Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is one of the most well-known and publicized areas of malpractice law.

By definition medical malpractice is an act, omission, or professional negligence made by a medical professional which causes the patient injury. A medical professional generally refers to doctors, but can also include nurses, psychiatrists/therapists, dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, and chiropractors.

Many states have a "statute of limitations" - a timeframe - for filing malpractice claims. For most states with a statue of limitations, times vary from 1 year (LA, OH, and TN) to as much as 5 years (MD). Most restrict malpractice claims to 2 or 3 years.

The American Academy of Family Physicians and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies have malpractice statistics that show:

• Outpatient settings are responsible for the larger number of high-severity outcomes (including death) and account for 68% of all medical errors
• Negligence occurring in hospitals was more likely to have higher severe consequences
• Of the Top 10 error-related medical conditions, no single condition accounted for more than 5% of claims
• One-third of claims come from diagnostic error

The Journal of the American Medical Association shows each year:

• 106,000 deaths occur from non-error adverse medication effects
• 80,000 deaths occur from infections in hospitals
• 20,000 deaths occur from other errors in hospitals
• 12,000 deaths occur from unnecessary surgeries
• 7,000 medication errors occur in hospitals

What determines malpractice?
In order to prove malpractice a person must show:

• The medical professional owes a duty (agreed to treat) to a patient
• The medical professional failed in that duty
• The patient suffered injury or loss
• The loss or injury was caused by the medical professional's failure to do his or her duty

If you have suffered from medical malpractice, contact a malpractice lawyer near you. Your attorney can advise you on your rights and what options you have available to you.