All medical students reportedly have to take the Hippocratic Oath. The oath is always attributed to Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician. It comes from “Of the Epidemics,” one of his known works. One promise in this oath is that the doctor should “first, do no harm.”
This singular idea could be why people have implicit trust in doctors. After all, they’ve chosen this particular profession to help people. But doctors, nurses, and the like are only human. They are bound to make mistakes
In fact, many medical professionals make mistakes every year. Not every error is due to negligence and most don’t end in a medical malpractice lawsuit. It doesn’t mean the mistake should become disregarded though. But there are medical errors that are very serious and end up hurting the patient. Some even cause death. One study showed that medical mistakes cause more than 400,000 deaths per year.
This type of grievous harm is medical malpractice. This happens when a healthcare worker steers away from the usual standard of care. This deviation then results in a failure to provide the right kind of treatment or care. This malpractice is also called medical negligence.
There are different kinds of medical negligence. The most common types are misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis. Surgical errors and the failure to treat a patient are also considered negligence.
Patients do have a legal option if they experience this type of negligence. You can file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor. It’s a very complicated case though, which is why you’ll need a good medical malpractice lawyer.
Medical malpractice attorneys know the steps to take when filing a malpractice suit. One critical motion they need to do is to prove that there was negligence. It’s a key rule to this claim. Effective medical malpractice lawyers will establish the following:
A Relationship Existed Between the Doctor and Patient
This is vital to the case. The lawyer must show that the patient hired the doctor and that the job was then accepted. A doctor who gave advice to someone over drinks can’t become liable. So how do you prove this? One way is to show evidence that you saw the doctor and they’ve treated you.
Questions about this often come up. Especially if there are doubts that the doctor did give a direct treatment to the patient.
There’s a Breach of Duty in the Patient’s Care
This is one of the hardest to prove. A medical malpractice attorney will need to show the doctor’s care caused harm to the patient. They’ll need to prove that a competent doctor’s standard of care would have had a positive result.
Your lawyer won’t even have to prove that you received the best care. They only need to show that your doctor was not careful or skillful in a reasonable manner. Your lawyer will need to introduce a medical expert to explain the expected standard of care. They’ll also have to show that your doctor didn’t follow that standard.
The Negligence Harmed You
The medical malpractice law firm must also prove that the doctor’s negligence did cause harm. This is tricky as the plaintiff is already injured or sick. The lawyer must show that the medical error “more likely than not” resulted in further injury. There should also be a clear example of harm. This can be physical pain or more medical bills. The loss of income or mental anguish can also be proof.
Helping You Every Step of the Way
Lawsuits are often complicated and stressful. The expert trial lawyers of Warner and Warner will help make this process go smoothly. Our firm is one of the top law firms in Orlando. We’re experts at complex litigation and we use our skills to give our clients justice. We specialize in personal injury and medical malpractice cases. Our services also include handling defective products and vehicle accident cases. Give us a ring at (321) 341-6829 or message us at info@warnerandwarner.com. We can offer a free review of your case.