Medical Malpractice Settlements
Medical malpractice settlements have caused many doctors and surgeons to be extremely proficient in their areas of practice. Medical malpractice is a broad term generally used to describe any surgery, treatment, lack of treatment, or other departure from accepted standards of medical care, health care, or safety on the part of a health care provider that causes harm to a patient.
Medical malpractice settlements can result from many different types of cases.
- misdiagnosis
- improper treatment
- failure to treat
- delay in treatment
- failure to perform appropriate follow-up
- prescription errors
In many instances, medical malpractice settlements are not easy to prove because they require the review and analysis by medical experts often opposed to testifying against their peers.
Attorney Costs
Some people will put off the chance of a medical malpractice settlement because they are worried about attorney costs. In fact, most medical malpractice settlements are won without the victim putting a dime into the case.
Proving Your Case
In order to be successful with a medical malpractice settlement, a claimant must usually show the following facts.
- The health care provider owed a duty to the patient.
- The health care provider breached that duty.
- The claimant must show that he or she suffered an injury due to the health care provider.
- The claimant must prove that the patient's injury was a proximate cause of the health care provider's breach.
Once a doctor-patient relationship has been formed, a physician owes a duty to a patient. Such a relationship is usually formed when the physician agrees to care for the patient practicing good faith and procedure. Nonetheless, even if it is established that a duty existed and the health care provider breached that duty and failed to meet the requisite standard of care, a claimant may not recover from it unless the claimant suffered injuries that were a direct result of the breach.
Medical Malpractice 