Doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners are all professional authorities we trust with our health and our lives. When you go to the doctor, you expect he or she will do their due diligence to examine your medical situation and provide you with the best solutions based on your body.
So what happens when that trust gets broken, and you or a family member is harmed or permanently injured by a medical professional? If you are faced with life-altering injuries due to a misdiagnosis, or you are in pain due to a medication reaction the frustration of your situation can be overwhelming, but understand that the Charleston medical malpractice attorneys of Berthold Law Firm, PLLC can help you seek justice through filing a medical malpractice claim.
We know no amount of compensation could make up for the pain and suffering you have endured, but we hope it can help you and your family move forward. Learn the basics requirements of proving negligence in this blog.
Negligence & Medical Malpractice
For a case to be considered medical malpractice, the patient must be able to show that a medical professional’s treatment, diagnosis, or lack thereof cased the patient harm. Patients just unhappy treatment results cannot claim medical malpractice. To sue for medical malpractice, you must be able to prove that another competent doctor would have taken a different course of action in the same circumstances. This practice is called the medical standard of care.
Medical Standard of Care: Medical standard of care is defined as the level of care an ordinary, prudent, health care professional with similar training and experience would provide under similar circumstances in the same physical area.
Often, lawyers will establish the medical standard of care by hiring a medical expert to testify on your behalf. This expert should he trained in the same field as the medical professional that helped you and be able to give evidence that your injury was a result of the doctor’s negligence.
Negligence Caused Injury – To qualify as negligence, their must be a direct correlation between the injury and the doctor’s treatment. For example, if a patient with breast cancer dies after getting treatment, you would have to prove that the negligence of the doctor killed the patient and not cancer, which could be difficult.
Let Us Help You File Your Claim
If you or a loved one was injured by a negligent medical professional, you could be eligible to receive compensation for your suffering. Our Charleston medical malpractice attorneys have over 40 years of experience handling medical malpractice cases like yours. Let us help you build your case today. Call (304) 605-2040 to speak to us today.