When we seek the care of doctors, surgeons, or other medical professionals, we assume that the care we will receive will be of the utmost quality as they attempt to treat or remedy whatever it is that ails us.
Unfortunately, thousands of Texans are badly injured or even killed by medical malpractice. But it is important to understand that medical complications or bad outcomes are not the same thing as medical malpractice, so how do we determine whether your case may qualify as medical malpractice?
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice, sometimes referred to as medical negligence, is when a doctor or another medical professional does something or fails to do something that would otherwise meet the accepted definition of “standard of care”. Determining what defines the standard of care can be complicated, but it is generally defined as how a similarly qualified medical professional would have acted in the same situation.
The two main elements of every medical malpractice case are that the medical professional deviated from the accepted standard of care and in turn, that error caused the patient injury or even death.
Differentiating between a possible complication or side effect and what constitutes medical malpractice requires knowledge and expertise in both the medical and legal professions. Remember, there are always things that can go wrong, even when appropriate care was provided. In some instances, however, medical malpractice cases can be quite obvious, such as when the wrong limb was amputated. But other cases are not so obvious and often start due to a bad feeling or an inkling that something went wrong from the patient or their family.
What Should I Do Now?
If you believe you have been the victim of medical malpractice, then it is imperative that you speak with an experience medical malpractice attorney in order to evaluate your specific case. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer has seen a wide range of medical malpractice cases and knows the generally accepted definitions of standard of care. There are many instances where patients or their families bring forward what they believe to be medical malpractice cases only to realize that it was a complication and that the level of care was appropriate.
Once your case has been brought to the attention of a medical malpractice attorney, and it has been deemed a case that warrants further exploration, then your lawyer will often need the involvement of an appropriate medical expert in order to ultimately determine whether or not the case qualifies as medical malpractice.
Determining whether medical malpractice has occurred can be a complex and technical undertaking, which is why you should only consider working with the best when it comes to medical malpractice cases in the state of Texas. The law firm of Fears Nachawati has a team of highly qualified medical malpractice attorneys who are knowledgeable, experienced, and successful when it comes to litigating medical malpractice cases. If you or a loved one has been the victim of what you believe to be medical malpractice, then contact our team of medical malpractice attorneys for a free, no-obligation legal consultation.
Please call (866) 705-7584, or visit the offices of Fears Nachawati located throughout the great state of Texas, including in Houston, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, and San Antonio.