You put your trust in your doctor. So what happens when something goes wrong?

What is Medical Malpractice?

If something unexpected happens during the course of your medical treatment, you may have a malpractice claim. Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, nurse, or other member of the medical community fails to provide you with adequate care. The success of your claim hinges on the medical professional’s attempt to provide “reasonable care.” In other words, another medical professional would have acted differently given the same circumstances. Medical malpractice comes in several forms:

• Failure to Diagnose: If you’re misdiagnosed or experience a delay in appropriate treatment as the result of a missed diagnosis, you may be eligible to file a claim.
• Misaligned Treatment: A medical professional may choose the wrong form of treatment or administer it incorrectly. In this case, the doctor is committing negligence, and you may be able to collect compensation.
• Failure to warn patient of all risks: Each medical procedure comes with its own risks, and it’s the job of the medical staff to educate you about all of them. If you’re not properly forewarned of the risks vs. benefits of a certain procedure, and you’re injured as the result of a known risk, you’re eligible to file a suit for negligence.

How Do I Know if I’ve been a Victim of Medical Malpractice?

The law establishes general criteria for determining medical malpractice. In order to successfully file a claim, your legal team must prove:

• That a doctor/patient relationship existed: The doctor you’re trying to sue must have a direct relationship with you: For example, you can’t try to file a claim over a casual conversation at a dinner party. If that conversation leads to an in-office relationship, however, you can.
• The doctor was negligent: There’s a difference between being dissatisfied with your care and being a victim of negligence. True negligence is the result of the doctor failing to provide adequate care, when a more competent medical professional would have treated you differently. In other words, another medical professional would have to go on record defining a standard of care and illustrating how your doctor failed to adhere to that standard.
• Negligence directly leads to the injury or illness: At times, it can be tricky to prove that a doctor’s actions directly led to injury, since the patients they see are often sick or injured already. For example, a loved one may have died from pneumonia, but it may or may not have been because of a doctor’s actions.
• The injury caused a measurable harm: Even if a doctor committed negligence, you can only pursue a claim if you suffered as a result. Types of harm include physical pain, emotional or mental distress, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and medical bills.

How Do I File a Medical Malpractice Claim in Philadelphia?

If you’ve been a victim of medical malpractice, you need an experienced legal team in your corner. Medical professionals will try to hide behind the hospital’s legal representation, who will try to bully you into a settlement that’s less than you deserve.

At Ciccarelli Law Offices, our Philadelphia personal injury lawyers fight relentlessly for our clients. We don’t think that you should ever have to pay for someone else’s negligence. Let us help you on the road to recovery by securing a settlement that will help you pay for medical bills, mental anguish, and lost wages from missed work. Call our offices today for a free initial consultation. Let us review the facts of your case and decide on next steps. Contact us today.