How Do I Know If I Have a Malpractice Case?
Meeting Medical Standards
No one expects doctors and nurses to be perfect, or for any medical treatment to be risk-free. We do, however, expect medical providers to be well-trained and competent, and to always meet professional standards of care to minimize the risks we face by avoiding preventable errors.
Sadly, they sometimes fail to meet these standards. When this happens, it is known as medical malpractice and it can have devastating consequences. If you or a loved one has been a victim of a doctor’s errors or negligence, you might benefit from hiring an experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyer to help you with your case.
What is the Standard of Care?
The standard of care generally is the level of care that is required of a reasonably competent medical professional with a similar background and under similar circumstances. For example, the standard of care for a physician working in a busy emergency room is not the same as the standard of care that applies to a cardiac surgeon in an operating room. What standard of care applies to the facts of the case often is a point of dispute between the parties. The standard of care is developed through expert witness testimony. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help you determine what standard of care applies to your case.
What is an Expert Witness?
An expert witness is a person who is retained by a party in a lawsuit to provide testimony. People are “experts” when they have specialized knowledge or training beyond that of a lay person. Expert witnesses are essential in medical malpractice cases to explain the medical procedures and terms to the jury and to explain how the doctor violated the standard of care.
How Do I Know if I Have a Malpractice Case?
If someone was the victim of medical negligence in a “never event”, they likely have a strong medical malpractice claim. But, of course, malpractice can be more subtle. For example, about a third of claims filed are related to diagnostic errors. Missed or delayed diagnoses can cause a patient to endure unnecessary treatments or not get the right kind of medical attention — both of which can cause irreparable harm. Misdiagnosis most often occurs in the setting of tumors and cancer, heart conditions, infections, blood clots, and, of course, in emergency room visits.
The bottom line is that the only way to know if a person has a viable medical malpractice claim is to consult with an experienced Medical Malpractice lawyer A skilled lawyer can review all of a person’s medical records and consult with a knowledgeable licensed medical professional to determine whether the injured individual has a potential claim.
In most instances, a claim for medical malpractice cannot be filed in the state of Illinois without first being certified by a licensed physician. The process can be time consuming, meaning individuals should not delay in calling a lawyer.
Legal Guidance
Cases arising from doctor errors and mistakes are some of the most complicated of all personal injury cases. They require resources that make them expensive to pursue, and as a result, very few injury lawyers handle them. However, it is almost impossible for non-lawyers to navigate the complicated legal and statutory requirements to bring a malpractice claim on their own.
If you feel you or a loved one has been harmed due to the negligence of a medical professional, you will likely need compassionate and knowledgeable legal help like they have at Pioletti Pioletti & Nichols law firm. A medical malpractice lawyer could carefully listen to you, review all of your medical records, and get any necessary expert medical opinions.