Katherines Foundation

What is Medical Malpractice? Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor fails to use the degree of care and skill necessary for the circumstance. It may also refer to a negligence or omission by a health care provider. In this case, the care provided to an individual is not considered acceptable by the standards of the medical community. An example includes a doctor prescribing experimental drugs that leads to a dangerous outcome. Depending on circumstances, a doctor could be liable for medical malpractice in this example. Malpractice Attorney A malpractice attorney can help, especially a medical malpractice attorney that knows about law and problems relating to medicine. A medical malpractice attorney will fight for your rights. Four important elements must be established for a medical malpractice claim to be successful. • A duty was owed • A duty was breached • The breach was the cause of an injury • Damages resulted As for the duty owed, a legal duty does exist when a patient is in the care or treatment of a hospital or health care provider. The duty is breached if the provider does not follow the standard care and deviates from the norm. The breach of duty is considered the cause of an injury if it was a proximate cause. Damages must result in order to place a claim. The damages may be pecuniary or emotional and can occur without negligence. When to Act Do not sit around to wait and see what comes of your injury. There are time constraints when it comes to legal remedies, and you should file your claim within the statute of limitations. In fact, the statute of limitations are often shorter when it comes to medical malpractice than for other types of claims like those handled by product liability lawyers.