The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that medical negligence is a leading cause of death in the United States, next to heart disease and cancer.

Scary, right?

Medical practitioners can make mistakes at a job that could be very life-threatening for patients. To take a legal resort, you will need an efficient and experienced medical malpractice lawyer, who has dealt these kinds of delicate matters, skillfully.

To prove your case as of medical malpractice, a lawyer must demonstrate a few things, as listed below:

• Medical provider was responsible for the patient’s care.
• Breach of standard of care or irresponsible handling.
• The breach or irresponsibility caused harm to the patient.

How to tell if yours is a case of medical malpractice?

Just that a person suffered an injury in a doctor’s care does not make it liable for a medical malpractice claim. There should be some kind of negligence or any kind of deviation from standard practices as mentioned below:

Fail to diagnose rightly

Suppose there is a possibility that an efficient doctor would have made a different diagnosis or discovered the patient’s illness, that could have resulted in positive outcomes than what happened. In that case, the patient becomes a victim of medical malpractice.

Lack of informed consent

Different kinds of medical practices come with various risks and possibilities. Therefore it is the responsibility of a physician to explain the risks and what can be expected. Lack of informed consent under the following scenario:

• A physician performs a procedure to which the patient didn’t agree to.
• A physician didn’t explain the benefits and risks of a treatment or procedure.
• Had the risks were explained properly, the patient could have rejected the treatment or would have chosen another mode of treatment.

Unusual consequences

A physician must explain the predictable benefits and risks of treatment, and they don’t need to describe extraordinary consequences. Suppose a patient experiences an extraordinary problem, then that says there could be some mistake that happened.

For instance, after a biopsy on a patient’s abdomen, the patient complains about severe bloating, abdominal pain, and fever. On being scanned, the doctors discover that a surgical sponge is left during the biopsy.

Another instance is when a physician prescribes an antibiotic without checking a patient’s history of allergies, being allergic to the antibiotic, the patient suffers anaphylaxis after taking it.

How to prove your claim?

In cases of medical malpractices, it is best to consult an attorney with expertise in the specific subject matter. He or she will know how to carry out the paperwork and look out for essential matters.

To prove your case for a medical malpractice claim, your lawyer tries to prove the following:

• Existence of a doctor-patient relationship with the agreement of both the parties.
• The chosen physician was negligent at work like failed diagnosis, surgical error, or medication error.
• Professional negligence leading to an injury.
• The injury caused serious damage, pain and trauma, higher medical bills, and in an extreme case, the expense of wrongful death.

Getting help

Sometimes it gets tough to prove medical malpractice as this comes under the legal scope that is regulated by many rules that varies from one state to another. It is essential to hire a medical malpractice lawyer to represent your case.

Your attorney will also be able to suggest if yours is a medical malpractice case or just a bad outcome.

A reliable and experienced attorney with his/her legal knowledge and experience will know how to get the best possible outcome in less time frame. Your legal representation will help you obtain a generous settlement from the healthcare providers.