Medical malpractice attorney Jacksonville FL When you’re sick or injured, your trust your doctor to diagnose and treat you appropriately. When he or she makes a serious error, it can have a devastating effect on your health. Even so, it’s extremely challenging to prove a direct relationship between the actions of a medical professional and your injuries or symptoms. Below are the four factors you must prove to successfully argue a medical malpractice attorney Jacksonville FL case.
The Burden of Proof Lies with You
According to the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, you must prove each of the following:
- You had an existing doctor/patient relationship and reasonable expectation of professional duty of care
- You didn’t receive the standard of care you would expect from someone who had the same level of experience and education
- You can prove the relationship between your injuries and new symptoms and the substandard care you received
- You currently deal with injuries or symptoms directly related to the actions of the medical professional
As the injured party bringing a personal injury lawsuit against a medical provider, the entire burden of proof lies on you. However, you can hire an experienced medical malpractice attorney to help prove your case.
Common Examples of Medical Malpractice
It’s impossible to cover all of the ways that a healthcare professional can make a serious error that permanently or significantly injures a patient. There’s also dozens of reasons these medical mistakes occur in the first place, such as an error in judgment, not getting enough sleep, being under the influence of drugs, or failing to consult other medical professionals for a second opinion. Three common categories of medical errors that lead to malpractice include:
- Diagnostic error: This can include disregarding the patient’s self-reported symptoms, failing to diagnose a medical condition in a timely matter or at all, ordering the wrong diagnostic test, and misinterpreting test results. Each of these errors can prevent or delay treatment and can be especially serious with cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
- Prescription medication error: A doctor can write you the wrong prescription, but it’s also possible for a pharmacist or pharmacy technician to give you the wrong medication based on the right prescription. You could receive a medication that’s meant for someone else or that causes allergic symptoms already noted in your medical chart. It’s also common to receive medication in the wrong strength.
- Surgical errors: Surgical errors are far more common than they should be. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the most common errors include performing surgery on the wrong patient, operating on the wrong body part, or performing the wrong surgery altogether. Other issues in this category include patients developing an infection due to improper hygiene of the surgical team and leaving part of a surgical instrument inside of a patient.
Seek Prompt Legal Assistance
Whether you’re the victim of medical malpractice or you experienced commercial truck accidents and injury, it’s in your best interests to hire a lawyer to represent you as early in your case as possible. Medical malpractice attorney Jacksonville FL claims in particular often have a short statute of limitations, which means you could miss your opportunity to seek justice through financial compensation by waiting too long.
If you or a loved one suffered from any form of medical malpractice, allow a medical malpractice attorney Jacksonville FL to provide a free consultation. Contact an esteemed personal Jacksonville medical malpractice attorney at Edwards & Ragatz for a free consultation: (904) 295-1050; or through our website www.edwardsragatz.com