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Medical Malpractice 101

On Behalf of | Apr 20, 2019 | Medical Malpractice

Every day people enter doctor’s offices sick and injured with the hope that they will feel better. More often than not doctors and medical staff succeed. Most of the time successful stories of recovery enable families to breathe easier and live longer. Unfortunately, there are some instances when seeing the doctor makes things worse instead of better. Our medical malpractice lawyers in California at Licata & Yeremenko, A Professional Law Corporation have first-row seats to the medical negligence show. We have worked with numerous clients who have been injured by their doctors and the medical team.

If you are unsure if you or someone you know is suffering from an injury due to medical negligence, we are here to provide a free consultation. Medical malpractice is complex. Here are some important pieces of information for those who are thinking about filing a medical malpractice suit.

Definition

Medical malpractice is when a doctor, nurse, hospital, or health care provider engages in negligent behavior. Examples of such negligent behavior are

  • Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose
  • Premature discharge
  • Unnecessary surgery
  • Incorrect surgery
  • Failure to order tests
  • Failure to act on test results
  • Prescribing the wrong medication or wrong dose of medication
  • Surgical errors
  • The patient has pain post-surgery
  • Bedsores or pressure ulcers

Doctors and medical staff are not responsible for everything. If surgery goes wrong it may not be due to the negligence of the health care providers. If you are not getting the results you want, but they are the standard of care, then that is not a sign of negligence. Negligence is when doctors or health care providers breach the standard duty of care.

Elements of Medical Malpractice

In any trial, as your attorneys, we have to prove certain elements or answer certain questions. The first question is what professional duty was owed to the patient. Once that is established we can show how that duty was not met or the standard of care was not met. Second, did the health care provider breach that duty? A breach of duty means that the health care provider did not act appropriately or engage in the standard of care. Third, was the injury caused by the breach? Making a direct connection between the injury and negligent behavior is vital to the success of the case. Fourth, and last, what are the resulting damages of the injury? In order to get a successful case, our California medical malpractice attorneys work aggressively and tirelessly to gather all the information needed to answer all these questions.

What To Do

None of us want to believe that doctors, nurses, hospitals, or health care providers aren’t doing their job. So many rely on medical professionals to bring them hope. To prove that the hope is shattered is devastating. However, health care providers carry malpractice insurance because there is no guarantee. Our job as your California medical malpractice lawyers is to support and advocate for you. We can’t erase what happened, but we can hold those responsible accountable. Call 818-783-5757 or click here for a free consultation with our attorneys at Licata & Yeremenko, A Professional Law Corporation in California today.

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