Medical malpractice is said to have taken place when a healthcare provider fails to provide adequate levels of care and medical supervision to a patient, resulting in injury or death of the patient or the loss of a better result or outcome of the procedure or operation. It can be taken to mean something that the physician or healthcare provider did that he or she wasn’t supposed to do, or something that he/she did not do that lead to the injury. Comparison of the healthcare provider’s skill in such instances is usually made against the skills and diligence of similar providers in the community. In such cases, a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed against the healthcare provider in question, usually a doctor.

The following are some of the grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit to be filed.

  • If a patient suffers due to lack of adequate and immediate medical care
  • If the patient is injured or otherwise harmed due to defective medical equipment
  • Improper dental treatment
  • Birth injury causing negligence
  • If the doctor fails to correctly diagnose an illness
  • If the doctor fails to inform the patient of his diagnosis
  • If the doctor neglects to ask permission from the patient or relatives before performing a procedure
  • Any kind of physical or sexual abuse on inmates of a nursing home or other such care facility where care providers are trained health care professionals
  • If the doctor makes prescription errors
  • Grave surgical injury. For instance leaving a surgical instrument behind before sewing up

    • Time Frame to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

    Each state has its own statute of limitations before which a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed. These time frames for the filing of a suit vary from state to state. An experienced attorney will be able to guide you along this process.

    Filing a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

    A malpractice lawsuit is initiated by the delivery of a summons to the physician or healthcare facility. The physician in this case is known as the defendant and the person filing the suit is called the plaintiff. This summons or complaint will list the charges against the defendant and he/she is given a 90 day notice prior to the filing of the lawsuit.

    Misdiagnosis of an ailment is a basis for a lawsuit only if the misdiagnosis contributes to the plaintiff’s poor health or causes him injury. In other words medicine isn’t an exact science, so a certain amount of room for misdiagnoses is offered to doctors.The plaintiff who cites misdiagnosis of his illness as the basis of his charges must be prepared to prove that he suffered injury or damage to his health as a result of the doctor’s misdiagnosis.

    In order to prove that some form of negligence has occurred, expert witnesses have to be produced. Lay people lack the training or skills to gauge what a doctor needs to do and has to avoid in professional situations. Only another equally qualified doctor will be in a position to clarify these points.

    For any damages to be awarded to the plaintiff, it has to be first determined whether there was any medical malpractice to begin with. Many times patients aren’t aware that there was any malpractice, and doctors themselves too might not be aware of the fact. And if they did, they might be predisposed to avoid telling the patient this. It’s the job of the attorney therefore to gauge whether there are grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor in question. This will be done by hiring an expert or consultant who is better equipped to decide if indeed there was malpractice.