doctors, nurses, or emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to the facilities, hospitals, or medical corporations where they’re employed. You can even sue employees who don’t provide healthcare themselves, depending on the case.
Common Types Of Medical Malpractice
There are many specific types of medical malpractice, but they fall into four general categories:
- Misdiagnosis: not discovering an illness, giving the wrong diagnosis, or prescribing treatment to the wrong disease
- Improper Treatment: incompetently administering treatment, leading to errors (e.g., birth errors, surgical mistakes, etc.)
- Medication Errors: prescribing the wrong medication or its dosage or recommending drugs that cause harm
- Failure to Disclose Known Risks: not informing the patient about risks of a specific treatment (in which the patient could’ve refused) or not obtaining informed consent for such
What You Need To Prove Medical Malpractice
The plaintiff has the burden of proof in a medical malpractice case. That means that you must be able to prove that medical malpractice occurred. To do that, you need to establish that:
A Doctor-Patient Relationship Existed
You must prove that you hired the health provider that you’re suing and that you had an agreement (in some cases, implicitly) for them to provide you with treatment, showing that the doctor had an obligation to provide you with a medical standard of care.
The Care Was Negligent
Being unhappy with the result of your treatment isn’t enough to sue for medical malpractice. You must prove that the health provider caused you harm in a way that another doctor in the same situation wouldn’t have, which usually requires another medical expert in the same field to testify that the accused did not uphold the medical standard of care.
Substandard Care Directly Caused Injury
It’s not enough to show that the health provider deviated from the standard of care. You must prove that their actions (or inactions) directly harmed you or resulted in your worsened medical condition.
The Injury Led To Damages
Even if the doctor performed negligently, you can’t sue for medical malpractice if the injury didn’t lead to certain damages. These include physical or mental pain, additional medical bills, or the loss of your ability to work.
Where To Gather Evidence For A Medical Malpractice Case
With the help of a lawyer from the Coastal Virginia Law Firm, you can gather the evidence to support your medical malpractice claim through:
- Medical records from the healthcare provider, the facility or hospital, or your insurance company
- Medical experts or vetted medical practitioners in the relevant field with the needed expertise to testify about your claim
- Medical journals and articles to help establish medical malpractice
Do You Suspect You’ve Been A Victim Of Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice cases are more complicated than most. So you must hire the right lawyer from the Coastal Virginia Law Firm—one with experience in this arena and a background in medical legalese—to guide you through the ins and outs of the case. That way, you can file your claim without complications and receive the appropriate compensation for the medical malpractice that you experienced.
