What Is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice refers to negligence caused by health care professionals that then leads to injury, loss of income or even death of the patient. Medical malpractice can occur to anyone at anytime. In fact this situation is gaining momentum, as a result of which many countries have made specified laws to deal with medical malpractice. The law clearly states that primary health of the patient at the time of first visit to the physician is not the responsibility of the physician. But problems that may occur thereafter, in the course of or after treatment of the patient, is the responsibility of the physician.

What are the different types of medical malpractices and what are the most common ones?

As said before medical malpractice can occur anytime due to delay in treatment, because of anesthesia or surgery or due to some medications prescribed by the physician. The following are the most prevalent types of medical malpractice -

1. Prescription drug malpractice 2. Birth injury and defects 3. Surgical errors 4. Wrongful death 5. Cosmetic surgery mistakes 6. Dental errors 7. Wrong diagnosis and misdiagnosis 8. Breast implant malpractice 9. Anesthesia malpractice 10. Psychiatric malpractice 11. Unnecessary surgery

Among these the most common areas where cases of medical malpractice occur are breast cancer, colorectal cancer, heart attack, lung cancer and appendicitis.

No matter what , it is ones right to claim any damage incurred due to negligence by the physicians. One needs to file a claim or lawsuit and then can receive the compensation for the damages.

But again there are a number of limitations or procedures that one has to follow to receive the rightful amount of compensation. The first limitation is time. The judicial system is quite aware that medical malpractices can take time to show up. So they have granted a maximum time period of 2 years from the date of the malpractice as the time limit to file a case or claim. If you wait any longer than two years, then the chances of getting compensation are bleak. One should also never attempt to evaluate the claims and neither should try to make contact with the doctor personally involved. Instead one should contact a lawyer or the insurance company that is appointed by the physician for medical malpractices.

Before filling the claim one needs to get all the relevant documents regarding the treatment received, from the concerned doctor or the hospital. A brief summary highlighting the type of treatment and advice by the doctors should also be obtained. Finally one must remember that filing a medical malpractice case can be quite a costly affair. It can also affect the person emotionally. So, one should always take the guidance of a good attorney who is efficient and can predict wheather the case is strong enough or not to pursue.