MEDICAL MALPRACTICE COURT CASE SETTLEMENT

The purpose of a medical malpractice court case is to compensate an injured person for pain and suffering and consequential losses caused as a result of negligent treatment by a healthcare professional. Negligence occurs when any treatment deviates from accepted standards of medical care and causes harm to a patient and can include misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment, failure or delay in treatment or follow up and prescription errors. To succeed in a negligence claim it is necessary to show that :-

• the patient suffered harm
• the medical professional owed a duty of care to the patient
• the duty of care was breached
• the patient's injury was caused by the negligence

If negligence, causation and injury or losses are proved then a medical malpractice court case will result in the award of a compensation settlement which may include actual damages and punitive damages :-

• Punitive Damages are appropriate if the malpractice is the result of reckless behavior or behavior with a conscious disregard to the results of the wrongful acts.
• Damages awarded in a medical malpractice court case are payable for all actual losses that have been suffered by the injured party as follows :

  Special Damages include loss of earnings, medical expenses and other losses that have been reasonably incurred.

  General damages includes pain and suffering and loss of the enjoyment of life.

Approximately 80% of claims that result in a medical malpractice court case are in the following categories :-

• Laparoscopy
  Keyhole surgery and laparoscopy procedures have resulted in a substantial rise in injuries as a result of negligence. The majority of complications involve damage to the bowel, bladder and ureters. The first incisions and insertion of equipment is the time of greatest risk and surgeons are required to follow established protocols and if injury occurs as a result of failure to do so then subject to unusual anatomy there may be a finding of negligence.
• Obstetrics and Gynecology
  More than half of all medical malpractice court case settlements relate to obstetric and gynecology mistakes including errors in the fields of contraception, abortion, laparoscopy, defective consent, undetected hemorrhage, failure to remove swabs, inadvertent sterilization, failure of sterilization, wrongful birth, cervical cancer, genital cancer and ectopic pregnancy.
• Cancer
  It is now possible to prevent, treat or cure many types of cancer and if a cure is not possible then life can often be extended and the quality of remaining life can be dramatically improved. Most negligence claims arise as a result of failure to diagnose in a timely manner, allowing adequate treatment to take place, or following diagnosis, failing to arrange an appropriate treatment.
• Birth Injuries
  There are several serious injuries that can be caused to children before, during and after delivery as a result of negligence including cerebral palsy, erbs palsy and brachial plexus injuries. These injuries are usually caused because a doctor has not followed established protocols.

Doctors usually provide a high standard of excellence for their patients however there are occasions when things go wrong. We can get you the best representation available anywhere in the country and our lawyers deal with claims on a contingency basis which means they don’t get paid unless they succeed. If you would like free telephone advice from an expert just complete the contact form.