What is medical malpractice?
Medical
malpractice is negligence committed by a professional health care
provider, such as a doctor, nurse, dentist, technician, hospital worker
or hospital, whose treatment of a patient departs from a standard of
care met by those with similar training and experience, resulting in
harm to a patient.
Does someone who is not satisfied with the results of his or her surgery have a malpractice case?
In
general, there are no guarantees of medical results, and unexpected or
unsuccessful results do not necessarily mean negligence occurred. To
succeed in a medical malpractice case, a plaintiff has to show an injury
or damages that resulted from the doctor’s deviation from the standard
of care applicable to the procedure.
What should I do if a think I have a medical malpractice claim?
You
should talk to a lawyer who specializes in such cases as soon as
possible. Tell the attorney exactly what happened, from your first visit
to the doctor or other health care provider, through your last contact
with him or her. If possible, obtain your medical records and bring them
to your first meeting with the attorney. There are time limits
governing how long someone may bring a medical malpractice claim, so
time is of the essence.
What is “informed consent?”
Although
the specific definition of informed consent may vary from state to
state, it means essentially that a physician (or other medical provider)
must tell a patient all of the potential benefits, risks and
alternatives involved in any surgical procedure which a reasonable
patient would want to know and consider before electing to undergo a
medical procedure or other course of treatment. The physician must
obtain the patient’s written consent to proceed only after disclosing
those risks.
Do I have a case against a doctor who prescribed me a drug for treatment, but failed to tell me it was part of an experimental?
Your
physician had a duty to tell you that the drug was part of an
experimental program, and you had the right to refuse to participate in
it. You may have grounds for an action against your doctor based on his
or her failure to obtain your “informed consent” relative to this
treatment.
If the consent form I signed prior to a
procedure is considered valid, can I recover any damages in a
malpractice action against?
Yes, you still may be
able to recover damages. A consent form does not release a physician who
performed a procedure negligently from liability. If you can establish
that your doctor deviated from the applicable standard of care in
performing the procedure, and you were injured as a result, you may
still recover against him or her. You may also have a claim that the
procedure the physician performed went beyond the consent you gave, in
which case the doctor might even be liable for battery.
How does a jury determine if a doctor’s actions were negligent?
A
jury will consider the testimony of experts, usually other doctors, who
will testify whether they believe your physician’s actions followed
standard medical practices or fell below the accepted standard of care.
The jury may also consider what are called Learned Treatises, or
recognized literature and peer reviewed studies as well as medical
association standards and guidelines if applicable and received into
evidence.
What is a “Certificate of Merit?”
One
obstacle plaintiffs in many states may have to overcome before they can
even file a malpractice action against a health care professional is
the requirement that they file what is commonly known as a “certificate
of merit.” In order to file a certificate of merit, a plaintiff will
first have to have an expert, usually another physician, review the
relevant medical records and certify that the plaintiff’s health care
provider deviated from accepted medical practices, which resulted in
injury to the plaintiff. The plaintiff’s attorney then files the
certificate of merit, which confirms that the attorney has consulted
with a medical expert and that the plaintiff’s action has merit.
When you are faced with injury or loss, you deserve to be made whole. Right now you may be faced with overwhelming feelings of grief or fear. You may be wondering about how to pay for medical bills or to make up for lost income. Now is the time to learn about your rights. Once we meet with you, our attorneys will be able to tell you whether you have a case to pursue that could result in financial recovery.
MDL Trial Lawyers
Personal Injury & Accident Law Firm
in New Jersey
Personal Injury & Accident Law Firm
in New Jersey
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