Establishing A Medical Malpractice Case
Medical malpractice is when a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional is medically negligent due to either an act or omission that causes injury to a patient. Medical negligence can be due to errors in diagnosis (misdiagnosis), treatment, or aftercare. Statistics show that medical negligence by health care providers is the third leading cause of death in the United States. If you or someone you love has been injured due to the negligence of a medical professional, you may have the right to receive compensation for your claims.
Building a Medical Malpractice Case
In order to successfully build your medical malpractice case, you should consider visiting with an experienced attorney. There are four elements that every personal injury case must have to file a valid lawsuit in a court of law. These four elements are listed below:
- A doctor, nurse, or medical professional has a duty to provide appropriate medical care to a patient. There must be a relationship established between the doctor and the patient where the medical professional is treating you for a medical condition, and had a responsibility and duty to provide appropriate medical care. This could include diagnosing an illness correctly, providing correct medicine, ordering appropriate tests, or determining that a medical specialist is needed.
- Negligence is defined as the “failure to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances. The behavior usually consists of actions, but can also consist of omissions when there is some duty to act.”
In the case of medical malpractice, you must prove that your doctor or medical professional had a duty towards you regarding your medical care. You were either their patient, or they treated you at a hospital. In some way, this medical professional had a responsibility to provide you with appropriate medical care that a reasonable doctor would have done. Being unhappy with the outcome of a procedure, or being frustrated that a particular medical treatment did not work, is not a breach of duty. Your doctor must be actually negligent somehow in his/her care towards you against established medical standards.
- You must prove that the doctor or medical professional directly caused your injuries as a result of his/her medical negligence. If you already had pre-existing conditions, those conditions would not be considered damages regarding any medical malpractice claim. Due to the direct negligence, recklessness, carelessness, or intentional misconduct of your health care professional, you suffered injury.
- In a personal injury case, you must have suffered actual physical, emotional, or financial damages, or all three. The doctor, nurse, or another medical professional must have acted negligently in order for you to have injuries substantial enough to warrant a personal injury lawsuit.
Statute of Limitations
There is a deadline, called a statute of limitations, to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit in the state of South Carolina. South Carolina has a three-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases.
Contact an Attorney
If you or someone you love was injured due to the negligence of a doctor, nurse, or another medical professional, you only have a short period of time to file a claim in the state of Florida. You may have the right to receive compensation for your injuries, including medical bills and lost wages. Contact an experienced Columbia personal injury attorney at The Stanley Law Group at 803-799-4700 and set up a consultation today.
Resource:
scstatehouse.gov/code/t15c003.php
usnews.com/news/articles/2016-05-03/medical-errors-are-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-the-us
https://www.thestanleylawgroup.com/medical-malpractice-reform-efforts/
