Medical Malpractice Cases
When you think about the medical profession, obtaining the treatment and care you need to retain your health and well-being likely springs to mind. If, on the other hand, you’ve been injured by negligence on the part of a medical professional or medical facility, the matter is very different, and seeking the professional legal counsel of an experienced South Carolina medical malpractice attorney is well advised.
The Statistics
Consider the following sobering medical malpractice statistics shared by Johns Hopkins Medicine:
- Medical error plays a role in 10 percent of all deaths in this country.
- Medical error ranks third as a cause of death in the U.S., which puts it behind cancer but ahead of respiratory disease.
- Medical errors are under-recognized in the United States.
Medical errors, in other words, are both more common and more serious than many people realize.
The Elements of Medical Malpractice
To bring a successful medical malpractice claim, you’ll need to identify the following elements:
- You were owed a duty of care by the medical professional or facility, which translates to treating you in a manner that won’t cause further injury or death.
- The medical professional or facility did not live up to their responsibility, which means they failed to employ the same standards used by other reasonable medical providers under similar circumstances.
- As a result, you suffered legal damages – or losses that are recognized by the law.
Medical malpractice hinges on acts or omissions by the treating physician or facility that deviate from the accepted practice norms under the given circumstances. A medical malpractice claim is a complex legal matter that can directly affect your recovery and your future, which makes working closely with a savvy medical malpractice attorney in your best interest.
The Most Common Forms of Medical Malpractice
While every medical malpractice claim is unique, most fall into common categories that include the following:
- Misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, or late diagnosis
- Surgical and anesthesia errors
- Birth injuries suffered during delivery
- Medication errors
- So-called surgical never events, which refer to especially egregious errors like performing the wrong surgery or performing the right surgery on the wrong side of the body, administering the wrong blood type during surgery, leaving a medical implement in the body during surgery, and beyond
Another form of medical malpractice is failure to obtain the necessary informed consent. Patients have the right to assess the known risk factors associated with proposed treatments and procedures. If they’re not informed and fall victim to a risk factor in question – when they wouldn’t have proceeded with the treatment had they known the risk – it can support a medical malpractice case.
Speak with an Experienced South Carolina Medical Malpractice Attorney Today
The skilled medical malpractice attorneys at Oxner & Stacy Law Firm LLC – proudly serving Georgetown and the Grand Strand of South Carolina – are committed to skillfully advocating for the full and fair compensation to which you’re entitled and that you need to regain your health and well-being. To learn more about what we can do to help you, please don’t hesitate to contact us online or call 843-527-8020 today.