Medicine is not a perfect science, and unfortunately receiving treatment can result in personal injury. When this occurs, it’s important for you to know your rights and if you can pursue legal recourse in the event of long-term consequences due to negligence — whether it be extended illness, disability, or even wrongful death. Salazar & Velazquez are here for you in the unfortunate event you require legal services, so contact us to schedule a free consultation.
What Is The Difference Between Malpractice And Negligence?
Both malpractice and negligence can result in injury or illness, but there is a distinct difference between the two. With medical negligence, a doctor or healthcare professional makes a decision, like surgery or prescribing medication, that accidentally causes harm or personal injury to their patient. On the other hand, medical malpractice results when a doctor or healthcare professional is aware of the potential consequences of a decision but makes it anyway. This usually happens because they don’t follow proper guidelines or medical protocols.
What Are Some Examples of Doctor Negligence?
In order to prove either medical negligence or malpractice (or both), there are things that need to be proven. They are usually referred to as “the four D’s”: duty of care, dereliction of duty, direct causation, and damages, and they usually tie directly into one another. The duty of care a healthcare professional provides to their patients can lead to a breach of that duty or dereliction. Once this occurs, direct cause can be proven — that is, the breach of duty caused harm or personal injury to the patient. Finally, the economic and other losses incurred by the patient as a result of the dereliction and cause results in damages.
Some examples of this can be as simple as failing to recognize symptoms of a medical condition and/or prescribing an incorrect medicine or dosage of medication. Negligence can also result from something like removing the wrong organ or leaving medical equipment (like gauze) in a patient after surgery. No matter what the negligence was, seek out a malpractice lawyer to help guide you through the legal process.
Can I Pursue Legal Action For Doctor Negligence?
Absolutely! In fact, it’s almost impossible to prove negligence or malpractice without a personal injury or malpractice lawyer on your side. Retaining legal counsel will allow them to begin gathering all necessary proof to move forward with your case, like collecting medical records, gathering testimony from other medical professionals, creating a timeline of events during the medical care, and reviewing whether or not the doctor or healthcare professional had any previous complaints or claims against them. Your lawyer will also draft up a demand letter of any and all damages you’ve incurred and will present it to the negligent individual’s insurance company for payment, and will negotiate on your behalf. If a settlement cannot be reached, then your malpractice lawyer will file a lawsuit on your behalf and present the case to the legal system to decide the outcome.
What Types Of Lawyers Can Help?
Since medical negligence and malpractice fall under “personal injury,” most personal injury lawyers will be more than happy to take you on as a client. Be advised, however, that there is a statute of limitations on when a medical malpractice suit can be filed. You have two years from the date of the negligence to file a lawsuit. There are very rare cases where the timeline is extended for a medical lawsuit, but typically you’ll want to have the initial consultation and lawsuit filing done before the end of the two-year window.
Medical negligence can be a difficult experience to go through, and with the right malpractice lawyer by your side, it will ease that difficulty immensely. At Salazar & Velazquez, we pride ourselves on a stellar review record from previous clients, where we’ve won thousands of cases resulting in millions of dollars in compensation. Don’t hesitate to contact our team right away for your free consultation!