What is Medical Malpractice?

Your doctor is under a moral and legal obligation to do no harm and to provide adequate care to help you reach your optimum health.

Medical malpractice is professional liability insurance for healthcare providers. It protects them if any patient or parent of a child patient claims they failed to provide safe and effective care to a patient or caused them harm. It does not matter if the harm was done unintentionally. Patients have received settlements for medical mistakes as well. It is also the type of professional negligence that causes such harm. Read on to learn more about medical malpractice, and what you need to know about filing a suit. 

Proving Medical Malpractice

In every medical malpractice case, your attorney will work on developing a case to prove that your healthcare provider caused you or a child harm. The types of evidence used in medical malpractice cases include:

• The patient’s medical records
• Results from lab tests
• Testimonies from expert witnesses
• Information from medical journals or scholarly articles
• Testimonies from witnesses who can speak on the daily difficulties and limitations of the patient as a result of the injury

You will want to request these documents from the appropriate provider as soon as possible.

Types of Medical Malpractice

Because of the number of ways the body can be infected and/or affected and treated, there are a variety of examples of medical malpractice. These include:

• Intentional harm, including withholding information
• Failing to diagnose an illness or condition (negligence)
• Failure to provide follow-up care after a surgery or procedure
• Misdiagnosing a patient with the incorrect condition
• Providing the wrong prescription drug or dosage of a prescribed drug
• Misreading test results from labs or scans

  

Your doctor is under a moral and legal obligation to do no harm and to provide adequate care to help you reach your optimum health. If your doctor has breached this standard of care, then give our office a call.

Who is Covered Under a Medical Malpractice Plan

Most physicians are told in medical school that they need to consider getting medical malpractice insurance, and most hospitals will require proof of insurance for a physician to practice. They may offer their own medical malpractice insurance. In addition, medical malpractice policies can be purchased by:

• Nurse practitioners
• Medical students
• Medispa workers

If you’re unsure whether or not the person who injured you has medical malpractice insurance, then call our office so we can speak to you about your specific situation.

Statute of Limitations in California

In California, there is a statute of limitations on filing a medical malpractice suit. This is the time limit given for filing a suit before the court will reject it. The statute of limitations in California is three years from the date of the incident or injury. This limit is applicable to children if they are the victims of the medical malpractice case. If the plaintiff was reasonably unable to know there was an issue but finds out later, then they have one year from finding out to file the complaint. There are a number of ways this can happen. For example, some medications can cause adverse effects on people that take a while to develop. Or, a procedure done incorrectly could have left someone unable to have children. If you have concerns about filing your suit before the statute of limitations is up, then you need to call the Law Offices of Elliott Kanter right now.