Medical negligence or malpractice is an aspect of personal injury law that defines injuries caused by medical practitioners. Here, the claimants assert that their health care providers failed to exercise the expected standard of care in treating them.
Medical negligence cases are generally one of the most complex personal injury cases to handle. That’s why injured persons must hire an experienced medical negligence lawyer to fight for justice on their behalf.
One of the most challenging aspects of medical malpractice is determining a healthcare professional’s liability. That’s because it’s not every time a medical practitioner is liable for a patient’s injury. Some procedures are inherently risky, and in some instances, the defendant made a genuine error that doesn’t amount to negligence. The problem is that some health care workers may try to pass off negligence as a genuine error.
If you’re confused about determining liability in your medical negligence case, this article will help. We’ll also discuss the different medical professionals that can engage in medical malpractice.
How to Determine Liability in a Hartford Medical Negligence Case
In determining whether medical personnel are liable for your injuries, these elements must be present in your case:
Duty of Care
This is one of the most accessible elements of medical negligence to prove. That’s because every physician and healthcare provider automatically owes their patients a duty of care. So, all you need to prove to establish the duty of care is a doctor/patient relationship.
Carelessness
After you’ve established a doctor/patient relationship, you must show that the physician breached their duty to care owed to you. Usually, breach of duty under medical negligence means that the defendant failed to exercise the requisite standard of care.
The question is whether the doctor did what every reasonable physician would do in the same circumstances. If the answer is no, the defendant may be liable for medical negligence.
Injury
You must prove that you suffered significant injuries that justify bringing a personal injury claim. Injuries here could be physical and emotional, physiological, and mental.
Causation
Not every breach of duty of care results in injuries. It’ll be unfair to hold someone liable for injuries or damages they didn’t cause, even if they were negligent. So, to win a medical negligence case, you must prove that your injuries directly resulted from your doctor’s reckless actions.
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What Different Medical Professionals Can Engage in Medical Malpractice in Hartford?
Apart from doctors, many other healthcare professionals could be liable for medical negligence. They include:
Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, and Nursing Assistants
Like doctors, nurses must uphold the required standard of care in caring for you. That is regardless of their specialty or level in their profession. Typical nurses’ negligence includes patients falling from bed, administering drugs to the wrong patient, and failure to notify a physician.
Pharmacists
Pharmacists are responsible for dispensing medications to patients. Pharmacists may be liable for negligence when they confuse prescriptions, recommend wrong dosages, and are negligent in verifying severe allergies. You may also hold a pharmacist responsible for failing to detect contraindications with other medications, improper instructions, etc.
Physical Therapists
Physical therapists are responsible for relieving pain and restoring patients’ bodily functions. In doing that, they may use various recovery techniques like acupuncture, exercises, heat, and cold therapy, etc. Unfortunately, they may make numerous unnecessary errors while discharging their duties. Common physical therapists’ malpractice cases involve failure to supervise, using faulty equipment, and many more.
Dieticians
Dieticians identify and treat specific malnutrition cases. They’re also experts in using food and nutrition to manage diseases. But, like other medical professionals, dieticians may be liable in medical negligence claims and lawsuits.
Common Categories of Medical Malpractice Claims and Lawsuits in Hartford
In 2016, medical errors were the third leading cause of death in the US. That translates to 10 percent of deaths due to preventative medical blunders. Such errors could be a result of:
- Unnecessary surgeries
- Misdiagnosis
- Medication errors
- Failure to inform
- Premature discharge
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Discuss Your Medical Malpractice Case With an Experienced Hartford Personal Injury Attorney Now!
Medical negligence claims require exceptional legal skills and extensive experience to navigate. As such, it’s unwise to hire just any personal injury lawyer you come across. Without a competent Hartford personal injury attorney on your side, you’re at a high risk of losing your claims.
That’s why you must only discuss your case with our experienced lawyers at Injured CT. At our law firm, we believe that justice delayed is justice denied. Hence, we are dedicated to seeing that you get maximum compensation as quickly as possible. Call us today.
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