An injury or severe illness is taxing enough on both patients and their loved ones. The situation can be made worse when a health care provider does something or fails to do something that causes more harm to you. Medical negligence occurs when the treatment you received falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community, either by act or omission on the part of a doctor or nurse that causes injury or even death to the patient. If you or a family member has suffered negligence on the part of a medical professional, you may be entitled to legal relief.
In preparation for your free attorney consultation, put together a timeline of everything that happened before, during and after the incident occurred. Provide this information to the attorney reviewing your case.
Because this information can be extensive and proving negligence is a difficult matter, be aware that this process may take a while. Medical negligence cases are based largely on your medical record. Especially with a more complex medical issue, your medical record can be very long, which makes the negligence case more complex, as well. If you have a medical negligence case, it’s best to meet with an attorney to begin the proper collection of your medical records as soon as possible.
In order to prove that your healthcare provider was negligent, it must be proven that the care they provided did not meet the standard of care expected. This typically requires testimony by a medical expert in the same field to establish the standard. It must also be proven that you were injured as a result of the negligence and that significant damages, such as extreme pain, disability, loss of income, and large medical bills, were caused.
Medicine is not an exact science, and doctors can make mistakes, but some errors are the result of medical malpractice and should have been prevented. If you’ve dealt with medical negligence, speak to an attorney as soon as possible. These types of cases are often long, difficult to litigate, and require an experienced professional.
