Medical Malpractice FAQs

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Medical malpractice seriously injures or kills thousands of people each year. If you or a member of your family has been harmed by hospital negligence, surgical error, or some other form of medical malpractice, you are probably questioning how you should proceed. Below you will find answers to some of the questions that people most commonly ask our personal injury attorneys about medical malpractice lawsuits.

What incidents qualify as medical malpractice?

It is important to note that physicians, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers are not expected to be perfect, and that not all mistakes made by these professionals qualify as medical malpractice. Medical malpractice cases hinge upon a lawyer's ability to demonstrate that a healthcare professional failed to act as his or her competent peers would have under the same circumstances and that, by falling below this reasonable standard of care, he or she caused harm to his or her patient.

What are the most common types of medical malpractice?

Common examples of medical malpractice include:

• Surgical error (such as performing the wrong operation on a patient)
• Obstetrical errors leading to birth injuries (such as cerebral palsy and Erb's palsy)
• Medication errors (prescribing an incorrect dosage, for instance)
• Pharmaceutical errors
• Failure to diagnose diseases such as cancer in a timely manner
• Misdiagnosis of diseases

Can a medical malpractice lawsuit be filed against more than one party?

A medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed against multiple parties if more than one medical professional was responsible for injuring or killing a patient. Under the doctrine of shared liability, more than one party can be named in any civil lawsuit.

What qualities should I look for in a medical malpractice lawyer?

You will want to seek out a medical malpractice lawyer who is not only experienced, but experienced - and consistently successful - in handling cases similar to yours. For instance, if you have a potential pharmaceutical malpractice case, you probably would not want to entrust your case to a law firm that primarily handles birth injury cases, but rather one that has presented and won several pharmaceutical malpractice cases.