If you suffered an injury due to negligent medical care, you may be entitled to hold the at-fault health care provider liable for medical malpractice.
However, there are certain factors that must be present in order to hold a health care provider liable for medical negligence. It may be in your best interest to contact a medical malpractice lawyer in Macon to discuss your claim and determine if you have a case that entitles you to compensation.
Below are several elements an attorney will look for when reviewing your claim. To learn more about medical malpractice lawsuits, contact Roden Law to schedule a free, no obligation consultation.
Doctor-Patient Relationship
The first element you must prove in a medical malpractice claim is that a doctor-patient relationship was established. This relationship involves a medical professional agreeing to diagnose the patient’s condition or provide him or her medical treatment.
When a doctor-patient relationship is formed, the health care provider legally owes the patient a duty of care and is obligated to provide competent treatment that follows the standards held by the medical community.
Breach of Duty
Next, you must demonstrate that the health care provider failed to uphold his or her duty of care that was owed to you. This is done by showing your treating health care provider did not deliver the same standard of care that a similarly trained physician would have given you under similar conditions.
Some common examples of a breach of duty include:
- Prescribing the wrong medications
- Prescribing the incorrect dosages of a medication
- Failing to diagnose the patient’s condition
- Misdiagnosing a patient’s condition
- Administering the wrong type of medication
- Surgical errors, such as performing the wrong surgery, operating on the wrong part of the body or leaving a surgical instrument or tool inside the patient during surgery
To prove a breach of duty, expert witnesses are often used to provide testimony regarding how a competent and similarly skilled physician would have acted in the same situation.
An expert witness will explain the accepted standard of medical care and how your physician failed to meet this standard when providing care. He or she will also compare how your physician acted and how he or she should have acted while providing your treatment based on the accepted medical standard of care.
Causation
Causation must also be proven for a medical malpractice claim to be valid. This means the physician’s actions, or inaction, must be linked to your injury, worsened condition or additional harm you suffered.
You must show that your worsened condition or injury is a direct result of the negligent care you received, and not caused by pre-existing conditions or outside issues.
Damages
The final element you must prove is that you suffered damages due to the negligent treatment you received from your doctor.
Compensation is only awarded if you suffered financial losses as a result of a health care provider’s negligence, such as the cost of additional medical treatment or loss of income due to missing work.
Contact Roden Law for Qualified Legal Help
If you have suffered an injury due to the negligence of a medical professional, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Our Macon personal injury lawyers will review your case and inform you of your legal options for pursuing your medical malpractice claim. We offer free, no obligation consultations and payment is only due if we successfully recover compensation for you.