When you feel ill, you visit the doctor expecting it to help. However, this is not always the case, especially if a doctor does not exercise a certain standard of care.
Medical malpractice claims run the gamut from minor missteps to catastrophic. A medical mistake may take away years from your life or worse in some instances. If you are unsure what qualifies as malpractice, take some time to educate yourself.
Is malpractice just a mistake?
Doctors are not perfect or always right, so is it malpractice when they get things wrong? The short answer is no. For a doctor to have committed malpractice, something negligent must have occurred that negatively impacted you. The doctor either ignored the standard of care or acted outside the bounds of reasonable action. Negligence is the foundation of a malpractice case.
What are common examples of malpractice?
One of the most common examples of malpractice is a doctor’s failure to diagnose. If a doctor does not take the necessary steps to figure out what ails you and stops short or misses a step, it may prove detrimental. You could lose precious time treating an illness if you do not get the proper diagnosis. A misdiagnosis may also rise to malpractice if the doctor does not follow standard medical practices to determine what is wrong with you. Other instances of malpractice include:
- Administering the wrong medication
- Operating on the wrong body part
- Failing to take action
- Stopping treatment too soon
If a doctor has done something that leads to a loved one’s continued illness or worse, you should seek counsel from someone with experience in recovering compensation. While it may not undo the harm, getting financial assistance may help ease the monetary burden caused by a negligent doctor.