Medical Malpractice Questions
Boise, Idaho
What is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a patient is harmed due to a medical professional’s negligence. This could be a lack of treatment, a misdiagnosis, or some kind of deviation from the accepted standards of health care. Medical malpractice also covers prescription errors; if the wrong medication was prescribed or the prescription had a bad reaction with another drug you were already taking.
What types of medical mistakes do medical professionals make?
A doctor, nurse or any other type of medical professional can make virtually any type of error. Some of the more common include:
- Failure to obtain permission for an operation
- Failure to perform the operation safely or correctly
- Misdiagnosis or a late diagnosis
- Failure to anticipate a problem when they should have
When assessing a medical malpractice suit, the court will take into account what an experienced, careful medical professional would have done in your situation. If the court decides they did not execute that acceptable standard of care, that person, group of people or medical organization could be held liable.
Who can I sue for damages?
Besides the doctors and nurses directly involved in your medical malpractice case, these suits can be filed against the hospital or medical organization, as well as other staff because doctors do not work in isolation. They rely on other staff members to perform their duties with the utmost care and vigilance. If a nurse receives directions from a doctor, and does not execute them, that nurse could be held liable for your injures in addition to your doctor. The hospital as a whole is also responsible to prevent harm to patients. If, for example, the equipment is outdated or the hospital is understaffed, the entire entity can be sued.
What do I need to prove in order to be paid compensation for my personal injury?
- Liability: that your medical professional acted negligently or failed to uphold a reasonable standard of care that another professional would have exhibited in the same situation. This is one of the hardest to prove because it is done so with expert testimony, often one doctor testifying against his staff or vice versa.
- Damages: what kind of financial damage you have experienced and how much you lost. This is proven through medical reports, expert reports, projections for lost income, etc.
- Causation: that the damage you suffered was a direct result of the medical professional’s wrongdoing.
What can I receive compensation for?
While each case is different, you may be able to collect damages for:
- Out of pocket medical costs
- Loss of past and future wages
- Cost of future medical care
- Emotional pain and suffering
- Legal fees
Doctors and nurses are there to help you, not cause you injury. If you or a loved one lives in the Boise area and has been victimized by medical malpractice, please contact the Boise medical malpractice attorneys at Craig Swapp & Associates today. By making that one call and scheduling your confidential, complimentary consultation, you can take that first step to collecting the compensation to which you are entitled.
Don’t see your question? Contact us and one of our Idaho personal injury attorneys will answer your question.
