What is medical malpractice? Research shows that medical malpractice arises when providers of health-care deviate from what is known as the usual “standard of care” while caring for a patient. “Standard of care” is further classified as what a sensible or reasonable medical provider would or would not have done given similar or same circumstances. This boils down to whether the provider was negligent.
JAMA
According to JAMA which is the journal for the “American Medical Association”, medical malpractice or negligence is the 3rd leading reason for deaths in the United States – right behind cancer and heart disease. Statistics show that the last year reporting 2012, well-over $3 billion was spent in payouts for medical malpractice; averaging a payout each hour.
Claim exists
A claim for malpractice exists if the provider’s negligence has caused damage or injury to a patient. But, experiencing an outcome that is bad is not always proof of medical malpractice or negligence. Occasionally, health-care providers will tell the patient that the person has received negligent medical care from the last health-care provider and could have been an honest mistake. No matter what the situation – if you feel that you have a case of medical negligence or malpractice; it is time to contact a medical negligence lawyer.
What to expect
But it must be noted that the prosecution of medical malpractice case does have a high likelihood of failing as well as being:
- Extremely expensive
- Stressful
- Time-consuming
It has been estimated that medical mistakes or errors kill around 200,000 patients in the United States every year. But only about 15% of these personal-injury lawsuits filed malpractice claims and more than 80% of these types of lawsuits end with no payment whatsoever to the injured patient or their survivors.
This is the reason that you need a good lawyer who practices in this area of law.
