Boca Raton Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Medical malpractice is a legal term for a situation in which a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare provider administers care that is below the generally accepted proper standard of care. Medical malpractice can also include instances in which a health care provider failed to act, or did not act in the same manner in which another healthcare provider with the same training would have.

Medical malpractice differs from other areas of law because it not only involves legal practice but also knowledge of medicine and medical procedures. Because of this, if you believe you have been a victim of medical malpractice, you need to find a qualified Boca Raton medical malpractice lawyer.

An experienced injury attorney in Boca Raton can help ensure you know what to expect during the claims process and make sure you get the strongest settlement possible based on the facts and evidence of your case. En Español.

Types of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice takes many forms, and there are many different types. Really, any time a patient walks into a hospital, doctor’s office, or other healthcare clinics, they take on a small risk of medical malpractice, since really any procedure can go wrong and mistakes can be made at any time. However, there are some common types of medical malpractice that may require the assistance of a Boca Raton medical malpractice attorney:

  • Errors administering anesthesia
  • Emergency room errors
  • Hospital employee errors, such as when a patient incurs an infection because the tools used were not properly cleaned
  • Errors with medical devices
  • Failure to listen to the patient
  • Misdiagnosis of symptoms
  • Improper postoperative care

Medical malpractice does not have to happen in a doctor’s office or a hospital. Other types of medical malpractice include dental malpractice, chiropractic malpractice, OB-GYN malpractice, orthopedic malpractice, and psychiatric malpractice.

Medical malpractice can occur any time a patient visits a health professional to get care, and that care is not administered or is improperly administered.

Proving A Medical Malpractice Claim

When patients have been injured due to improper care, they may be able to file a lawsuit against the doctor and/or organization. If a doctor prescribes the wrong drug, and the individual suffers injuries from the drug, they have the prescription to prove medical malpractice claims. However, taking a medical malpractice case to court can be difficult, so it is important to hire a medical malpractice lawyer in Boca Raton.

A qualified attorney can help individuals through the process and will start by proving the case. To prove a medical malpractice case, the patient must be able to show four things:

  • Relationship. For medical malpractice to occur, a doctor/patient relationship must have been established prior to the injury. The relationship does not need to have a long history; the patient could have only known the doctor for a few minutes in the emergency room. But the patient must have seen the doctor, hired them to administer care, and the doctor must have agreed to help the patient.
  • The duty of care. Sometimes patients are injured or further hurt from injuries, but the doctor administered the proper duty of care and so, is not to blame. To prove medical malpractice, it must be shown that the doctor did not administer the proper duty of care and that another healthcare professional would have acted differently.
  • Breached duty of care caused the injury. There are many things that can go wrong with medical care and when it does, it is not always the doctor’s fault. To prove a medical malpractice case, it must be proven not only that the doctor did not provide the proper duty of care, but that the breach of the duty of care caused the injury.
  • Damages ensued due to the injury. Sometimes the proper duty of care is not given, but no injuries resulted from it or the resulting injuries did not cause any damage. To prove a medical malpractice case, the patient must be able to show that the improper care resulted in either economic or non-economic damages. This means that the patient must have incurred additional medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering to prove a medical malpractice suit.

How a Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help

If you have been injured and you believe it is due to medical malpractice, you need a qualified Boca Raton medical malpractice lawyer to help you with your case. These cases are difficult and require a deep understanding of not only the law but of medicine as well. For this reason, it is important that the attorney you hire is one that has years of experience with medical malpractice lawsuits.