Medical Malpractice

Medical Malpractice (also known as medical negligence is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Discharge from an Emergency Room without proper diagnosis and treatment can have serious consequences in all age groups. Anesthesia errors still occur with drastic outcomes including cerebral anoxic dysfunction or death. Frequently wrong dosages or wrong medications are given to patients. Fortunately many are harmless. Some however have catastrophic effects especially in newborn and pediatric patients. Failure to diagnose or treat medical conditions, such as the negligent failure to diagnose or properly treat cancer, the negligent reading of mammograms or x-rays, the mis-diagnosis of cancer, the negligent failure to diagnose or properly treat heart attack or stroke, or the negligent failure to diagnose and properly treat a condition or disease affecting the body may be the basis for a medical malpractice claim. As Hospitals and physician offices change to electronic records, mistakes may occur involving medications and treatments. Having an attorney with an understanding of your medical records will be helpful. Surgical malpractice includes the negligent performance of an operation, the failure to recognize complications during surgery, wrong organ surgery, leaving instruments or foreign bodies inside the patient, or failure to recognize and properly treat post-operative complications.