Whenever someone falls ill or sustains an injury, they can see a doctor who can treat them and help them get back to feeling healthy again. There’s implicit trust in our health care providers to act in our best interests. We rarely expect to feel worse after seeing a doctor. However, a health care provider that acts negligently can endanger a patient’s health. If you’ve sustained injuries because of a doctor’s negligence, you may have grounds to file a claim. A Greenbelt medical malpractice lawyer from Belsky & Horowitz, LLC may be able to represent you and hold the responsible party liable for their actions.
It’s important to understand what constitutes as medical malpractice. Being unhappy with the treatment your doctor recommended or following the advice of a doctor who was not treating you are not situations where medical malpractice applies. Let’s take a look into some examples of medical malpractice and how they occur.
When Medical Professionals Act Negligently
Medical professionals are supposed to provide patients with care that will help them heal and improve their health. If they make mistakes, the patient’s health can decline. Some common forms of negligence include the following:
- ER Mistakes. When someone goes to the emergency room, they may have symptoms that require immediate attention. While an ER usually goes in order of the people who get there, some patients may bypass that line and get care if their symptoms are severe. For example, someone presenting symptoms of a heart attack or stroke should be seen immediately. If a medical provider fails to recognize these symptoms and a medical event occurs, they may be held liable because treatment may have prevented it.
- Medication Error. Treatment may require different types of medication. If a patient is given the wrong kind of medication or the wrong dosage, they may have a severe allergic reaction or experience other dangerous side effects from not receiving the medication they needed. These complications can cause further health problems that will likely require treatment. These complications could also cause permanent injuries. Medication errors can have devastating consequences, including hospitalizations, disabilities, life-threatening situations, birth defects, and death.
- Surgical Error. Undergoing surgery can be a nerve-wracking experience, but patients should be able to trust their doctors to act in their best interests. However, surgeons can make critical errors during surgery that harm the patient. For example, wrong-site surgery can occur, which is where the procedure is done in the wrong area of the body. If someone needed surgery on their right elbow, wrong-site surgery would occur on their left elbow. Sometimes, medical tools or sponges are left inside the patient, which can become infected and cause pain. They’ll need another surgery to remove the foreign objects.
Negligence can occur if a doctor is fatigued, unprepared, or has taken a substance that makes them unable to correctly do their job. If a hospital doesn’t have enough staff, doctors and nurses may be overworked. When they’re fatigued, there’s a higher chance of a mistake occurring. A doctor could make an incorrect or illegible notation on a patient’s chart, which could confuse future health care providers. Being unprepared could be a surgeon performing something they’ve never done before and don’t have the necessary skills to do the surgery. Some medical professionals may have been drinking or using drugs. If they come to work while under the influence, they’re in no state to provide health care to patients and could put someone’s life in danger.
If you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, our Greenbelt attorneys are here for you. Let’s take a look at how having a professional at your side can provide peace of mind.
How Can a Medical Malpractice Attorney Help You?
As you’re trying to recover from your injuries, it can seem overwhelming to add a personal injury claim to your life. While medical malpractice cases are extremely complex, you can seek help. To make your case as strong as possible, you need an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. They’ll help you get the justice you deserve.
You may be wondering what justice looks like. Your lawyers will fight for you to recover the damages you suffered because of the injury. Missing work resulting in lost wages, possible loss of future earnings, and medical bills may be significant financial costs hanging over your head. We’ll seek fair compensation, so these expenses are covered and you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to afford care.
There’s also the matter of pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. The emotional toll of your injuries is taken into account as well. Our medical malpractice lawyers will look at how your injuries have affected your life. Are you no longer able to participate in a sport you used to enjoy? Is it difficult to perform certain tasks because of your injury? We’ll ask these questions and the answers will guide us to determining the compensation you’re owed.
Our attorneys also understand the components necessary for a valid medical negligence case. One of those components will be having an expert witness, who can shed light on the defendant’s negligent actions. To provide their expert witness testimony, they’ll need to meet requirements to serve as an expert witness. They must meet the following:
- Has clinical experience.
- Provided consultation relating to clinical practice or taught in the area of the defendant’s specialty or related field. They must have done this within five years of the incident.
- If the defendant is board certified in a specialty, then the expert witness needs to have board certification in the same specialty.
- This doesn’t apply if the defendant was providing treatment unrelated to their area of board certification.
When a medical malpractice lawyer from Belsky & Horowitz, LLC is at your side, you’ll never have to wonder what’s happening with your case. Our experience in medical malpractice means all your paperwork will be filed on time, our investigation of what happened to you will be thorough, and we’ll fight to maximize your compensation so you can focus on your recovery. To schedule a free evaluation of your case, contact us today.
