Why Some Medical Errors Are Considered Normal
Medical error or medical malpractice?
What is the difference between medical errors and medical malpractice? If you or a loved one was recently the victim of a mistake by a doctor, nurse, surgeon, or other healthcare provider while under his or her care, you may be wondering if it is malpractice. In fact, there is a significant difference between medical errors and medical malpractice. Refer to the information below, or consult with a Pittsburgh medical malpractice attorney to determine where your case falls.
Medical errors
Even highly trained medical professionals encounter circumstances under which the correct method to proceed is unclear. In those situations, patients trust their doctors to make informed, educated decisions regarding their health. Sometimes doctors make mistakes—it is expected. But it is the physician’s responsibility to prepare for those mistakes and minimize the consequences. Most often, medical errors are made by diligent, attentive doctors who are simply doing their jobs caring for their patients.
Medical malpractice
Malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider makes a mistake out of negligence that causes undue harm to the patient. Proving malpractice can be complicated. Along with their Pittsburgh medical malpractice lawyers, victims of medical malpractice must prove that:
• A healthcare provider agreed to treat the patient.
• The healthcare provider made an error out of negligence.
• The patient suffered undue harm.
• The harm caused to the patient was a result of the healthcare provider’s negligent action or inaction.
The requirements for malpractice are so stringent because it is important to differentiate between errors made when medical professionals were acting in the best interest of a patient and a medical professional’s failure to meet a reasonable standard of care.
Risks and side effects
Physicians or other healthcare providers are also required to notify patients of the potential risks and side effects of any course of treatment. But even when a patient has been properly informed, negligent errors can still occur. In particular, in the aftermath of surgery it is common for certain conditions to develop, sometimes very quickly. Post-operative wounds may develop infections or blood clots could occur, both of which could be life threatening if not taken care of. Sometimes these conditions can be prevented, and other times they cannot. But if a healthcare provider fails to monitor a patient properly and never detects such a problem, it could be considered negligence.
Contact us
Medical malpractice is a complex field. If you believe you were the victim of medical malpractice, contact Pittsburgh medical malpractice lawyer John Caputo. Contact him today.
The Key Components of Wisconsin Medical Malpractice Law
Medical malpractice represents one of the most complex areas of personal injury law. Anyone who suffers injury because of medical negligence in Milwaukee or anywhere in Wisconsin needs to engage a medical malpractice attorney with extensive experience unraveling the many issues involved in a typical case.
Understanding basic malpractice issues
In a 2006 Legislative Brief, the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau described how the state determined some of the major issues in medical malpractice. The following represent some of the key provisions of the law today:
-Determining damages: Damages represent the monetary loss an individual experiences when medical negligence results in injury. The law recognizes two types of damages—economic and noneconomic damages. On the one hand, injured parties can quantify the true costs of past and current medical treatment, and they can often accurately predict future costs for treatment and other needs resulting from the injury. But although noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, represent real costs to victims, assigning a monetary value poses challenges. Wisconsin law imposes no caps on economic damages, but it limits noneconomic damages to $750,000.
-When victims can sue: Before malpractice victims can take their cases to court, Wisconsin law typically requires them to attempt resolution through mediation. Even though this is a less formal process, injured parties should not attempt to handle mediation in Milwaukee or anywhere in the state without the assistance of experienced medical malpractice lawyers.
-Payment of claims: The claims payment process in Wisconsin represents a two-tiered process. Injured patients must first seek compensation from the malpractice liability insurance that medical practitioners must carry by law. When insurance compensation fails to fully reimburse victims for their losses, the state maintains an Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund. The law requires medical providers to contribute to both forms of compensation.
Our experienced Milwaukee medical malpractice attorneys can assess the merits of your case
If you feel that you or a loved one has been harmed by some type of medical negligence, you need to seek the experienced support of medical malpractice lawyers with the detailed medical and legal knowledge to determine your rights. With almost four decades of experience in this complex area of the law, the medical malpractice lawyers at Jeffrey M. Goldberg Law Offices in Milwaukee can provide the compassionate support you need. Call us at 1-800-564-1707 for a free consultation.
We can talk with you by phone, meet with you at our offices, or travel to meet with you at a more convenient location throughout the United States. We operate on a contingency-free basis—if you do not obtain a recovery for your losses, we charge no fee.
How Chicago medical malpractice attorneys challenged a potentially devastating law
After physician and hospital negligence during the birth of an infant resulted in Cerebral Palsy, a Chicago law firm filed a declaratory action to strike the noneconomic caps provision introduced in the Illinois law. Rather than attempting to resolve the case on behalf of the injured family, the Chicago medical malpractice attorneys chose to protect all Illinois victims of medical malpractice by battling an unjust law.
According to a summary of the case provided by The Wall Street Journal, the Illinois Supreme Court acknowledged its understanding that the law imposed the caps to help deal with rising medical liability insurance costs in the state. But the court asserted that the cap violated the separation of powers doctrine of the state constitution by violating the ability of the court to determine appropriate damages.
Contact a dedicated Chicago medical malpractice attorney for a free consultation
If you feel that you or a loved one has been harmed by medical negligence, you need to seek the experienced support of a medical malpractice lawyer who goes the extra mile for clients. With almost four decades of experience in this complex area of the law, Jeffrey M. Goldberg Law Offices in Milwaukee can provide the compassionate support you need. Call us at 1-800-564-1707 for a free consultation.
We can talk with you by phone, meet with you at our offices, or travel to meet with you at a more convenient location throughout the United States. We operate on a contingency-free basis—if you do not obtain a recovery for your losses, we charge no fee.
Noneconomic Damages in Illinois Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
Unlike economic damages, which victims can quantify based on actual costs relating to medical and other care, noneconomic damages are much harder to quantify. After all, no objective methods exist to assign a monetary value to emotional and other losses. Those who support capping the noneconomic damages that injured individuals and families can pursue argue that excessive awards raise insurance costs for medical professionals and health care costs for everyone. But others argue that no amount of money can fully compensate families for the toll medical negligence can take on families for a lifetime.
In 2005, Illinois lawmakers passed legislation that limited non-economic damages due to medical negligence, such as pain and suffering, to $500,000 for doctors and $1,000,000 for hospitals. But a team of dedicated Chicago medical malpractice lawyers challenged the constitutionality of this law, winning an important victory for victims of medical malpractice.