Medical malpractice is a legal term used to describe when a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare worker has been careless or reckless in their duty to care for a patient and, as a result, causes that patient to suffer harm. When this happens, the patient or their family may be able to file a lawsuit to claim compensation for their injuries and related damages.
If you or a loved one was injured after treatment from a medical professional, consider contacting a Tarpon Springs medical malpractice lawyer for legal assistance. These lawsuits can often be complex, meaning a dedicated injury attorney could help to explain the entire process and work to build a claim on your behalf.
Types of Medical Malpractice
Generally, for an instance of malpractice to have occurred, the healthcare worker must have been negligent in their treatment. Common cases where this negligence occurs include:
- Misdiagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Errors administering anesthetic
- Surgery errors, including unnecessary surgery
- Errors with medical devices
- Prescribing the wrong medication or prescribing an incorrect dosage
- Dental errors
- Delayed emergency room treatment
While these may be the most common types of medical errors, any time a person is injured by the negligent actions of a healthcare worker or medical provider, they may have a valid claim for compensation. Because of the nuances of the laws surrounding a claim’s validity, however, an injured claimant might benefit from speaking with a knowledgeable Tarpon Springs attorney about filing a malpractice claim.
Proving Negligence in Tarpon Springs
Even when injuries are apparent, proving a case of malpractice can be difficult. Usually, the plaintiff must be able to establish four elements to file a successful claim: duty, breach, causation, and damages.
The first step is to establish that there was an established doctor-patient relationship—simply put, if an at-fault party was caring for the claimant as a patient, they owed them a legal duty of care. The claimant must then be able to prove that the medical provider breached this duty of care. Because this duty functions on the consideration of how a reasonable person would behave in a similar role, any neglect of these standard behaviors may constitute a breach.
Next, to determine causation, it must be shown that the doctor should have been able to reasonably foresee the claimant’s injuries, but still acted negligently. While this step is often the most difficult to prove, an experienced medical malpractice attorney could help to build a persuasive claim that demonstrates negligence.
Lastly, the claimant must show that this causation led to their damages. This may be done by proving that they were working before the accident, for example, but are now unable as a direct result of their injuries.
How a Tarpon Springs Medical Malpractice Attorney Might With a Claim
If you or someone in your family believes that their injuries were the result of a physician, doctor, or other medical provider’s negligence, it may be important to speak to a Tarpon Springs medical malpractice lawyer about your legal options. While you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries, however, navigating the legal system to request recovery is often difficult for underrepresented claimants, especially as they are recovering from trauma.
By enlisting the services of a skilled injury attorney, you could rest assured knowing a caring legal professional is handling your claim. Call today to start building your claim and moving past your injury.