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Medical Negligence and Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
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©2006, Lee Tarte Wallace
According to a number of government-funded studies, medical mistakes are common, and often preventable.
If you believe you or a family member have been injured by medical malpractice or medical negligence, you should contact a reputable lawyer immediately.
How common are medical mistakes?
According to a report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), an arm of the National Academy of Science, up to 1,000,000 people are injured and 98,000 die each year in hospitals due to preventable mistakes. As PBS’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer put it: “That makes medical mistakes a leading cause of preventable death that kills more people each year than breast cancer or motor-vehicle accidents.”
Read the IOM’s report.
First story on the IOM’s report.
Second story on the IOM’s report.
Do I have a medical malpractice case?
In order to prove a nursing home negligence case, your lawyer will need to be able to show:
(1) Liability: The patient received poor medical care.
When a medical procedure results in a bad or surprising consequence, medical malpractice may have occurred. Under the law, a medical professional is liable when the care he or she gave was below “that degree of care and skill ordinarily employed by the profession generally under similar conditions and like surrounding circumstances” (Georgia definition).
2) Damages: A death or injury occurred.
If someone in your family died or was seriously injured as a result of poor medical care, you should consult a lawyer.
(3) Causation: The poor medical care caused the death or injury.
People who bring malpractice suits have to prove that the bad medical care caused the bad consequences. Sometimes patients have an easy time proving that link. For example, a hospital patient who is given the wrong medication may have an obvious, predictable reaction to it.
How do I protect myself from medical mistakes?
For information on how to protect a loved one or yourself from medical mistakes, see:
www.pbgh.org
healthresources.caremark.com
How do I pick a good hospital or nursing home?
Survey results for your local hospitals.
Free hospital ratings, and to purchase quality reports on hospitals and nursing homes.
Medicare’s “Nursing Home Compare”, with information about the past performance of nursing homes around the country.
An extremely broad and useful array of information about selecting a nursing home.
Other ratings of nursing homes and home health agencies (some require fees):
http://www.memberofthefamily.net/
http://www.carescout.com
http://www.aging-parents-and-elder-care.com
© 2007, Lee Tarte Wallace
The contents of this page: (a) should not be considered or relied upon as legal, financial or other professional advice in any manner whatsoever, and (b) may be considered advertising under some state’s Bar Rules. Unless otherwise stated, no article or text at this Internet site is, has been, or will be updated or revised for accuracy as statutory or case law changes following the date of first publication. Always consult with your lawyer and/or your other professional advisors before acting.
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