Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice often results in patients being disabled, rendered maimed, or deceased. These preventable medical mistakes happen across the country with alarming frequency: up to 98,000 Americans are killed every year by medical malpractice, making medical errors the third leading cause of death in America.

Actionable medical negligence occurs when a physician or other medical professional fails to properly treat a medical condition and the negligent act or omission is the cause of a new or aggravated injury to the patient. The negligence in medical malpractice cases can occur in a variety of situations including but not limited to:

• Delay or failure in diagnosing a disease.
• A surgical or anesthesia related mishap during an operative procedure.
• A physician's failure to gain the informed consent of the patient for an operation or surgical procedure.
• A physician fails to properly treat the disease process;
• Misuse of Prescription Drugs.
  

During the initial client contact, the attorney will obtain a detailed medical history during which the attorney should obtain the names of all physicians and hospitals that have rendered medical treatment to the client. It is valuable for a client to prepare a written summary (timeline) of all medical treatment including dates, doctors, symptoms, conversations with medical providers, and treatment received. Thereafter, all relevant medical records are obtained by the attorney. In many medical malpractice cases, proof of negligence is found in these records.

Unfortunately, medical malpractice can occur in any medical field or practice. Common examples of medically related errors that might be pursued as malpractice include:

• Cancer Law
• Brain Injuries
• Birth Injuries