How to Recognize Medical Malpractice

If you have suffered a serious illness or injury due to the negligence of your healthcare provider, you may have a medical malpractice claim on your hands. However, recognizing negligence can be more challenging than you think.

Often, people confuse standard risks of treatment and procedures with medical errors, which can cost them dearly. Below, we go into further detail about how to recognize medical malpractice and what you can do about it. For more individualized attention, reach out to the dedicated personal injury team at Wilt Injury Lawyers.

What is a breach in the medical standard of care?

Essentially, medical malpractice occurs when there has been a breach in the medical standard of care and that breach causes harm to you.

Imagine two doctors, for example, who both completed their college education and residency. Both have been working in the healthcare industry for ten years, specializing in the same types of medicine. Now imagine that one of them made a mistake, such as a medication dosage error, that the other one would not have made.

This is an example of a breach in the standard of care. When a healthcare professional of similar education, training, and experience would not have made the same mistake that the one in question made, the standard of care has likely been breached.

Medical malpractice and informed consent

It is not uncommon for people to confuse the risks associated with a particular treatment or medical procedure with a medical error made by their healthcare provider. Before you are given any treatment or undergo a specific procedure, you should be informed of any potential risks and side effects.

This is known as informed consent. Any side effects or risks that arise due to a treatment are not considered medical malpractice. However, when an error or mistake is made by your healthcare provider, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Who can commit medical malpractice?

Healthcare professionals are held to a high standard because their patients’ lives are in their hands in many cases. This means that nearly any type of healthcare provider can be sued for medical malpractice under the right circumstances.

Some of the most common types of medical professionals who have had medical malpractice lawsuits filed against them include the following:

Some facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes, and doctor’s offices, can also be sued for medical malpractice in Kentucky.

Common types of medical malpractice

There are some medical errors that occur far more frequently than others. And if you know what kinds of mistakes to look for, you may be able to determine whether an error occurred. Some of the most common types of medical malpractice lawsuits include:

If you have reason to believe your injury or illness was caused by one of these medical errors, or another mistake, you can reach out to a qualified medical malpractice lawyer at Wilt Injury Lawyers for help.

What happens next?

After you have reached out to a lawyer for assistance, your lawyer will thoroughly investigate the details of your case to determine if your healthcare provider failed to uphold the medical standard of care. The standard of care must have been breached in order for medical malpractice to have occurred.

Your lawyer will then file a claim with the insurance company. If the insurer is able to compensate you fully, there may not be a need to go to court. But if they won’t or are unable to, it may be in your best interest to bring your case to court to obtain maximum compensation for your suffering. After examining the details of your case, your lawyer can advise you accordingly.

Contact a Kentucky medical malpractice lawyer

Are you interested in pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit? If so, schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a Kentucky medical malpractice lawyer at Wilt Injury Lawyers. Please call us in Lexington or Louisville or fill out our contact form included below to get started on your case.