Placing an Injury Claim for Medical Malpractice
Lawsuits Often Filed for Medical Malpractice
Many patients suffer serious injuries each year because of their healthcare provider’s medical malpractice. When a physician’s treatment is different from what would be provided by other doctors in the same specialty and geographic area, a patient who is injured as a result can pursue a claim to recover compensation.
What Do Injured Parties Have to Prove?
It is not always the case that unsatisfactory treatment results in a valid claim. Before filing a lawsuit and seeking compensation in a malpractice case, plaintiffs must prove certain legal elements. Medical malpractice includes the following elements:
- Existence of a provider-patient relationship. You must be under the physician’s care professionally to place a claim for malpractice.
- The treatment you received was not what other physicians would have performed. In other words, the care you received is not what other physicians in that same field of medicine would have provided.
- Negligence by the physician caused your injuries such as wrong-site surgery, contraindicated medications or others.
- You suffered specific financial damages as a result.
Malpractice Claim Types
There are numerous ways in which medical malpractice can occur, such as the following:
- Diagnosis errors: Misdiagnosis is one of the most common medical errors that cause a malpractice claim. Misdiagnosis can cause your injury/illness to worsen or delay the treatment you should have been provided, leading to additional harm.
- Delay in diagnosis: A delay in diagnosis can cause the patient to experience a wait in receiving proper treatment. In some cases, this delay can result in a worse condition or prognosis for the future. An example would be a missed cancer diagnosis, which resulted in a worse prognosis.
- Failure to treat properly: In addition to failing to provide the correct follow-up recommendations, doctors can discharge patients too early or prescribe the wrong medications if they fail to correctly treat a patient.
- Surgery or treatment warnings not given: Not obtaining consent from the patient before treatment can lead to a medical malpractice claim. It is the physician’s duty to inform their patients of the risks of surgery or treatment. Failure to do so is negligent, especially when it results in injury.
Medical malpractice cases can also arise from mistakes made by the hospital, nurses, other providers or pharmacists such as:
- Damage caused by improperly provided anesthesia
- Wrong strength or type of medication
- Incorrectly interpreted lab results
- Not checking the patient’s records for allergies or interactions with other medications
- Birth injuries
Reporting Medical Malpractice
In Pennsylvania, someone injured due to medical malpractice has two years from when the patient realized they were injured to report it. The Pennsylvania Department of State provides a Statement of Complaint Form to report your injury. After you download the form, this link provides the address where you send it. A personal injury lawyer can help you get the compensation you deserve.
Travis Law Firm
The Travis Law Firm can help protect your rights and obtain the compensation you deserve when you’ve been the victim of medical malpractice. Get in touch with our trustworthy Pennsylvania lawyers if you or a loved one have been injured by a health care professional’s negligence. If you would like to discuss your case with one of our offices in Erie, Edinboro or Warren, we can help. Your case will be reviewed by our medical malpractice attorneys, and you may be able to file a successful lawsuit with their help. You can reach us at (814) 277-2222 or contact us online.