Author: Patricia Woloch | Posted: 31-10-2007 | Views: 11 |

When you hear the words "medical malpractice," you probably have terrible visions of surgeons amputating the wrong limb or leaving surgical instruments in bodies during surgery. While those events do take place, not all forms of medical malpractice are so blatant. Some forms can be as subtle as missing or delaying a diagnosis, prescribing the wrong dosage of a medication, or delaying a treatment while awaiting test results. While these errors may not seem as egregious as wrong site surgery or being drunk during an operation, they can be just as catastrophic. Whether you have suffered from an egregious medical error or a subtle one, there is legal help available to cover any losses you have suffered.

Medical malpractice cases are often time-consuming, complicated and costly. When deciding whether or not to pursue a medical malpractice case, it is important to ensure the strength of your case and to ascertain that you have a chance for monetary recovery. An experienced medical malpractice attorney can help you determine the validity of your case and advise on whether or not to proceed. Our legal expertise will help you wade through the mire of legal and medical paperwork and jargon that are inevitable in medical malpractice cases.

There are many different types of medical malpractice including, but not limited to, the following:

· Surgical errors
· Emergency room errors
· Birth injuries
· Anesthesia errors
· Medication errors
· Failure to diagnose
· Delay in diagnosis
· Improper procedures
· Failure to get informed consent

Experienced medical malpractice attorneys have spent years representing clients in many different medical malpractice cases and will work tirelessly to get you the compensation you so rightly deserve.

Necessary Elements

There are three basic elements necessary to a medical malpractice case. The first element is whether or not the physician had a "duty to the patient." In other words, did the doctor actually agree to treat the patient? If the answer is yes, then a certain standard of care is to be expected. The second element requires the presentation of expert testimony that defines what the acceptable standard of care is and then explains how the physician did not administer that acceptable standard. The final element is referred to as "causation." Your medical malpractice attorney must prove that the harm suffered was a direct result of the medical professional's actions. This is achieved through questioning, expert testimony, and medical evidence.