What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is negligence committed by a professional health care provider—a doctor, nurse, dentist, technician, hospital or hospital worker—whose performance of duties deviates from a standard of practice of those with similar training and experience, resulting in harm to a patient or patients. Most medical malpractice cases are based on the concept of negligence-that is, the patient was harmed because the health care provider failed to meet the required standards of skill and care, in accordance with generally accepted standards. Instances of malpractice might include cutting off the oxygen supply during surgery, misdiagnosing an injury because routine tests and procedures were not followed, or prescribing an illegal drug or one not approved for the patient’s condition.
The term “medical malpractice” is nothing more than “negligence” in the setting of medical treatment. Therefore, to understand what medical malpractice is, all you need to know is what “negligence” is. Negligence is just a fancy lawyer word for carelessness. When a person is careless, they are, by definition, negligent. It’s this simple: negligence equals carelessness. And carelessness simply means not taking enough care under the circumstances. So, if a doctor or a nurse or other person who provides you with medical treatment fails to take enough care under the circumstances, and you suffer an injury as a result, you have been the victim of medical negligence or medical malpractice. Medical negligence or medical malpractice does not mean that anyone tried to harm you or that anyone intended to harm you. A doctor or a nurse or a hospital can have the very best of intentions towards you and still commit medical negligence or medical malpractice if they fail to take enough care under the
Medical malpractice (or medical negligence) occurs when a physician fails to properly treat a medical condition and the negligent act or omission is the cause of a new or aggravated injury to the patient. The physician, however, cannot be responsible for the original underlying medical problem. Negligence in medical malpractice cases occurs in a variety of situations including but not limited to: • Delay or failure of diagnosing a disease • During a surgical or anesthesia related mishap during an operative procedure • Failure of a physician to gain the informed consent of the patient for an operation or surgical procedure • Failure of a physician to properly treat a disease or illness (even if he or she had properly diagnosed such condition) • Misuse of prescription drugs, medical devices, or implants.
Medical malpractice is negligence committed by a professional health care provider-a doctor, nurse, dentist, technician, hospital, or hospital worker-whose performance of duties deviates from a standard of practice of those with similar training and experience, resulting in harm to a patient or patients. Most medical malpractice cases are based on the concept of negligence-that is, the patient was harmed because the health care provider failed to meet the required standards of skill and care, in accordance with generally accepted standards. Instances of malpractice might include cutting off the oxygen supply during surgery, misdiagnosing an injury because routine tests and procedures were not followed, or prescribing an illegal drug or one not approved for the patient’s condition.
