Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional’s action or inaction results in substandard treatment and causes injury to the patient.
It is important to note, however, that simply because you did not get the outcome you intended from medical treatment, does not mean that you have a medical malpractice case. There are four elements of medical negligence, outlined below, that must be present for you to have a valid claim.
If you think your injury was caused by a medical professional’s negligence, you will need the guidance of an experienced New Haven medical malpractice lawyer. Contact the accomplished team at D’Amico & Pettinicchi for trusted legal advice and a free consultation to determine if you have a case.
4 Elements of Medical Malpractice
To prove that medical malpractice occurred and caused your injury, you must be able to show the following four elements of medical malpractice:
1. A Doctor-Patient Relationship Existed
Medical malpractice cases can only be filed against a medical professional who had a relationship with and treated the patient. This is generally easy to prove as a doctor-patient relationship is established when you visit a doctor for an examination and agree to receive treatment and care from him or her.
Medical professionals who can be held liable for malpractice include:
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Nurses’ aides
- Health care technicians
- Physician Assistants
- Surgeons and other specialists
- Dentists and oral surgeons
2. The Doctor was Negligent
Medical professionals have a legal obligation to provide reasonable care at all times. A medical professional has acted negligently if he or she fails to provide the quality of care that another reasonably competent medical professional would have provided under similar circumstances.
To prove that a medical professional was negligent, you must be able to show that he or she caused you harm in a way that another professional would not have. It is not required that the professional provided the absolute best care possible, but simply that he or she was reasonably skillful and careful in administering treatment and care.
Negligence may have occurred if the medical professional:
- Failed to diagnose the correct medical condition at the right time
- Diagnosed the wrong medical condition
- Prescribed the wrong medication or dosage
- Improperly administered treatment or administered the wrong treatment
- Failed to warn the patient about the potential risks of a procedure or treatment
This element is often the most difficult to prove and will require an experienced attorney who can gather the necessary evidence and consult with medical experts to establish that the medical professional’s actions did not fall within the accepted standards of care within the medical community.
3. The Doctor’s Negligence Caused Your Injury
Once it has been established that the medical professional acted negligently, we must be able to prove that his or her actions directly caused your injuries.
This can be difficult when dealing with sick patients who may experience adverse events as a result of their medical condition.
We must be able to show that it is more likely than not that your injuries were caused by the medical professional’s negligence.
4. Your Injury Caused Specific Damages
Finally, the patient must have suffered harm as a result of his or her injuries that were caused by the medical professional’s negligence. A patient will not be able to recover compensation unless it can be proven that he or she suffered some kind of damage as a result of the injuries. This can include:
- Substantial medical bills
- Substantial lost income from missed time at work
- Inability to continue working
- Substantial physical pain, suffering and disability
- Death
Our attorneys can advise you on how to gather the necessary medical documents and other evidence that can support your claim for compensation.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Our New Haven Medical Malpractice Attorneys
If you suspect that you or a loved one has been harmed because of a negligent medical professional, you should contact our trusted medical malpractice attorneys as soon as possible.
Through a free, no obligation consultation we will review the details of your injury and determine if you have a case. If you do, we will get to work investigating your injuries and gathering the necessary evidence to build your case.
The personal injury attorneys at D’Amico & Pettinicchi work on a contingency fee basis, which means you will not owe legal fees or other expenses unless we obtain compensation for you. Do not wait to contact us today.