Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when a hospital, doctor or other health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, causes an injury to a patient. The negligence might be the result of errors in diagnosis, treatment, aftercare or health management.
Informed consent is a process of communication between you and your health care provider that often leads to agreement or permission for care, treatment, or services. Every patient has the right to get information and ask questions before procedures and treatments. If adult patients are mentally able to make their own decisions, medical care cannot begin unless they give informed consent.
Medical malpractice cases are costly and time consuming to litigate -- for both the plaintiff and the physician/defendant. In an attempt to reduce the number of medical malpractice cases filed, many states have passed laws requiring plaintiffs’ lawyers in medical malpractice cases to submit some proof of medical malpractice on the part of the defendant at the beginning of the case -- before they will be allowed to proceed with the lawsuit. This proof is usually in the form of a report that in some states is called the Certificate of Merit or Affidavit of Merit, and in others, an Offer of Proof. Read on to learn more about this kind of proof.
If a doctor fails to make an accurate and timely diagnosis of a harmful medical condition, a patient might be able to pursue a legal remedy by filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. But it's important to keep in mind that mistakes and bad outcomes don't always mean medical negligence has occurred, at least not in the eyes of the law.